[Rafael] Furcal's primary agent, Paul Kinzer, said that he and Furcal spent Sunday and Monday in Chicago, meeting with Cubs GM Jim Hendry and other Cubs personnel. Kinzer then met Tuesday morning with Braves GM John Schuerholz.

Another one of Furcal's agents, Adam Katz, was scheduled to meet Tuesday evening with the Dodgers. After that meeting, Kinzer said, Furcal could make a decision quickly on which team he'll sign with.

Phil Rogers notes something interesting in his Sunday column ("With stars gone (or going), Girardi optimistic," 11/27/2005):

The Cubs didn't just pay heavily to sign relievers Bob Howry and Scott Eyre. They also gave up their second- and third-round choices in the 2006 draft because Howry and Eyre were ranked free agents.

Their willingness to do so is significant because they previously had protected their picks under club President Andy MacPhail, losing only three in the last 11 years (for Kevin Tapani in 1997, Mike Remlinger in '03 and LaTroy Hawkins in '04).

Five lost draft picks in eleven years, and four of them as the result of signing non-closer relief pitchers.

This is the first Bears game to be televised this season in Dallas. First-half snap judgments contained herein.

Just for kicks, go to http://maps.google.com and search for "1060 W Addison St, Chicago, IL 60613" and then select the SATELLITE view and then use the zoom feature on the left to zoom all the way in.

I wonder when this image was taken??? Any ideas?

Did you seek out other interesting places for the satellite view feature?

Share the address here so we can see it.

--------

Atlanta Braves Disney World Spring Training Facility photos 2005

Happy Birthday Sammy Sosa!

Cubs trivia

# of MLB College Graduates in 2005 ???

On the heels of signing lefty reliever Scott Eyre to a three-year, $11M contract, the Cubs have signed righthanded reliever Bobby Howry to a three-year $12M contract, reports the AP.

A couple years ago my neighbor came by to try to sell me some Cubs tickets. He had won them on the radio and wasn't able to go. He was selling them at face or below face value. This was the first time in 20 years that I even had Cubs tickets in my hands. I was surprised that they weren't very fancy. They looked like if someone wanted to produce counterfeit copies, it wouldn't be very difficult... (and how would I know if this was a valid ticket since my last reference to one was two decades ago.)

I didn't buy it. Turns out they were for good seats and a different neighbor bought them. I did note that the Cubs lost that game.

Anyway, I was reminded of that opportunity to purchase a Cubs ticket while reading this story.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Well Spent: Scalped ticket got him into concert -- briefly

Of course, the game was not on TV here in Dallas - woe to fans who live outside of their team's market - but from what I can gather it was a very convincing win over a pretty good team.

Key questions going forward: Has Kyle Orton shown any significant progress over the course of the season? Is he a guy they can build around, or is he just a temp?

The Cubs announced a number of 40-man roster moves Friday, in anticipation of the upcoming December 8 Rule 5 draft (hat tip: Baseball Diamond News). The players added to the roster were:

This would certainly change things. Reports the New York Sun's Evan Weiner:

Now that Mark Cuban's bid to buy the Pittsburgh Pirates has been officially squashed by the team's owners, will Cuban pick up the phone and call Dennis FitzSimons to ask the Chicago Tribune Company's Chief Executive Officer if he is about ready to sell the Chicago Cubs? Probably.

At this point, just speculation.

"Free agent Scott Eyre, a left-handed relief specialist, has signed a two-year contract with the Cubs, with a player option for a third year that could bring the total value of the contract to $11 million," reports FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal. The official site has a story by Carrie Muskat without dollar figures.

Read that again: A third year player option. $11 million.

According to the official site, the Cubs have traded pitcher Jon Leicester to the Rangers for the proverbial Player To Be Named Later.

I'm not a huge fan of Leicester, but I've never realized how ineffective he was at almost every level in the minors. The Cubs drafted him for some reason in the 11th round of the 2000 draft after he went 0-11 with a 6.78 ERA with the University of Memphis. Since then, he's had brief runs of success but nothing that he's been able to sustain over a whole season. Chalk up control issues as his downfall, as he's consistently walked over four men per nine at every level.

I don't expect this deal to amount to much.

Is there anybody who remembers the Chicago Cubs Song? I don't know who sang it. I have the 45 record, but the label is missing. It is very old. Nobody I know has ever heard of it.

thanks

Did anyone see John Cusack on the Letterman show last night?

He spoke of his problem getting White Sox World Series tickets.

He said he is both a Cubs and White Sox fan. He remembers the South Side Hit Men of 1977 and even made a movie about the White Sox.

Yet the White Sox still wouldn't arrange for him to get tickets.

I suspect the real reason the Sox didn't offer him tickets was that commercials for the Cubs tv broadcasts that they play over and over showing Cusack at Wrigley joyfully cheering a Cubs play. If White Sox brass only saw it once it probably would've have stuck with them - but seeing it over and over and over probably made a bit of a Cubbie blue impression on them.

The Letterman show has a review of last night's program here:

http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/ex...

The signing of Perez was a good move, maybe he was a little overpaid, but i can assure u he was brought in as a backup for the infield, seeing his defensive skills, he can play as back-up at short, second and third. Instead of Jose macias.

There is no doubt in Henry's mind that Cedeno is ready for everyday play, and he will be given that chance in 2006, at short or second is yet to be seen, but he will play!

I've heard over and over that the Cubs want to sign Furcal. Listen the market for Shortstops is really thin, so expect furcal to be overpaid. If the Cubs get him great, they have the resources to get him, and they should, no sosa drama this year, so bring him to Chicago.

But at the same time the Cubs should also seriously persue a trade to bring over Juan Pierre as well. He is another lefthanded bat, and another proven leadoff hitter. Worse case senario is if one of those two guys get hurt, we still have a leadoff hitter, and if both guys stay healthy we'd have lots of speed at the top,allot more things can happen instead, setting the table for my boys D.Lee & A.Ramirez and company.