A City Council committee approved the Cubs' request for these shows yesterday and the full Council is expected to give the OK tomorrow.
The Cubs agreed to give up one night game this year in return, playing 29 instead of the maximum 30 allowed by the 2002 ordinance increasing the previous maximum of 18.
It is, of course, all about money:
The motivation for the concert series is money that would not fall under Major League Baseball's revenue-sharing umbrella.
For every dollar the Cubs earn on game days, 34 cents must be shared with other teams. For every dollar raked in at a concert, the Cubs get to keep 100 percent.
And buried in that article is another note on an issue that got glossed over this offseason:
[44th Ward Alderman Tom] Tunney also intends to hold the Cubs' feet to the fire on construction of the stalled 400-space parking garage that was supposed to follow a 1,790-seat bleacher expansion. "I've told them they've got to commit to building this building," he said.
That building was part of the deal which allowed the Cubs to construct the new bleachers -- they had agreed to provide at least one new parking space for every ten new seats. The 400-space garage would have easily satisfied that requirement. If Tunney gets his way, expect that building to be built next offseason.
Opening Day can't be too far away when a manager begins to set his pitching rotation.
Lou Piniella did that Monday as he filled in a couple of key blanks. After Carlos Zambrano pitches the April 2 opener against the Reds in Cincinnati, lefty Ted Lilly will go in the second game of the season, two days later.
Jason Marquis will pitch the series finale in Cincinnati, and lefty Rich Hill will open the Milwaukee series on Friday, April 6.
Which means that the fifth starter -- whoever he is, as Piniella says that's still an open question -- will start Saturday in Milwaukee (since Lou says in Miles' article that he won't skip the fifth spot, even with the April 3 off day), then Z will throw the Sunday game at Miller Park, and Lilly should start the home opener against the Astros on April 9.
Derrek Lee left the game in the second inning after an awkward slide into second base, "tweaking" his groin. It didn't seem serious, and after something like that you'd leave a spring training game right away as a precaution anyway.
But we worry, given this club's starcrossed last couple of years.
Henry Blanco also left early after fouling a ball off his knee; it was likely almost time for Geovany Soto to get some playing time anyway.
Carlos Zambrano threw 72 pitches in four innings, which is a lot. He walked two, which is too many, and struck out five, and gave up only three hits. He almost matched that at the plate, hitting a double and a triple (which the TV guys said might have been an inside-the-park HR had Z not slipped nearing third base) and driving in a run.
Jeff Samardzija threw two scoreless innings, but allowed five baserunners after the first two batters made easy outs in both innings. This is, obviously, something he has to work on, keeping his focus. I hope he gets to do it in High-A or even Double-A; it's been Cub policy to start college players at levels that are really too low for them, and with a talent like his I think they should start him higher, because he could be fast-tracked to the majors with his fastball and mound presence. His first-ever encounter with Barry Bonds resulted in a lazy little single to RF, after which Bonds left for a runner.
Other good things today: Jacque Jones had two more hits, and I'd like to see him get some PT in CF, even though Alfonso Soriano looked a little less tentative out there today. Jake Fox cracked another two-RBI double, but he's ticketed for Iowa anyway. Will Ohman struck out the side in his inning of work. Cliff Floyd -- yes, he really exists! -- had a two-run single in his first spring at-bat.
Bob Howry gave up a home run to a guy named Chad Santos -- I wouldn't worry about Howry, perhaps he was working on something.
I had more, but it was lost in the browser belch. And I thought I had copied it to the clipboard before everything closed. Oh, well. Tomorrow, Wade Miller will face the Diamondbacks in Tucson, and Rich Hill, whose turn would come up on the off-day Wednesday, will throw "an inning or two" in a minor league game and then resume his regular turn the next time around.
Don't worry too much about the injuries. There haven't been any updates -- good OR bad -- yet, on this, and as I said, neither seemed too serious.
Oh, go ahead. Cross various body parts and entreat whatever source you plead or pray to. Can't hurt.
Z pitches today. He'll be stretched out to four innings for the first time this year, just as Jason Marquis was yesterday.
Among others pitching today will be Jeff Samardzija, probably for the final time in a major league game this spring before roster cuts (a dozen or so may be announced later today). About this, Lou Piniella says:
"I'd like to see maybe Samardzija face Barry Bonds one time," said Piniella, who plans to have Samardzija pitch early enough in the game to face the Giants' regulars. "That would be exciting for Jeff."
It would be, so assuming Z does go four innings, expect Samardzija to throw the fifth inning.
Lou Piniella measured his answer when asked if rookie outfielder Buck Coats could make the team.
"Look, he's having a good spring," Piniella said. "He's played well in the outfield. He's swinging the bat well. We're taking notice. Let's see where that leads."
Also today, Cliff Floyd will play for the first time. Jacque Jones may play some CF, either today or later this week. Matt Morris is the Giants' starting pitcher today.
If you don't have access to CSN Chicago, MLB Audio has the game with a webcast featuring Giants announcers.
The telecast is also being picked up by MLB.TV, if you have signed up for that. And if you have none of the above, here's MLB.com Gameday.
UPDATE [2007-3-12 13:28:52 by Al]: As usual, courtesy of Bruce Miles, the lineups (both teams) are in the comments.
"Chasing October" is, according to the press release I received:
filmmaker Matt Liston's docu-comedy that chronicles his crusade to take the Chicago Cubs to the World Series "by any means necessary." Director Liston quits his job and decides that by making a documentary about the team during the 2003 season, he can singlehandedly will them to the post-season. The film is a hilarious must-see that will bring joy to all Cubs fans.
Well. I suppose this would be a happier film to see if the Cubs had ... gotten ... those ... last ... five ... damned ... outs, but it could be entertaining anyway.
I'm writing about this today primarily to tell you that this film is being screened tomorrow, March 13, at 8 pm at the Harkins Camelview Theater in Scottsdale, Arizona -- not that many of you are there, but if you are, you can attend the film and also a postscreening reception at a nearby sports bar where Matt Liston and Derrek Lee (and some other Cubs) will be in attendance. At the screening and party you can make donations to Project 3000, the foundation formed by Derrek and Boston Celtics CEO Wyc Grousbeck, whose children both suffer from the genetic disease Lebers Congenital Amaurosis (LCA). It's a worthy cause and you can also donate (and I already have) to this foundation via the link above.
The film opens to the general public in Scottsdale on Friday and in Chicago on the following Friday, March 23. There will be another screening for charity at the Music Box Theater in Chicago on March 19. Click here for more info on the benefit screenings.
Here are some other occurrences from this afternoon's athletic contest, on a bullet-pointy sort of day:
Jason Marquis became the first Cub pitcher to throw four innings this spring. They were good innings -- even though he allowed six hits and a walk, only one run scored. This included a nice sequence in which he and Michael Barrett teamed up catching Corey Hart stealing second base.
Ryan Theriot had another hit and a walk. Isn't it nice to not have to wonder whether this sort of performance is going to get him on the 25-man roster or not? Speaking of walks, the Cubs drew five of them today. Without looking it up, I'll bet they didn't do that five times all last year.
Kerry Wood threw a scoreless inning, "lowering" his spring ERA to 12.00. I wouldn't worry too much about that number.
Jake Fox, who will likely be the starting catcher at Iowa this year, slammed a pinch-hit, three-run home run. He may not be the best defensive catcher who ever lived, but the man can hit.
Bud Selig dropped by the WGN radio booth and hinted that something might be done about Ron Santo's Hall of Fame status. Yes, voting has already occurred -- but the Hall, being a private institution, can modify its rules at any time. If the Board of Directors of the Hall wants to disband the Veterans Committee and induct Ron Santo this year, they are free to do so.
Santo, for his part, said Rocky Cherry has "a good chance" of making the 25-man roster. Does he know something we don't, or (more likely) is he just reacting to a guy who's had a good spring?
The Cubs didn't make any errors today and Matt Murton threw Bill Hall out trying to score. To overstate the obvious, this is a good thing.
The crowd of 12,726, a sellout, was the second-largest of the spring so far.
Tomorrow's game, which will be televised on CSN Chicago, will feature Carlos Zambrano's third start of the year.
That is all, as I am out of bullety points.
Update [2007-3-11 18:13:49 by Al]: One more bullety point just presented itself -- it was announced late this afternoon that Mark Prior will make a minor league start, scheduled for Thursday at Fitch Park. I will be in Mesa on Thursday -- if this start is in the morning, before the regular game, I'll try to take in some of it.
Yes, remember: 3:05 Central time, because most of us are now on Daylight Saving time -- except the good folks in Arizona, who remain on Mountain Standard Time year-round. That will be the starting time for all the rest of the games in Arizona, except the last one on March 29 -- that starts at 12:05 MST, or 2:05 CDT.
MLB Audio's carriage of today's game not only features the WGN Radio broadcast, but also Bob Uecker's Brewer game call from WTMJ in Milwaukee. Uecker's always entertaining and calls a great game -- might be worth checking out. It's also on XM channel 178.
Courtesy as always of Bruce Miles, here is the way "the local nine line up", as he put it:
Soriano, CF Theriot, 2B Lee, 1B Ramirez, 3B Barrett, C Murton, LF Colvin, RF Izturis, SS Marquis, P
I like Theriot in the 2 spot -- it looks like Lou is trying something different with Matt Murton, which is also fine with me. It's not very often you get a pitching rematch in spring training, but there's one today -- Marquis faces Claudio Vargas again, just as the two did five days ago.
Finally, SBNation today proudly introduces its very first online podcast, live at 7 pm CDT. Here's the scoop on what you'll hear:
The premiere episode is hosted by John Bena of Mile High Report (the Denver Broncos site) and BigBlueShoe of Stampede Blue, the Indianapolis Colts site. The main topics for today will include NFL free agency, the Signature Pharmacy steroid scandal involving baseball and football, and the NCAA tournament. Guests on the show will include Fooch from Niners Nation, Peter Bean of Burnt Orange Nation, and SkinsPatrol of Hogs Haven.
