On the one hand, thank-you very much for this heads up. I assumed the only way I would be able to get Marquee is to pay for cable, which I do not want to do. On the other hand, this isn't much of an improvement. For the seven months of games I would be out $490. I can pay $125 (last year, don't know this year's $) to MLB and see EVERY SINGLE GAME except the only games I want to see. But seeing those games would set me back $490. I cannot justify this. Baseball works just fine on the radio: every game for 20.00!!!!!! Maybe at the end of the season I might pay to see the last month. I absolutely LOVE the Hamstrung remote!!!!!!

I love the tablometer. I don't think we've had as much snow as you have. But a lot. When I shovel, if there's a lot, I start in the middle and work one way a few feet then walk back and go the other way a few feet. Just a few seconds break as I walk back and forth. Esquire appears to have a complete archive: http://classic.esquire.com/search?exactphrase=true&QueryTerm=Spring&start=0&rows=20&DocType=Article&startdate=1978-08-31&enddate=1995-02-28&LastViewIssueKey=&LastViewPage= That is the result of a search for Spring, with dates from 78 to 95. Just four dollars a month to access the articles. I am looking forward to baseball, but I'm afraid I will be listening and not watching. You can watch a ton of baseball for 125 dollars to MLB, but no Cubs games. Getting the Marquise Network for the season is a whole lot more than that. I'll live with the At Bat App. I don't know how optimistic I am about the season. But I guess anything is possible.

Well, last year a 5.08 ERA starting 9 games and averaging 5 innings per outing. The year before: 24 starts with an average outing of 5.6 innings and a 4.64 ERA. Still, he turns only 35 on March 6. His WHIP is below 1.3 both years. I think that's pretty good. Maybe he can find something. He's still "young."

I'm not thrilled about losing Schwarber. I think he is my favorite. He went to IU and I was thinking the Cubs should draft this guy thinking it would never happen (no one was talking about it.) But it did. I was happy! At the same time, he has really struggled and I had gotten past the "happy Schwarber is at the plate" stage. I said everyone is expendable, and I meant it. I hope he tears up the league (except the Cubs, but of course it is the Cubs he will be most dialed in against...) Love your tributes to 2020. It's too bad the break can't be clean, but it will soon be receding in the rear view mirror. Happy New Year!!

Bud makes some good points. But who is the Cubs competition? The White Sox? The Cardinals? Sports may be a business, but it has a unique structure. Each team is an individual business but that business is in association with its "competitors." They have the federal waiver. Given the various restrictions that prevent the Yankees from always buying the best players every year and the difficulty in scouting/evaluating talent, running a ball club well is just plain hard. There are probably not that many who are really good at it. Even Theo has his limitations. Personally, I think the Cubs built a great system with plenty of talent only to trade it off for what? We gave a away future star Torres for a few months of Chapman. Then Jimenez for a few years of Quintana, which has given us...what? At least we got a flag out of the Chapman deal. Now we've traded a few years of Darvish for some guys just outside the ten best in the Padre's system. Why is a few years of Darvish worth less than a few months of Chapman? The only way I see to contend annually is to trade off starters in their prime (a year or two before free agency) for top prospects. If you maintain that churn, you will almost always have an exciting competitive ballclub. What other way is there?

Ha! Casino's (and lotteries) make a fortune from people who think "I am DUE!" I have never been particularly superstitious. (Though I have no memory of what I thought at the time of the black cat walking a circle around Ron Santo, I only remember being amused when reminded of it.) But I am, generally, optimistic. Of course the Cubs will win, which ever Cub is at the plate is perfectly capable of winning the game right now. That optimism allowed me to enjoy a stress free World Series. Down 3 games to 1? Not a problem. The Indians tie it up in the 7th. That was their mistake. The Cubs were not behind! This Cubs team was not any of the others of my lifetime. As I've aged, I've moved a bit towards realism. In other areas of life, I have become very cynical. Still, it has taken a few full seasons for me to just give up on the present composition of the team core. Optimistically, I am looking forward to the new baseball season (and I think there is a good chance there will be fans in the stands). But I am realistically waiting to see what the team looks like when we get there.

LOL!!!!!!! I don't think I have an email for Virginia. A change sure would be welcome (my brother is a big fan.)

Wow, indeed! Although I am sure we all appreciated the team that was Theo and Jed, I am looking forward to seeing how Jed will be different without Theo, because I think we need different. I wish Theo the very best and I will always be grateful. He is already a baseball legend, whatever is left will be icing. LOVE the painting/illustration!!!

I do like me a home run. But the defense is great to see. The funny thing about a home run is, it is great to see it live, but is almost always a boring highlight. My whole life I've never understood why the nightly sports highlights* showed home run after home run and only once in a while a defensive gem. Or good base running. That stuff is always interesting. Yes, the Cubs were not going to not pick up the option. But I'd be OK if they traded him (assuming decent return). Not that I don't love Rizzo and will always be grateful for the part he played in bringing us a Championship. But this team is less than the sum of its parts, and I'm open to as much shake up as the front office can manage. *Even today, the At Bat app leaves interesting stuff off the available highlights. Why can't I see how the runner on second got to third on a fly ball to left? (the one specific instance I can remember)

Well, that's that. We'll always have 13-3. Just forget all about the 21-25 that followed. I love these players. I will never forget that they brought us a World Series Championship. But enough is enough. Blow this team up. I love the illustration. I'm right there with you (if you hadn't noticed.)

Well, that was a nice start to the season! It was sure nice to hear Pat Hughes. Hendricks!!! Only 59 games left. Don't blink! Love the GIF. Enjoy your new employment! Sounds like you won't be bored much!

LOL!!! By a team that won 32 games.

You will lose 40 and you will win 40, it's what you do in the other 40. So, is this you will lose 20 and you will win 20, it's what you do in the other 20? I think you have to win 40, because someone will.

So, for all Conforto's virtues, he can't slide worth a damn. That clip left a big grin on my face.

Conforto was a first round pick (10th), Calhoun had to wait for the 8th round. More importantly, Conforto is five years younger, which makes him a more desirable player. A lot can change in two years, but if the Cubs have a hole in the outfield then.....

2019 stats from Baseball Reference: Conforto .257 .363 .494 .856 with 16 outfield assists Calhoun .232 .325 .467 .792 with 14 outfield assists

I only find two players who are free agents in 2022 and hit 33 home runs last year. Kole Calhoun LAA Michael Conforto NYM

HA! That is one long list! https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/free-agents/2022/NULL/ But I notice that Castellanos is on it!

LOL!!! Great GIFs!! I've taken the stance of "I'll believe it when I see it." But...in theory, though there are a lot of people involved, it is a finite number. Maybe they can isolate enough to pull it off. On the radio this morning, I heard of how San Quentin prison (Johnny Cash!) had NO cases of Covid! So the prison system transferred in 100 prisoners from somewhere else with poor screening/testing/isolatin and now San Quentin is a Covid hospital (possible exaggeration.) Such stupidity (possible understatement.) I find it quite possible that the baseball people are smarter than the prison people. I mean, they did go into baseball and not prisons, right? Maybe it is possible. I love your morning walk. My wife and I take daily walks and frequently are crossing the street or walking in the street or turning at a corner we were not planning to turn at. An outside observer might think a spy thriller was underway! Stay safe, Tim! There is a normal ahead! Sooner or later.

Ha!! He really did tear through that. Kudos to the organist (whose name I do not remember) for catching up!

A great idea! And it is plenty long enough. You'd have to be singing it way to fast to take less than 20 seconds. I timed it and it took me 30. Stay safe!!

It occurs to me that "pizza power" might sound familiar to me because it comes up frequently in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. My son was (is) a huge TMNT fan. I had more exposure than I ever wanted!

Now that you say it, "pizza power" sure does sound familiar. I think your memory is correct.

Your previous post prompted me to get off my butt and start looking into what I would do to get Marquee. Turns out I just needed to turn to channel 575 on my cable!! The guide still says that it is NBC Sports, but it is the Marquee Network! And since the first game got delayed to the evening, I got to see most of it. All I need now is opening day!

Santo's pizza got mentioned with some regularity on the game broadcasts. There were a few years where it was sold in Wrigley, so that helped prompt mentions on the air. The Hall of Fame waiting until he passed was ridiculous. I'm right there with you on that. But I have no problem with them waiting for Pete Rose to pass (assuming he gets in then!)