Well, if that's the case, he can go somewhere else. Win a spot in the rotation, you don't have to worry about it. ... I've got seven starters here for five spots, you know? It's a little bit too early to start talking about what he wants to do or not do.

....

You know, that galls me about Marquis, it really does. I'm not pleased with that comment. We've had a good camp over here, everybody's getting an opportunity. Go out and win a spot in the rotation.

Marquis would do well to go to Piniella immediately and unequivocally apologize and state that he's ready, willing, and able to compete for, and win, a spot in the rotation. Who's Marquis afraid of? Ryan Dempster? Jon Lieber?

If you send your kids to public school, how often are you sending them to this:

When asked about his substitute teaching experience during the off-season, minor-league baseball player Bobby Scales, currently in the Chicago Cubs spring training camp as a non-roster invitee, gave us the gist of his routine with his students:

"I'm Mr. Scales, for those of you who don't know me. Your teacher is not here today. Your assignment is on the board."

He then asks one of the students to take roll call.

He then asks another student to start a DVD.

"I'm going to be right here, reading the paper."

Says Mr. Scales about his off-season job, "It's so flexible, so easy."

Mr. Scales has been substitute "teaching" since 1999. During that same time period, he has played 871 minor league games without touching a major league diamond.

The Baltimore Orioles are going to give former Cub Scott Moore a look in the outfield as a way of bolstering his chances of making the team, reports the Washington Post. The Orioles acquired Moore in the ill-fated Steve Trachsel trade.

Lots of notes from the first day of camp, from the Chicago Sun-Times and MLB.com:

Jason Marquis, Jon Lieber, Ryan Dempster, and Sean Marshall are battling for the final two rotation spots, after Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, and Rich Hill. One gets the impression that the best of the four--Marshall--is the least likely to get a job.

The Cubs won't take any action against Aramis Ramirez for being "dedicated entirely" to his cockfighting roosters when he is home in the Dominican Republic. "It's understanding and respecting what's acceptable in their culture,'' said Oneri Fleita, player development director and head of the Cubs' Latin American operations. ''We tend to think we have all the answers in our country, but there are people in other parts of the world that think their [customs] are better than ours.'' Moral relativism is alive and well in the Cubs front office.

"Piniella said former Notre Dame football star Jeff Samardzija, who pitched his first full season of professional ball last year, will get a longer look in camp this year and could be ready to make his major-league debut this summer if his progress remains on pace." Samardzija pitching for the big league club this summer would be a miracle.

Angel Guzman might be pitching off a mound by July. Guzman almost became the Cubs' closer last May before going down with an elbow injury and having Tommy John surgery.

This is a good sign: "Eric Patterson was one of the early position players in camp. He has spent most of his Minor League career as a second baseman but will get some playing time in the outfield." That's a good sign because the last we heard from Patterson was that he was being demoted to double-A from the big league club for showing up late to the park last September. (That demotion resulted in Sam Fuld's promotion, which resulted in this, and after this, has Fuld fighting for the starting centerfield job this spring.)

Kevin Hart didn't have a job this winter other than working out, so he learned to cook mashed potatoes.