First game of the year...prepare yourselves for this lineup.

This afternoon the Cubs play their first spring training game.

The lineup?

K-Fuk
Starlin
Byrd
Ramirez
Pena
Soriano
Geo
DeWittless
Z

Here's the truth...this is likely to be the Cubs regular starting lineup this season.  Yeah, Colvin will be rotated in.  Baker and Barney may take some turns at second, but this is it.

I wish there was something to be excited about with it...but there really isn't.  Fukudome is not a good leadoff hitter.  Byrd is probably a better #2 hitter.  Castro didn't do as well when he was near the top of the lineup last year.  He's young, so that can change quickly.  Soriano will have to have a pretty dramatic turnaround for me to believe he should be higher in the order than Soto.

As of right now, the Cubs don't have much of any talent appropriate to bat leadoff.  That might change, though, if Castro continues to improve.  The Cubs need to decide what direction the kid is going to take, though, and do that soon.  Part of the problems they've had with young talent is that they never quite know what to do with it.

One thing is for sure about this lineup...it is slow...very slow.

Fukudome is notorious for getting thrown out stealing.  Castro might be a good baserunner in the future.  Byrd, Ramirez, Soto, and Pena are boulders out on the base pads.  DeWitt isn't any good as a runner as well, and Soriano forgot the craft thanks to Lou Piniella. 

Personally, this is the lineup I'd be going with right now:

Castro
Byrd
Pena
Ramirez
Fukudome
Soto
Soriano
2nd baseman de jure
Pitcher

But I don't know anything.

So...let's sit back and see what these guys have to offer!

Winter ends in 33 days.

Pitchers and catchers report one day earlier...but the first workout is on February 14th.

The first full squad workout will be on February 19th.

Pitchers and Catchers Report!  It's the most wonderful words that can be spoken in the winter.

So, the first workout is on Valentines Day...which sucks for my wife as I'll be following all the reports from various media sources on how much weight Carlos Silva gained in the off-season instead of taking her out for a nice dinner or something.

Our long winter is almost over.

33 days more days.

Cubs release renderings of new theme park.

The Cubs have released artist renderings of their new spring training facility/family fun park which they intend to located in the north part of Mesa, in a area know as Riverview Park. 

The renderings kinda make people recall the days of the other "Riverview Park" which was located not far from Wrigley (where DeVry is now located) so I guess that is somewhat fitting...

Anyways, the location, it seems, appears to be under consideration for a number of other developments which includes a water park and hotel.  The site is currently a golf course.  The site isn't a guarantee for the Cubs right now as financing needs to be approved first in the election next month and the actual Riverview site itself needs to be made available to the Cubs (as there are other potential development plans that have first dibs on the property). 

At this point, the Cubs are hoping to move in to their new facility 2013...assuming the apolcolypse doesn't occur in 2012. 

What do the rendering tell us?  Not much.  We have some nice pictures of a stadium and a couple ponds and people walking around happily.  Nothing about the practice facilities or anything of substance.  Considering the lack of a concrete commitment to a site, that's not surprising. 

So here are the pics (via the Chicago Cubs)...

No Baseball...thank goodness...and Witty dreams of Girardi.

This has been a welcome break from baseball.

But terror hit me when I realized that we are only halfway through this joke of a season.

I keep on trying to work on a trade deadline post...but every time I get near completion of it, I realize that a) I'm completely guessing about what I think might happen and b) am only stating what everyone else already knows...so I go and delete it.

At this point, we do know that this team will look somewhat different come July 31st, but probably not as different as we would like it to look.

And I honestly believe that before much longer, the Rickettses will be making announcements about not only the state of the team on the field, but an announcement about a spring training facility.

The deadline for exclusive negotiation with Mesa has passed, and in theory, a financing plan for a facility has been created by the city of Mesa. This was done without much fanfare which makes me wonder how viable that financing deal actually is.  Supposedly, the city of Mesa is now waiting for the Cubs to approve a site.  If the Rickettses don't feel good about the deal, than Naples could be back in the equation.

***************************

But to the reason I'm posting this morning...Gordon Wittenmyer posted a nice story about the possibility of Joe Girardi coming to the north side after this season.

 I like those pinstripes on Joe better than the ones he currently has.

I like Wittenmyer...he's a good writer for the Sun-Times and, unlike many of his co-workers at the Sun-Times (Telander) and his rivals at the Trib (everyone), he doesn't take to sensationalism very much.

But when I initially saw this story, I was a little surprised.  Girardi isn't going anywhere...no way he'd ever leave the Yankees.  It's a dream job, and he's been successful at it.  He has the respect and admiration of Yankee fans.  He works in, perhaps, the best facility in the game.  He's not going anywhere.

Or is he?

So I read the story and while Wittenmyer doesn't say that that Girardi wants to come to Chicago, he outlines how the idea isn't completely wacko.

First off, Girardi, as everyone knows, is an Illinois native and, growing up in Peoria, was a Cubs fan as a kid.  He went to Northwestern University.  He was drafted by the Cubs, and had two different stints as the Cubs catcher.  He has roots with this team.

Second, Girardi doesn't have a contract for next season.  The Yankees have not given him a contract extension.  As is traditional for the Yankees, they don't not talk contract extensions until the season is over.  A number of times we had seen this policy in place with Joe Torre.  They often do this with their veteran players as well.  And the truth is, the Yankees do this because they can do this.  They have the most money, and it is a place that most players want to be, so they have little fear that if a player they want to keep hits free agency, they'll be able to retain him.

Third, Girardi hasn't said the idea is out of the question.  From Wittenmyer's story, here is a quote from the manager:

"That's not something I would talk about now. I grew up in Peoria. I grew up a Cub fan. But right now, I'm extremely happy where I'm at."

As the same time, that often is the polite brush off type of statement.  You know, the "oh, I love you guys, but look, this is a better situation...thanks for asking," type of thing.

But there is more...

"Every job in the majors as a manager has its challenges.  I enjoyed playing there. I enjoyed playing day games. And I loved it."

Hmm...ok.

"You're asking me hypotheticals, and I don't deal in hypotheticals. I am under contract. I love what I do. And I love managing."

So what can we conclude from this?

Well, it would appear to me that Girardi could be the Cubs manager in the future, but until the Yankees are done with him, I doubt we'll see him commanding Cubs.

But if there is any possibility of Girardi coming to Chicago next year, the Ricketts family should do everything in their power to get him in here. He has shown that he is one of the good young managers in the game.  There is not risk that he can't do the job (ala Sandberg). 

But the truth is, we'll probably end up with an old and withered Girardi being the Cubs manager in 20 years as his last stop in his managerial career looking to go out in a blaze of glory, only to fall flat like so many managers before him.

If that isn't optimistic....(*snort*)

Dear Arizona...get your act in order, dammit! Love, Doc

Well, Arizona, home to mostly old, retired people is really doing a good job at pissing people off lately.

Now I am not going to go into whether or not the new immigration law is a good law or if it promote racial profiling...frankly I just don't know enough about it and haven't really figured out how it is drastically different from many other immigrant laws already on the books...

But I do know this...it has pissed a lot of people off.

Now as I Cubs fan, I'm more concerned about this fact...

The Arizona state legislature has gone into recess...and they've gone into recess without reaching a resolution to help fund a new Cubs spring training facility in Mesa.

Look, I've said this before...I have a slight preference for the Cubs to move to Florida, but my main goal here is for the Cubs to get the best spring training facility possible. 

Naples is just sitting there waiting at the for the exclusive negotiating deadline to pass in July.  They, in theory, have the money and will move quickly after that deadline passes.

It has been said that getting new legislation passed in Arizona is not dead...a special session could be called for the legislature to pass a funding bill.  I still think this will happen...

But...the only reason that Naples has been brought into the discussion again is because Arizona lawmakers don't have the guts to stand up to the other owners in the Cactus League, and more importantly, Bud Selig, who is being as absolute asshole in these negotiations.

Please follow through on this, Mesa...because I don't want this to get ugly.

Spring Concludes...ramblings

While the weather outside is only starting to feel like spring (and how wonderful that has been)...

Spring training conclude today against the D-Backs...

And for the most part, it has been a relatively productive spring for the Cubs.  Outside of the inevitable injury to Angel Guzman (and Jeff Gray, if you even want to consider that important), the Cubs are as healthy as they could have ever expected coming as the closed up HoHoKam on Thursday.

The final game comes against the D-Backs today.  With an off day tomorrow before the season opens on Monday in Atlanta.

I've been pretty bored out of my mind with spring training games over the last week or so.  Nothing left to play for.

The only thing that has kept me from going stir crazy is coming up with somewhat creative things to write here...some better than others.

I have a number of posts that I wanted to publish this spring, but never had time to finish them.  So I'll have to wait until off days during the season to finish them.

Don't expect to hear from me today...and tomorrow I'll preview the series against the Braves.  Intend to post previews for every series, and have some form of game summary after as many games as I can.  It will be a little difficult to post summaries for games I attend as I have a three hour drive to get home from the ballpark, but I'll give it a try and see how it turns out.

The Ricketts family has launched a campaign this year called "Year 1"...well this is year 1 for CubbieDoc.com as well and I'm still feeling out where this blog actually fits in the blogosphere. 

Anyway, my Rothschild and Jaramillo posts will have to wait a little longer, but we won't have to wait much longer for real baseball to start.

It's exciting.

Arizona Legislature passes bill to help pay for stadium that the White Sox abandoned

The first team to flip up their middle finger at the proposed "Cubs Tax" (our friends, the White Sox) received a little "F-You" from the Arizona State legislature yesterday when they passed a bill to help finance the new Cubs spring training facility.

Doing exactly the opposite of the what blabber mouth, Crane Kenney, said last week, the legislature passed a bill that didn't eliminate the Cubs tax, but, in fact, expanded it quite bit while eliminating the $1 surcharge on rental cars.

So, where is the slap in the White Sox faces on this?  Well, two years ago, the White Sox moved their spring training from Tucson to Glendale.  Tucson built a stadium for the White Sox (and Diamondbacks) in 1998, prompting them to move from Sarasota, Florida to the Cactus League.  Many consider the ballpark to be one of the gems of the Cactus League.  But, the Sox abandoned Tucson for a new facility which they now share with the Dodgers.  The Diamondbacks (who also opposed the Cubs tax) will be moving from Tucson next year for Scottsdale. 

Well, what has happened is that Tucson is now left with a $22 million bill to pay off the stadium...a stadium that, as of April, has no tenants.  The minor league team that used the facility moved to Reno two years ago. 

So now we get back to the Cubs Tax.  The legislature passed a bill yesterday that expanded the original $1 surcharge on Cactus League games, that would have help raise over $80 million for facilities in the Cactus League over a span of 25 years.  The bill that passed yesterday increases the proposed tax on Cactus League tickets to a 10% rate.  This, according to John McComish (the legislator sponsoring the bill), this will raise $185 million over the next 30 years.

Why the extra money?  To help pay for things like the $22 million still owed on Tucson's Electric Park which the White Sox and Diamondbacks have abandoned. 

From the Arizona Republic...we have this quote from Pima County Administrator, Chuck Huckelberry:

"We're just delighted, because in good faith we entered into 15-year contracts with the Diamondbacks and White Sox, and the city with the Rockies," Huckelberry said. "We feel a little used in the process."

(side note...what an awesome name...Chuck Huckelberry!!!  Wow!  LOL!)

Leave it to the Cubs to have to push forward legislation that not only would benefit them, but to help clean up the mess that these other teams have left behind.  

I would assume that most of the other Cactus League teams will fall in line to support whatever the eventual look of this bill is because, as it currently is set out, many of these teams would benefit from the extra money the bill would generate.  

The process in not over yet...but it seems to be gaining steam.  And for any of you in Naples, it's over.  It ain't happening, folks.

The State of the Cubs (with commentary)

Crain Kenney, the man who's lucky to even have a job, addressed the media today giving us almost no new information about the state of the Cubs as an organization.

Carrie Muskat sums everything up for us.

And I'm going to add smart-ass commentary to it.

First, about the new spring training facility:

The plan for the Cubs' facility can be managed through the Mesa property tax referendum, that will happen in November, and the car rental tax. The proposed Cactus League ticket surcharge is not needed for what the Cubs are building, Kenney said. The team needs $84 million to build the facility, and a portion of that comes from the city of Mesa, a portion comes from the state and a portion comes from the Cubs

So it looks like the "Cubs Tax" is out. Darn. I wanted Sox fans to pay for this place. Dammit!

Even if the referendum passes in November, Kenney expected the Cubs would play two more years at their current site in Mesa.

No matter what, they will only play at their current site for 2 more years because the apocalypse comes in 2012.

Triangle building: ... Kenney said they're halfway through finalizing those plans. The goal is to complete it by 2014, which is the 100-year anniversary of Wrigley Field.

Four more years before we see the Triangle building? Boo!!! Expect an actual plan and new pretty drawings for this building to be unveiled around All-Star break (to help distract us from the horrible season the team is having).

The men's and women's restrooms on the concourse level have been renovated. 

 They've installed the latest cow feeding troughs from all the most modern farms.  Enjoy peeing in them, guys!

The scoreboard is being re-faced

 Instead of green, it's going to be a wonderful shade of purple.

The batting tunnel in the outfield is being turned into a lounge and there will be a one-way window in which fans can watch players hit.

 So you can flip off Soriano during batting practice, and he won't be able to see you.

There's $100 million budgeted for restoration and renovation of the stadium.

That's a lot of money for troughs.

Player development: The Cubs have added an academy in the Dominican Republic and expanded their scouting internationally to try and develop players in the system. The future is bright with players like Andrew Cashner, Brett Jackson, Starlin Castro and Tyler Colvin in the system. Kenney said that's a credit to people in the organization like Tim Wilkens, Paul Weaver and Jose Serra, among others.

I can't make fun of this.  Good work, guys!

Team payroll: Kenney said the situation has improved with the Ricketts family because they are not putting a penny in their pockets, but re-investing all profits into the team and the facilities. "Every time we can stage a concert or a hockey game or a football game or bring a new marketing partner in or find a way to grow the business, it directly impacts what we can do on the field and with the facility," Kenney said.

Great...more concerts so we can pay for more players like Carlos Silva.

If the Cubs need to make a player move by the trading money, Kenney said GM Jim Hendry should have funds. A year ago, the team owner was bankrupt and the sale was still being finalized. It's a different situation with the Ricketts family in control.

So hurry up and trade for Kerry Wood!

Kenney said the Cubs have a long-term agreement with WGN-TV and they have not forgotten how important broadcasting the games on that station are.

I've forgotten.  I WANT A CUBS NETWORK!

Free agents: What will the Cubs do with Derrek Lee and Ted Lilly, who are in the last year of their contracts? "That will be down the road and that will be mostly Jim," Kenney said.

Trade 'em.

Lou Piniella: This is Piniella's last season on his contract. Kenney said they will talk at some point.
"If he feels well and wants to keep going, we'll have an interesting conversation," Kenney said. "He's done a great job. He's raised the bar and that's a little bit of the burden we all carry now. As I tell everybody in our organization, it's a lot better than being picked to finish fourth or fifth and having everybody talk about failure all the time."

Um, I hate to tell you, but there are a lot of people picking the Cubs to finish fourth this year.  Fire him. 

Ok...that's all.  Like I said, nothing new here.  So BLAH!

************************

Silva pitched a scoreless 1st.  So the Cubs have declared him ready to be the #5 starter.

Is the financing plan for the new Spring Training facility in jeopardy?

With spring training having started, you'd think all is well again in Arizona...

But maybe not.

When the Cubs announced last month that they were going to stay in Mesa for spring training, it appeared that the rest of the long process would be merely a formality and the Cubs would have a new spring training facility on the outskirts of Mesa by the 2013 season.

Well, we all know of the bitching that Jerry Reinsdorf has done about the proposed tax/surcharge that would raise money for the Cubs facility. When the Sox owner started protesting this Cubs Tax, other teams, like little children, started to followed along and started protesting as well.

Carrie Muskat reported earlier this week that four teams boycotted at the annual Cactus League breakfast which kicks off the spring training season. The Dodgers, Angels, White Sox and Reds all chose not to send representatives to the event in protest over the facility finance proposal.

Adding the Brewers and Diamondbacks who have also expressed displeasure over the this whole thing, this has become quite a prickly issue. (get it? cactus...prickly...no? not funny? oh. well, blah to you!)

With opening day in Mesa yesterday, The Arizona Republic published this story which made it seem like there is some doubt in whether or not the deal will get done. It doesn't go on and flat out say that, but the tone of the story gives off that impression.

Each of these snippets makes you wonder if Florida is actually still in play:

But the financing bill for the new complex ran into trouble even before it was introduced.

But everyone seemed to understand that the Cubs could not have picked a worse time to demand a new spring training complex, with Arizona reeling from the recession.

...the political questions swirling over the Cubs' future in Mesa -- and whether Arizona can somehow pass to bill to finance a new east Mesa training complex demanded by the team -- seemed to cast a long shadow...

Even with the teams protesting the financing plan...I still thought this deal was pretty much done. I was assuming that as spring training started, there would be almost a celebration in the Cubs decision to stay.

Is the Arizona Rupublic just trying to scare people into supporting this? Or is there a legit reason to be concerned?

To any of you Arizona folk...what is going on down there?


************************

In other news,

The Cubs will play the D-Back today at Mesa at 2pm CT. Carlos Zambrano will pitch, with a bunch of guys who probably won't make the team (and Jeff Stevens) pitching as well (not at the same time!). Hopefully Zambrano will look as sharp as Randy Wells and Sean Marshall did yesterday.

I'll try doing a recap in the morning, as I'm working a track meet this afternoon up into late into the evening...so I won't be around for much of the game.

Friday! Woohoo!

Mesa City council passes the MOU for the new Cubs spring training facility

This evening in a 7-0 vote, the Mesa city council passed the Memorandum of understanding in regards to the new Cubs spring training facility.

The hearing was more or less a formality as it was pretty much a given that the council was in favor of moving forward in this process.

A number of citizens spoke before the vote was taken.  The first four people that spoke showed little or no enthusiasm or support in keeping the team in Mesa, with one person actually saying that if Naples wanted the Cubs, they can have them.  But then one citizen came up and sang an altered version of "Go Cubs Go" called "Stay Cubs Stay"...in which a number of other people at the meeting joined in on.

After that, all the council members and the mayor made statements in support of keeping the Cubs.

The vote was then taken and the items passed.

Next up in the process is to get Arizona state legislature support on the issue, followed by a public vote on the matter this fall.

With this out of the way, we should expect the Cubs to make an announcement soon about this if what Dave Kaplan said last week is right. 

If something goes wrong in this process, Naples would be brought back into the process.  But at this point, unless the state doesn't come through, Mesa appears to be the winner (I have no doubt that the public vote on the issue this fall will go in the Cubs favor).

Thank you, Mesa, for continuing to support the Cubs!

Mesa vs. Naples...a confession

I've avoided publicly taking sides on the Mesa vs. Naples thing.

But with the decision wrapping up, I have to make a confession.  I wanted Naples to win the bid.

Now, before I go into why I felt this way, I need to defend my decision not to say anything in the first place.

I pretty much felt this way the first time anything was said about Naples late last year.  For me, as I have said in the past, the most important thing is for the Cubs to have the best spring training facility in baseball...a facility that would give them an advantage...a facility that would help attract the best players.  And the ultimate goal was to win a World Series.  Whether it is Mesa or Naples, the what is best for the team was most important.

People tell me that if I have a blog, it is important to be controversial.  This taking this position on this topic would seem to be rather controversial with the majority of fans wanting to stay in Mesa (and a significant number of blogs supporting that stance).  Why didn't I say anything in support of Naples?  Well, for a number of reasons....

I have been to spring training once in my life...and that was over 20 years ago and I was not quite in high school at that point (so I was quite young).  That isn't enough time for me to really comment on the whole spring training experience.  I also don't know enough about Naples or that particular area of Florida to comment much about what they might be able to all offer since as my last trip to that side of Florida was 16 years ago when I was in college.

I also know that there is a very passionate group of Cub fans in Mesa, and a passionate number of Cub fans who support Mesa.  And the truth is, I didn't feel that passionately about the situation.  I felt it would be wrong for me to try to convince others to take the same stance as mine on this subject when I could harm a lot of people who support the team in Mesa (assuming the 4 people who read this blog were super influential) and make other feel a certain way when I myself didn't have the appropriate expertise to comment on the subject.

So, I chose to just cover the debate as an observer.

Why did I want Naples?

Well, the first and most simple reason was this...in 60 some odd years at Mesa the Cubs have won a total ZERO National League Pennants.

Look, the statistic of 13 of the 16 World Series winners having spring training in Florida was a bit glaring.

Ok, so that's out there...but that doesn't mean Naples is better.  But I honestly believe that the crappy competition in the Cactus League has hurt them.  It's gotten better, but, I'm sorry, the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, Mets, Cardinals beat up on each other each spring and seem to be alright more times than not. Having the best spring training facility in baseball is nice, but so would having the best spring training competition!

Then there is the distance issue.  Am I the only person who feels that being a little further away from all the other teams isn't a bad thing?  I know is sounds stupid, but I really think some of those long bus rides actually add to team chemistry.  Now, team chemistry isn't nearly as important in baseball as other sports, but I would argue is still has an important role on a baseball team.  To add to that, in my opinion, the Phoenix area has become too cluttered with ball teams in the spring.  I like the idea of the Cubs being a bit more isolated away from everyone else...and it would give them a bit more ownership over the city they are in.  The Cubs basically kept the Cactus League alive for years.  And now it is thriving.  But with all the new teams that have moved into the Phoenix area, the Cubs dominance as far as fan-dom is going to drop (especially with the Dodgers in town now).  Wouldn't it be nice for the Cubs to have a large community all to themselves?  Another thing to keep in mind is that Mesa has talked about trying to attract another team to move into the Cubs existing facilities once they move out...whether it was to Naples our to outer parts of Mesa. Ick.

Then comes the weather argument.  Obviously you will have more rain delays and rain outs in Florida.  Is this really that bad of a thing?  It affects the ability to evaluate some of the players...but for teams like that Cubs, I argue that spring training is almost too long?  Having games rained out I don't think is that bad.  Why?  The Cubs are a high revenue team that builds its roster around mostly veteran players whose roster spots are already determined. This is different than smaller revenue teams who tend to have more competition for all of their roster spots each spring.  The grind of spring training in a hot environment like Arizona may have a negative affect on the team in the long run, especially adding to all the day games the Cubs play in the summer.  Having games rained out in Florida I think might actually be beneficial.

Ok, so those are my unselfish reasons Naples...now for my selfish argument.

As I said, I haven't been to either of those areas, Arizona and the west coast of Florida, for many, many years.  I have every intention of making a trip to spring training next year, and many more times in the future.  But for me, I feel like I could plan a better family vacation which revolved around Naples than I can around Mesa.  I'm sure all the Mesa supporters out there can tell me of all the wonderful things to do around Phoenix.  Sorry, I just don't buy it.  (And, no, Las Vegas doesn't count!)

Well, there you have it.  My dirty little secret.

Spring training battle: Mesa vs. Naples *update* (Something real this time?)

Dave Kaplan just posted on twitter this:

**Breaking News** The Cubs have chosen Mesa over Naples if the Mesa City Council approves their formal proposal in a vote on Monday evening

 There you have it, folks.  Cactus and gila monsters for everyone!

UPDATE:

Dave van Dyke posted an update saying the city council is likely to approve the package...so this would seem to be a done deal.

As the Mesa Turns: Episode 436...Staying in Mesa almost a done deal? (Naples tomorrow?)

Yesterday, the news came out that the Bud Selig want's the Cubs to stay in Mesa.  An Arizona news site has stated that a source close to the Crickets has said that the Cubs are 99% sure they will stay in Mesa.

So...there you have it.  Yesterday, it's one thing, today it's another...

I believe an announcement will be coming any day now.

Remember, this selection in just the next phase in this process.  Arizona will then have to prove the can come up with the money to build the new facility for the Cubs.  If they fail to do so, Naples could very well be back in the equation. 

Not much else to say about it.

Honestly, this has flipped back and forth so many times, it really doesn't matter who says what now until the real announcement comes.  Most of what is being said is just people from both sides trying to give their position "momentum".

Pros and Cons of each: Mesa and Naples

"Bring on the Cubs!"

I have been trying to decided where I think the Cubs should have their new spring training facility built at.  So to help me out, I compiled a list of pros and cons for each site.  From this list, you can decide for yourself.

Mesa
Pros:

• Huge existing fan base
• No hurricanes
• Low humidity
• Short distance of travel for away games
• Few weather delays
• Kings of the Catcus League
• Not too far from Las Vegas 
• Long time tradition
  

Cons:

• Heat
• Cacti
• Old wrinkly folk
• Shitty teams
• Mesa is kind of a dump
• 60 years in Arizona, no NL pennant
• Annoying Brewers fans coming to preseason games
• Too close to Flagstaff
• New facility to be built on sand.
• Long time tradition of losing
• No water.
  

What a desolate place this is.

Naples
Pros:

• Hurricanes!!!
• Lots of a good number of Cub fans
• Better competition
• Long bus trips to bond with teammates
• Beaches
• More rain-outs = more rest
• Closer to Dominican Republic
• Not too far from Disneyworld 
• Maybe Ronnie Woo Woo will not follow the team to Florida.
• 521 out of the last 523 World Series winners have trained in Florida
• No tradition of losing
  

Cons:

• Old cosmetically altered people
• Humidity
• No tradition
• Bugs
• Can't be up on White Sox during the spring.
• Gators
• Florida is America's wang.  
  
• Are second fiddle in the Grapefruit League next to the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Phillies
• Annoying Cardinal fans coming to spring training games
• Too close to Daytona
• Lame ass palm trees
• New facility to be built on a swamp
• Dirty water

There you have it....

As you can see, each place has more 'cons' than 'pros', so maybe the Cubs should train somewhere completely different....like Hawaii.  That's something I think we can all agree to.

Two different sources insinuate the Cubs are leaning toward moving Spring Training to Florida.

Now I'm not saying it's a done deal...but two different sources have come out today saying that the Cubs are leaning toward choosing Naples, Florida to build their new spring training facility.

Early this afternoon, a tweet by USA today baseball columnist, Bob Nightengale, appeared saying:

The Cubs likely will leave Mesa, Az. for Naples, Fla., for spring training barring the state of AZ coming up with unforeseen money.

A number of people over the blogosphere were all abuzz about this, but Nightengale didn't give any source for clip and I thought that if this was the case, a local reporter would have said something.

Well, thanks to corncobdress at WPBC, I was directed to a blip by Paul Sullivan of the Trib posted later this afternoon saying this:

The Cubs haven't made a final decision on their spring-training home, though it appears they're leaning towards Florida.

One hotel general manager in the Naples, Fla., area said he was told by the Cubs that a local bed tax would seal the deal for Florida.

In an article on Marconews.com, Marco Island Marriott general manager Rick Medwedeff said Cubs president Crane Kenney told him it was up to the hotel association to push for the bed tax.

"Kenney said if he got the consensus of the lodging organization within the county, that it would support the project by virtue of bed tax funds," Medwedeff said. "It would be the last piece he was looking for to approach the owners, (and) that they submit their notice of termination with Mesa and start negotiations with Collier (County)."

Kenney was unavailable for comment.

Wow, this is quite a good bit of info.  I still think this isn't quite a done deal yet, but it is looking like Naples has a bit of an advantage now.  I still would like Bruce Miles to get some info for us fans, because he's about the only writer I have any bit of confidence in right now.  I doubt we will here anything from Carrie Muskat on this since she is a bit too close to the situation and may be told that this info is to be kept secret for now. 

It definitely appears an announcement on this is coming soon...possibly even this weekend at the Cubs Convention, or at the very latest, early next week.

In theory, the decision is to be made tomorrow by the Ricketts's. 

No matter what, the Cubs had better get one hell of a facility out of this deal.

Florida or Arizona...the debate goes on. Naples debates!

I've been debating on what to write about today...and it has been a while since I said anything about the Cubs future spring training site.

Today, as I write this, there is a public editorial discussion being had in Naples.

I haven't said where I thought the Cubs should go, and I'm not going to say so here...because, honestly, my opinion is, first, not that strong, and second, not that important.

Here is some interesting info (to some of you) that has come out of today's public forum.

• Naples started this process.  They contacted the Cubs, and the Cubs allowed them to present the idea to them in Chicago.
  
• They fully expect a decision to be made by the Cubs next week some time.  It's possible they will announce a decision at the convention itself.  
• The Naples group has stated that all the funding for the facility will come from no existing taxes.  A tourist tax is likely. 
  
• They seem to acknowledge some of the problems with the Grapefruit league as an organization.  The Cactus League is a much more organized group.  They hope by bringing the Cubs they could solidify the Grapefruit League more.
  
• They consider the Cubs to be the #1 spring training draw in baseball. (Doc's comment: That could change if they move from Arizona.)
• The goal is to build the best facility of this sorts in baseball because the Cubs are the #1 team in spring training...their facilities should reflect this.  
• There is no Florida connection associated with the Ricketts family or anyone in the organization.
  
• Naples is looking for a big boost in a sagging tourist market and an overall struggling economy in the Collier County.
• Funds for the project from the private sector, $50 million.
• They seem more confident in their ability to easily raise the funds.
• The state appears to be behind this 100% and Governor Crist has told them to approach him on the subject once Naples has been chosen by the Cubs. 
  
• 100 to 120 acres depending on the site.
• There are 3 sites in Collier County under consideration.
• The goal is to build a Wrigley village to recreate the experience at Wrigleyville in chicago.
• Full time base of operations for the Cubs.
• The Cubs single A minor league affiliate would move to Naples.
• All other teams in Florida will benefit...Cub fans travel.  This has strong support on a state wide level.
  
• The Naples group wants a 30 year lease.  The Cubs are looking for a 20 to 30 year lease.
• The facility will be open to other events, include locale baseball teams and such.  
• It appears there is no business opposition to this effort.  Most opposition is coming from retirees who think their taxes are going to go up. 
  
• There are 8 other spring training sites within 3 hours of Naples. 
• 13 of the last 16 World Series winners have had their spring training in Florida.  
• Once the decision is made between Naples and Mesa, the Cubs and the chosen city will have 120 days of exclusive negotiation on the plans for the facility.  If things fall through after that (due to funding or whatever), then the other site could be brought back to the table. 
  

So there you have it.

Again, I don't feel strongly one way or the other on this issue.  In the end, I want the Cubs to make the decision based on what is best for the team. 

If I were to guess, most fans would like the Cubs to stay in Arizona.

Spring Training Wars: Episode V - The Mesa Strikes Back

The Mesa city council said today that they would not approve funding for some badly needed batting cages at the Fitch Park facility that would have cost just under $700,000 to build.

The council wants more assurance from the Cubs that they are willing to stay in Mesa.

It appears the batting cages were to be used as a good will move on the part of Mesa to help convince the Cubs to stay, but was met with little reaction when presented to the Cubs. The quote from Mesa Mayor Scott Smith...

“The silence that came out of Chicago and the Cubs was deafening.”

This keeps getting more interesting.

Check out the story from the East Valley Tribune.

Stay tuned!

Mesa officials Chicago Trip update:

An update from my post last night.

According to Carrie Muskat, the Mesa officials will get to meet with the Cubs on Friday. The hope for them is that the Cubs will narrow down the possible locations of a ST site to one or two places which will allow the Mesa officials to lay out a detailed plan to present to the Cubs.

The tone of Carrie's blog post made it feel like the Mesa officials were acting out of a bit of panic, but maybe that's just me trying to read too much into the short clip.

Is Mesa frightened that they might lose the Cubs?

If you are like me, the idea of the Cubs moving their spring training site away from Mesa, Arizona seems impossible.

Over the last month both Mesa and Naples, Florida have made offers to the Cubs for a new spring training facility. 

A majority of people were believing that the Naples inclusion in this process was more of a pawn to try to get more out of Mesa. 

But tonight we learn that a group of Mesa officials will be making their way to Chicago to pitch for sites for a new Cubs spring training facility.

Two weeks ago, Crane Kenney and Tom Ricketts were in Naples listening to proposals from the city officials there.

While at the Cubs organizational meetings in November, the Cubs did meet with Mesa officials as well. 

Now, I don't know at what level each of these trips were at, but if the Cubs went to Naples, and the Mesa Officials are coming to Chicago, it appears to me that Mesa might believe they could actually lose the team...something that seemed highly improbable just a few weeks ago.

A decision is supposedly going to be made in January.

It's kind of exciting this prospect of a major change for this team; a team that is so steeped in tradition that they can't even get rid of the stupid troughs in their bathrooms.

It will be telling to see if a similar trip is made by Naples officials, or if the Cubs' management makes another trip to one of these sites.

No matter what happens here, the Cubs are going to end up with a great deal, and this is one thing that I believe the Ricketts are handling masterfully.  Most people don't want the Cubs to leave Arizona...but I'm on the fence about this.  Sometimes, change is good.

The Cubs moving to Florida?

This was Naples after Hurricane Wilma...just imagine what Cub fans will do to this place!

As has been reported for over a month now, the Cubs are looking for a new spring training facility.

And with good reason.

Over the last 2 decades, baseball has seen a huge number of new baseball stadiums.  But that hasn't been the only major building boom in baseball.  Over the last 10 years, a number of new enormous and impressive spring training facilities have popped up...especially in Arizona.  And Arizona and the Cactus League have seen an influx of new teams over the last few years.