Cubs Send Baby Jesus Down To Triple-A Iowa

Of all the crappy things to do, the Cubs announced that Sam Fuld will be starting the year in Triple-A. According to the BLT Supercomputer, sending down the Son of God right before Easter should cost the Cubs anywhere between 27 and 34 wins this year. We look forward to a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection call-up of Sam Fuld from the dead Iowa.

Race To Wrigley 2010

The 5th annual "Race to Wrigley" 5K Run will be held on Saturday, April 24. The 5K Run, which starts and finishes at Wrigley Field, will help kick off the 2010 baseball season while benefiting Chicago Cubs Charities. All personal fundraising proceeds benefit Children's Memorial Hospital.

So it looks like Wrigley Field will once again be at the center of race. More like "Racists To Wrigley." Amirite?

It's Spring, Must Be Time To Talk About Race & Baseball

I'm sure everyone has heard the accusations that Cubs fans are racist by Milton Bradley, who forevermore will be referred to as He Who Shall Remain Nameless or HWSRN because I'm tired of typing his name. If you don't remember, HWSRN was nice enough to give an interview and talk about his experience in Chicago again. He was asked if race played a role in Chicago:

"I got the same mail LaTroy [Hawkins] probably got; the same mail Jacque [Jones] got," Bradley said. "Every time I got mail, I handed it to the PR guy and said, 'Here it goes.'

"I was getting so much until I didn't even have to open up the letter to know what it was, I could see from the envelope. I could just tell, you get an envelope, no address on it, no postmark, it's just in your mail. How does that get in your cubby hole? I don't know how that happens." Bradley was asked if he thought the mail with no postage mark was sent from inside the organization. "I would hope not, but ... who knows?" he said. "I don't know. I don't even care to know."

One possible theory could be that people in the organization were dumb enough to send HWSRN hate mail from inside the building, therefore the mail wasn't postmarked. Another possible theory is that HWSRN is fucking lying. I have to be honest, I don't care either way.

Bradley, who was traded to the Mariners for Carlos Silva and cash on Dec. 18, was asked if Chicago is a tough place to play for African-Americans.

"Well, I mean unless you go out there and you're Superman -- you're Andre Dawson, you're Ernie Banks, you're in the Hall of Fame -- then it's going to be tough," Bradley said. "People are just the way they are.

"When you get paid a lot of money to play this game, they expect miracles. And when you don't go out there and perform like that, then people don't like it. People don't want to see a guy that's brash and cocky and a little arrogant and kind of does his own thing making a lot of money. They were like, 'He doesn't deserve that.'"

I could argue that when you get paid a lot of money to play this game, the fans don't expect miracles, they only expect you to produce. If you don't produce, then yeah, I can see why people wouldn't want to see you walking around all cocky and arrogant because people don't like cocky and arrogant people who get paid a lot for doing very little. But I won't argue that, I'll let Ryan Dempster do that for me. Dempster used to get booed a lot when he was the Cubs closer. How does he handle it when he gets booed?

"Play as hard as I can," he said. "I think if you give 100 percent and prepare as hard as you can and take pride in what you do, that seems to work no matter where you're playing or who you are. I care a lot about winning and doing things the right way. I don't always do things the right way and I'm not perfect. They're fans, and they pay the ticket to come in and have every right to boo if they feel you're not giving 100 percent or your best effort."

LaTroy Hawkins and Jacque Jones also had a tough time while playing for the Cubs. Is it more difficult for African-American players there?

"I don't know. I'm Caucasian," Dempster said. "[Derrek Lee] seems to really like it there. He's really enjoyed Chicago and loves playing there. Some other guys I've played with have really had a good time playing there. I know Marlon [Byrd] is going to have a blast playing there. I think any time you struggle, it can be tough, no matter what color your skin is."

What does it say about a team when the guy who carries around a rubber chicken is the smart one?

Breathe Just Like The Lava Lizards of the Galapagos Islands, But in Spanish...

From chicagotribune.com:

One after another Wednesday at HoHoKam Park, the line drives exploded off the bat of Alfonso Soriano during Cubs batting practice.

Behind the cage hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo didn't see a single one land, his eyes focused intently on Soriano's hips and his words aimed specifically for his ears.

"Espidad, espidad!'' Jaramillo repeated.

Asked later for a translation, Jaramillo explained the command reminds the free-swinging Soriano to slow down his breathing, which slows down his mind and thus his approach to the ball.

This is why Jaramillo is so important to this team. When he speaks, his words are aimed specifically for people's ears and he reminds them to breathe. Eat your heart out, Gerald Perry.

Jaramillo doesn't necessarily have to speak the same language to connect with a hitter he mentored for two seasons with the Rangers. But, in Soriano's case, it improves his hearing as well as his hitting.

"Sure it helps," Jaramillo said. "I love teaching in Spanish.''

Although it confuses the hell out of Mike Fontenot.

All kidding aside, I am excited about the addition of Rudy Jaramillo to the coaching staff. In fact, while covering Spring Training for BLT, I was able to sit in while Jaramillo worked with Ryan Theriot in the batting cages yesterday in sunny Arizona. I have to tell you that it definitely looked encouraging. See for yourself:

Familiarity Breeds Contempt

I'm trying to remain positive, I really am, it just seems to be getting harder to do by the day. Yesterday's Chicago Sun-Times had an article by Gordon Wittenmyer that pissed me off but for once... it wasn't because of Wittenmyer. Here is the Cubs take on why it's so important to build a good farm system and how theirs is starting to bear some fruit.

It finally might mean producing enough position players to establish a big-league core of regulars talented enough to contend. A core raised in the system, familiar with each other and able not only to lessen the need for big-money free agents every offseason, but also to help ease the transition of those who are brought in from the outside.

I'm sure familiarity is great and all but I'm not sure how that really promotes winning. You know what is better than familiarity? Talent. I think I'd rather have talented players who are unfamiliar with one another.

With few exceptions, championship teams are built from within. And no team since the earliest days of free agency in the 1970s has been able to sustain success for more than a year or two at a time without a core of homegrown players, including a core of position players.

I would say the Yankees are doing pretty well by bringing in A-Rod, Teixeira, Sabathia, Burnett, Matsui, etc. I wonder how long it took them to become familiar with one another?

''Four to six. I use that,'' said Cubs bench coach Alan Trammell, who played on perennial contenders with the Detroit Tigers that were built around him, Lou Whitaker, Lance Parrish, Jack Morris, Dan Petry and other homegrown players. ''That's ideally what you'd like to have.''

Will somebody please tell the Yankees they're doing it wrong?

The value of homegrown position players shows up in their stature as every-day players, where team leaders usually come from. Get a group of talented players who came up together and know one another's personalities, flaws and strengths, and trust doesn't require a transition period. A culture is formed, and those who enter from the outside more easily fold into it than if almost all the regulars are from somewhere else.

Again, at the risk of being redundant, PLEASE JUST GIVE ME SOME GOOD GODDAMNED PLAYERS! I don't care if they all come from different planets and get their powers from the yellow fucking sun or if they are called up from Iowa. Makes no difference to me. Let's just keep in mind that the object here is to win, not to hold hands and sing Kumbaya.

And just as important looking ahead, the Ricketts family has spent hours in meetings with the executives running their new ballclub and are on board with the philosophy and direction already under way. ''Our commitment -- and what Tom Ricketts I think is extremely comfortable with -- is: 'Let's spend more money on scouting and player development and get out of the free-agent business for the most part,''' Bush said.

Get out of the free-agent business for the most part? What. The. Fuck? How the hell are you going to charge me $100 a ticket and then tell me you're not going to spend money? I'm tired of the excuses of why a big market team wants to act like a small market team. I'm not a Royals fan, quit fucking treating me like I'm one!