Billy Williams Is Getting A Statue

The Great Chicago Baseball Statue Craze of the 21st Century continues!

First it was the White Sox who began erecting statues on the concourse at US Cellular Field of just about anybody who has seen or heard a White Sox game before, and now over the last few years the Cubs have been trying to catch up.

The statues at Wrigley Field all started with the Harry Caray statue outside the park on the corner of Addison and Sheffield, and continued when a statue of Ernie Banks was unveiled at the corner of Addison and Clark in 2008.

In 2010 it will be Billy Williams' turn, as the Cubs announced on Wednesday that they'll be honoring Williams on September 7 in a game against the Astros, and will be unveiling a statue in his honor.

Jaylin Fleming Can Ball A Little

I could guard this kid.

The Chicago Tribune has a story on young Jaylin Fleming over at their website, but moving pictures is always better than stupid, immobile words.

As for Fleming's ability as a basketball player, he obviously has quite a bit of it. Plus after listening to him it's already apparent that he's got the whole sports cliche bit down pat.

No word on whether the DePaul Blue Demons have contacted him to be their point guard/head coach for next season yet, but I expect the call to be made any minute now.

Thoughts On Yet Another Blackhawks Loss

This is getting to be an all too familiar refrain, but once again, the Blackhawks lost to an inferior opponent last night.  That's three losses in a row, and all have come against two teams who wouldn't be in the playoffs if the season ended today, and won't be in the playoffs once it ends for real.

If there's any good news to take from last night's 4-2 loss against the Blues it's that, for the first forty minutes at least, the Blackhawks looked like they were actually playing hockey again.  Yes, the defense still wasn't up to par with the way it had been playing for the vast majority of the season, but when you're missing both Brian Campbell and Kim Johnsson, that's going to happen.

Still, I don't think Joel Quenneville is doing anybody any favors by pairing Brent Sopel with Duncan Keith.  I get why Quenneville feels the need to separate Keith and Brent Seabrook.  When you're down two defenseman, you just can't afford to have your two best d-men on the ice at the same time.

They need to be split up.

But why not pair Jordan Hendry with Keith?  I'd much rather see Hendry getting all those minutes than Sopel.  The longer Sopel is out there, the more chances the iron-footed hunchback has to make bad decisions and mistakes.

Just put Sopel out there with Nick Boynton and give the two of them ten minutes of ice time.  Yes, it's a horrible pairing that will make most Hawks fans wet themselves watching, but I'd rather they sucked for ten minutes a night than have Sopel making Keith pointless for 25 plus.

Jose Reyes To Be Limited During Simulated Game

It seems that placing restrictions on baseball players is the latest fad in the city of New York. We all know about the "Joba Rules" that the Yankees have long placed on Joba Chamberlain, and now it seems the Mets have come up with their own set of guidelines on how to handle Jose Reyes.

Even if the new "Reyes Rules" will only apply to the shortstop for the rest of spring training...

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Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 3/30/10

I wish I was famous enough to use my Twitter account to get free crap all the time.  Though I wouldn't be continuously mentioning casinos and sunglass manufacturers.  I'd be talking about escort services.

Concern Over Blackhawks Is Growing

I'm not in panic mode yet.

Even as the Blackhawks continue to finish out their season like a bunch of somnambulists making their way to the kitchen for a 4am snack.  On Sunday night they had a rematch at the United Center against the same Blue Jackets team that embarrassed them 8-3 on Friday night, but instead of coming out like a team determined to right the ship, they just continued to drift about the sea like the Titanic unknowingly wading towards an iceberg.

A lot of the problems that have plagued the team the last few weeks were still evident on Sunday, and though the defense continues to worry me, I think what scares me the most about this team right now is just the attitude.

There doesn't seem to be any motivation to win right now.

The puck is dropped and they just skate around like they'd rather be anywhere else in the world than on a rink.  Seriously, this team looks like somebody who just found out their spouse or child just died when they're playing.  They have that dazed look in their eyes because they don't quite believe what they were just told, and aren't even sure what it means just yet.

It's scary.

Maybe they're tired, or maybe they're bored and just waiting for the playoffs to start, but crawling into the postseason isn't exactly the preferred method.  I'd much rather see this team get some momentum going before heading into a seven-game series against a team like Los Angeles (or Nashville, or Colorado or, lord help us, Detroit).

Now there are still eight games left in the season, which is plenty of time to get on a roll, but they need to stop dicking around.  Enough with the talk of getting things put back together, just get out there and do it.

For Christ's sake, the Bulls are playing better than they are right now.  The Bulls.

Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 3/29/10

This was the only tweet Ozzie made over the weekend, and the man seems to be incredibly fascinated with the town of Tucson.  I've never been to Tucson myself, but I'm pretty sure it's just a desert with some tall cactus plants scattered about, and a roadrunner that's always being chased by a coyote.

The coyote never catches it though, and usually falls off a cliff or gets crushed by an anvil.

In a lot of ways, that roadrunner is the World Series and that coyote is the Cubs.

The Blackhawks Goalie Picture Gets A Little Clearer

I had a decision to make yesterday.  The girlfriend and I were going to Indiana with a couple of friends who were adopting a dog, and since they didn't want to bring the new dog back in the same car as their current dog, we agreed to go with so we could take a dog in our car.

Since I wasn't going to be home and I had all my Thursday night shows to record, I had to choose between the Blackhawks game and the tournament games to record on the DVR while I was gone.

I made the wrong decision.  I chose to record the Blackhawks.

Well, after getting pasted 8-3 by the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets last night, it seems that the decision Joel Quenneville has to make regarding who his goalie will be once the playoffs start -- and the Hawks clinched a playoff berth despite the loss -- just got a whole lot easier.

Alex Brown Doesn't Expect To Be A Bear Next Season

Now that the Bears have signed defensive end Julius Peppers to a six-year $91.5 million deal, it was pretty obvious that all the defensive ends on the roster last season weren't going to be back with the team this year.  While Adewale Ogunleye is a free agent and wasn't expected to be back, it seemed obvious he wouldn't be the only defection heading into 2010.

Then when Lovie Smith announced that Israel Idonije would be moving from defensive tackle to defensive end next season, it became apparent who that man would be.

Alex Brown has begun texting his teammates to let them know that he expects to be traded or released in the coming weeks.

Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 3/26/10

Speaking of towns where we've experienced our "firsts," I experienced a first of my own in the small town of Nappanee, Indiana yesterday.  For the first time in my life, I cut off a horse on the highway.  He seemed pretty ticked off about it as he whinnied at me, but I was like,

"Hey, horse, it's not my fault my car has more horsepower than you do."

He whinnied again, angrily.  Then I got him again.

"Thoroughbred?  More like partialbred."

It was total ownage, and though the horse wouldn't admit it, I could see in his eyes that he knew he'd just been owned by one of the best.  I then sped off and got the hell out of Indiana and back to civilization as quickly as possible.

Braves Prospect Nailed In Online Prostitution Sting

This has certainly been a week that a couple of Atlanta Braves prospects will never forget, though one of them will probably wish that he had. On the same day phenom Jason Heyward learned that he had made the Braves 25-man roster, pitcher Deunte R. Heath learned that trying to solicit sex online could be a tricky proposition.

Undercover agents in Kissimmee, Florida arrested nine people trying to solicit sex online through a sting operation on Craigslist and Backdoor, including the 24-year old Heath. Heath has already posted $2,000 bond and been released from the Osceola County jail, and is scheduled to appear in court on Friday morning...

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Phil Hughes Is The Yankees Fifth Starter

The battle for the final starting spot in the New York Yankees rotation has come to an end, and now that the dust has settled, we can all see that it is Phil Hughes standing alone atop the mountain. Yankees manager Joe Girardi made the announcement on Thursday morning that Hughes beat out Joba Chamberlain, Alfredo Aceves, Sergio Mitre and the recently released Chad Gaudin for the role.

Hughes has appeared in four games this spring, starting one, and has a 4.15 ERA with 10 strikeouts and only two walks in 13 innings of work. What really impressed his manager, though, was the development of Hughes' changeup this spring as the manager said it played a key role in making the decision...

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Milton Bradley Is Kanye West, Ron Artest and Scarface As Well

It's starting to look as though there's a reason Milton Bradley has been on eight different teams in his eleven years of playing professional baseball, and it's because he has multiple personalities. If you don't believe me, all you have to do is ask him. When talking to the media on Wednesday Bradley tried to explain his image as baseball's bad guy, and compared himself to rapper Kanye West amongst others.

"If I was a musician, I'd be Kanye West. If I was in the NBA, I'd be Ron Artest," Bradley told the Associated Press. "In baseball, they've got Milton Bradley. I'm that guy. You need people like me, so you can point your finger and go, 'There goes the bad guy.'"...

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Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 3/25/10

Good to have you back, Oz.  Good to have you back.

Indians To Begin Drug Testing Latin American Signees

The Cleveland Indians have been burned three times in recent weeks when three of their Dominican signees tested positive for steroids and received 50-game suspensions from MLB. Now the team is taking steps to make sure that this doesn't happen anymore, as the organization is now planning on performing it's own drug-testing on any Latin American player they want to sign to prevent losing out again in the future.

Catcher Steven Lebron, second baseman Manuel Boscan and pitcher Jeffry Ceto were all recently suspended for testing positive for banned substances and consequently had their contracts terminated by the Indians...

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Rocky Wirtz Wants Ovechkin Suspended For The Season

Amongst Blackhawks fans, I'm probably in the minority on this, but I didn't think the hit Alexander Ovechkin put on Brian Campbell that knocked the Hawks defenseman out for the rest of the season was all that bad.  Yes, it was a penalty, and it wasn't really needed, but I don't think Ovechkin had any intention of hurting Campbell.

It was just your everyday interference/checking from behind that was magnified due to the awkward way in which Campbell went down.  When Ovechkin got a game misconduct for the penalty, I was surprised, and I was even more surprised when he got suspended for two games because of it, though that was more of a cumulative thing.

It seems Rocky Wirtz wasn't as surprised by the suspension, but instead he was disappointed.  In Wirtz's opinion, Ovechkin's season should be over too.  Wirtz believes the NHL should adopt some kind of "eye for an eye" policy when it comes to suspensions.

Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 3/23/10

Wait a second, that's not a tweet from Ozzie!

Yeah, that's kind of the point.  Ozzie hasn't tweeted in two days now, and I'm pretty sure it's all due to the Oney Guillen fiasco from the weekend.  I'm serious when I say I want someone to get hurt so people will stop talking about this, though nobody important.  Maybe Brent Lillibridge can get attacked by a bear while visiting a zoo.

Seriously, all this talk about the Guillen family is getting incredibly annoying.  They've become the god damn Kardashians.

Oney's mad at the White Sox.

The White Sox are mad at Oney.

Ozzie tells Oney to resign from his position from the White Sox.

The White Sox have hurt Ozzie's feelings.

Oney's still mad at the White Sox and goes on two radio stations to talk about it.

Ozzie gets mad at Oney for going on the radio and tells him to shut up.

Just.  Stop.

I swear to god one of them is going to have a sex tape come out.

Phillies Fans Can Buy Citizens Bank Sod

Back in January a new partnership between MLB and The Scotts Company that would allow baseball fans to purchase the same type of grass used in their favorite ballparks for their own yard. Well, having an entire yard may be a bit much for some baseball fans, but if you live in Philadelphia or are just a Phillies fan, there's an alternative.

Following the 2009 season the Phillies completely removed the original sod from Citizens Bank Ballpark and have re-sodded it for the 2010 season. Still, they didn't want to just throw all the old stuff out, after all, a World Series was won on that grass. So instead of tossing it, they're now giving Phillies fans a chance to buy it...

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Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 3/22/10

I know this tweet is a few days old, but that's precisely the point.  Ozzie didn't tweet at all yesterday, so I like to pretend that this one is meant specifically for me because he didn't.

And I tell you what, I don't accept the apology.

What The Hell Is Wrong With You People?

People actually like Dick Vitale?  What do you love about him most?  The annoying screaming for no reason or the annoying screaming for no reason?  If you could get past the annoying screaming for no reason, tell me, what does Vitale actually tell you during the game?

I voted for Bill Raftery myself, simply because he makes a not so veiled reference to having huge balls during games, but votes for Gus Johnson -- who is also a screamer, but only when the time is right -- are also acceptable.

Hell, if you're into Bilas and Kellogg, that's all right too.

But Vitale?  The hell is wrong with you people?

Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 3/21/10

Then, by all means, stop going.  Though, to be fair, Lou Piniella was at the game last night too.  It could just as easily be his fault.

Kerry Wood Is Out Two Months

Some bad news for those Cubs fans out there who were thinking that the team should go after former Cub and current Cleveland Indians closer Kerry Wood following the season-ending injury to Angel Guzman.  Wood, in a shocking development that nobody would have ever seen coming, is hurt and is going to miss up to two months with a muscle strain in his back.

Wood hasn't thrown since March 10 when he felt some soreness in his back, and after the back failed to get better over the last week and a half, he underwent an MRI which revealed the muscle strain on the right side of his back.

"It's an area in which he usually experiences soreness during Spring Training," Indians trainer Lonnie Soloff told the team's official website. "After four, five days the symptoms did not recede, so we did the tests.

"The good news is, it's nothing structural. That's the positive -- it's not the elbow or the shoulder, which have been surgical issues in the past."

This will be Kerry's thirteenth trip to the disabled list in his twelve-year career, and it's expected that Chris Perez will take his place as the Indians' closer.  So if you haven't had your fantasy draft just yet, there's a sleeper to keep an eye on.

Minnesota Twins 2010 Primer

The Minnesota Twins won their fifth AL Central title of the 21st century last season, culminating in a wonderful one-game playoff against the Detroit Tigers, and there's plenty of reason to believe they'll start the new decade the same way. One of the most consistent franchises in Major League Baseball, the Twins are just one of those teams that seem able to overcome anything.

The loss of a star player to free agency or injury? Who cares? This team just keeps chugging along and winning games.

Adversity is just a way of life in the Twin Cities, and though the season hasn't actually started yet, the Twins find themselves staring it right in the face again this year, though they don't look too worried about it...

Continue reading at FanHouse

Luol Deng's Season May Be Over

The Bulls achieved their goal of losing ten games in a row last night when they fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers, though they nearly ruined it by hanging in the game and even having a lead with just over six minutes remaining in the game.  Thankfully future Bull via love LeBron James then decided to take the game over and bury them.

Unfortunately the post-game celebration of the team's latest feat was held in somewhat dampened spirits as Vinny Del Negro made it sound like Luol Deng might not be back to share in the losses this season, as his strained calf doesn't seem to be getting any better.  Del Negro hinted that with Deng's latest setback he's likely to miss another two or three weeks, and considering there are only a little more than three weeks left in the regular season (thank God, I enjoy the NBA but I get really tired of the regular season around January and just want to get to the playoffs), it does not bode well for Luol's return.

Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 3/20/10

Well, it looks like the dumbest "controversy" in the history of controversies is going to come to an end peacefully.  The high school drama that unfolded yesterday between Ozzie Guillen's son Oney and the White Sox over SOME FREAKING TWEETS that ended with Oney resigning from his position with the White Sox and every baseball reporter in Chicago turning it into THE END IS NEAR seems to be okay now.

It's a new day.

If you aren't familiar with what happened, well, you're lucky.  I'll go over it for you anyway though, because that's the kind of guy I am.

Oney had a Twitter account last season and in September when the White Sox started to fall apart, he shared his opinions about what was going on in some tweets.  The White Sox didn't like it and asked him to get rid of his account.  Oney did, but he started up another one this year and again made comments about the team and shared his opinion.

He was asked to stop again yesterday, but this time Oney basically told the team to go and fornicate with themselves, though probably not in such terms, and handed in his resignation.  Which led to Ozzie Guillen blowing off the awaiting media for what seems like the first time I can ever remember him doing so.

And why wouldn't he?  His son had just lost his job, and Ozzie probably wasn't in the best mood because he realized how idiotic this whole thing was, and was afraid he'd say something that could lead to real trouble.

He apologized to the media a few hours later on his Twitter page.

Then all the talk about how this was the latest sign of the friction in the White Sox front office, and how it was all going to lead to Guillen no longer being manager of the team.  Which, as I told Silvio last night as we were out celebrating St. Joseph's Day (it's the Italian St. Patrick's Day), if Ozzie Guillen resigned because of his Twitter account, or got fired because of it, then I'd be done with this team.

Personally I'm not worried about any of this.  I don't think the sky is falling, and I don't think Ozzie and Kenny are going to kill each other.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this type of thing has been happening the last few years, it's just now that everybody is on Twitter and information is so readily available, we're all able to watch it unfold.

Revamped 'Cubs Tax' Bill Passes Arizona House Vote

To make things perfectly clear, I'm not really for or against the "Cubs tax" that would see fans from all Cactus League games charged more for their tickets in order to help the Cubs build a new spring training (and any Cactus League team seeking to do the same in the future) facility in Mesa, Arizona.  I don't live in Arizona, and I don't go to spring training, so it has no effect on me.

It's just that I can understand why the owners of the other teams in the Cactus League don't really want to charge their fans more to attend games, and therefore risk seeing attendance drop a little bit.

Though that action is a lot closer to reality this morning, opposition or no opposition, as the "Cubs tax" bill was voted on by the Arizona House and it passed by a 35-19 vote on Thursday.  Though some changes have been made to the original bill.

Everybody Be Nice To LeBron Tonight

Thanks to injuries and old fashioned bad play the Bulls find themselves mired in a nine-game losing streak, and two and a half games behind the Toronto Raptors for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.  Two and a half games that may as well be ten the way they've played lately, so the focus is squarely on the summer where the Bulls hope to turn cap space into a superstar on the free agent market.

The biggest prize on the market this summer will be LeBron James, who just so happens to be in town tonight to help the Bulls achieve their first ten-game losing streak since 2002.  Personally, I think the odds that James will be wearing a Bulls jersey next season are just as good as mine, but some of those glass half-full types think differently.

Like the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson, who wants you to be extra nice to James if you attend the game tonight.  Apparently your adulation will be a huge factor in bringing him to town.

Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 3/19/10

I think that's hahahahahahahahah, but who knows really.

Ron Washington Used Marijuana And Amphetamines During Playing Career

On Wednesday afternoon the baseball world received somewhat of a shock when Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington came clean about testing positive for cocaine use in July of 2009. Washington informed MLB, Jon Daniels and Nolan Ryan about his cocaine use before even taking the test, and it seems that Washington's blatant honesty, unlike his cocaine use, wasn't just an isolated incident.

On Thursday Washington revealed that during his playing career, he wasn't exactly unfamiliar with other drugs. Washington admitted to using both marijuana and amphetamines during his ten-year playing career with the Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians and Houston Astros.

Continue reading at FanHouse

James Wisniewski Suspended Eight Games

I'm sure you've seen the video of the hit that James Wisniewski put on Brent Seabrook last night by now -- though if you haven't, why not take a gander -- and as expected, the NHL has come down on Wisniewski pretty hard.

Sure, it may have only been a two-minute minor penalty during the game, but the NHL has suspended Wisniewski for eight games.  Man, that's some good refereeing.

Anyway, this suspension seems about right considering that TSN's Bob MacKenzie pretty much nailed it on the head last night when he said that Wisniewski had hit a "grand slam. Charging, Interference, Boarding and premeditated malice (payback for Perry hit)."

Hopefully Wisniewski can take the time off to reflect and realize what a giant douchebag he is for that hit.  I'm all for playing hockey hard, but what Wizzer did was way over the line.  You want to drop the gloves and fight Seabrook for the hit he put on Corey Perry, go ahead and do it.

You want to just lay him out with a big check?  Fine.  But flying over 60 feet so you can leap into the air and lead with your elbow into his face?  That's somewhat of a dick move.

Stacey King Remix

I first found this on Mouthpiece Sports, though it's been floating around the internet for over a couple days now.  Still, I hadn't posted it here yet, and considering the lineup that the Bulls have been throwing out there the last two nights, I'd much rather watch this video for two and a half hours than the Bulls themselves.

And, as always, you have to admire Stacey King's ability to remain objective during a Bulls game.

Detroit Tigers 2010 Primer

The 2009 season did not end the way the Detroit Tigers had wanted it to. Over the final two months of the season the Tigers saw their division lead over the Minnesota Twins shrink, with the Twins eventually catching up to tie them before beating the Tigers in an epic tiebreaker game.

Instead of going back to the playoffs for the first time since 2006 the Tigers were left to wonder what went wrong.

There are many new faces around the clubhouse this season, and some favorites have left town, but the Tigers are still expected to battle for the AL Central title again in 2010.

Continue reading at FanHouse

Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 3/18/10

Hey look, Ozzie came through for me.  I wasn't able to get a drunken St. Patrick's Day tweet in time for yesterday's post, but Ozzie came through for me yesterday morning.  It's a lovely message that Oz was sending to the masses, though it seems he forgot his one rule about drinking and driving.

It's really bad to do unless you're stuck in traffic.

Barack Is Stealing My Thunder

Yesterday President Barack Obama took some time out of his busy schedule of not getting a health care bill passed, and not doing much of anything to take on the incredibly important task of filling out his NCAA brackets.  It's the second year in a row he's filled one out for ESPN, and last year he did get his national champion pick right when choosing North Carolina.

Which is good news for Kentucky, because the President has the Wildcats winning it all with a final four also including Kansas, Kansas State and Villanova (Kansas loses to UNC in the final).

All of which has me more worried than ever that the government monitors everything we do, because in one of the brackets I have filled out this year, my final four consists of Kansas, Kentucky, Villanova and Syracuse.  Though I do have Kansas beating Kentucky in the final.

Clearly Obama took a look at my bracket, copied it, and then made a few minor changes to cover his tracks.  It's the only logical explanation.

Or it isn't.  Yeah, probably not.  To be honest with you, the only reason I even wrote this post was to present you with a last minute chance to sign up for the Foul Balls March Madness pool.  The games start in a few hours, so if you're looking to fill out another bracket for fun, go ahead and click on this link right here and watch the magic happen.

Or don't.  Less competition for me.

Apparently This Is Only A Two-Minute Charging Penalty

So what if former Blackhawk James Wisniewski skated over 60 feet to get to Brent Seabrook, never went for the puck, made direct contact to the head and left his feet to do so, that's just a two-minute minor for charging.

I know there's a lot of uproar about the NHL and its hits to the head policy, and in Chicago as well, following Alex Ovechkin's hit on Brian Campbell that has knocked him out for two months, but seriously? I'm supposed to believe that is a two-minute minor?

I'm not saying string Wisniewski up, nor am I saying suspend him, but if that's not a five-minute major then just what the hell is?

Blackhawks Only Willing To Commit To The Indian, Not The Goalie

Earlier this week I read a tweet from Big League Stew's Kevin Kaduk in which he basically said that Blackhawks goalie Cristobal Huet is the new Rex Grossman.  He's a good player, but not great, and is prone to making big mistakes at critical times.

He's also the person a lot of Blackhawks fans turn to to place the blame when things are going wrong, whether it's actually Huet's fault or not.

For instance, Huet took a lot of heat for the Blackhawks loss to the Flyers last Saturday afternoon when Philadelphia scored the game-winner with 2.1 seconds left.  The truth of the matter was that Huet played better against Philadelphia that day than I had seen him play in months.

Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 3/17/10

Seeing as how today is St. Patrick's Day, I was hoping that our favorite White Sox manager would have been out getting really drunk last night and tweeting about it, but alas, the only thing we got yesterday was a transparent attempt to get a free room at the Wigwam Casino, and Ozzie's dinner plans (they were sushi, or suchi depending on who's texting).

So I guess we'll just go with this tweet in which Oz was giving his son encouragement by calling him daddy.  So it seems that Spanish isn't Ozzie's best language either.

Hopefully This Is The Only Time Jay Leno Will Be On This Blog

The Chicago Blackhawks are in Los Angeles this week because they have games scheduled against the Kings and Ducks, so while they were in town they decided to stop at a taping of The Tonight Show with The Asshole Who Gave Up The Job And Then Decided He Wanted It Back Because He Only Has More Money Than Everybody But Oprah And Needs More God Damn It.

While I would have preferred to see Brent Seabrook take off his sweater to reveal a shirt that said Team Coco on it and beat the hell out of Leno, I should have expected the hokey shiny medal bit.  It's Leno after all.

Though, at least now we know what's keeping the team from getting back on defense in the third period lately.  Those medals are so shiny and distracting.

Angels Hoping to Fleece The Guinness Book of World Records

There are a lot of teams in baseball who play in cold weather cities, and as a result, when the regular season starts sometimes games are played in less than ideal conditions. Let's not forget an entire series between the Cleveland Indians and Seattle Mariners that was snowed out a few years ago in Cleveland. Well, cold weather in April isn't just limited to the teams in the northeast and midwest.

No, sometimes in sunny, southern California, the temperature can drop to as low as 60 degrees on a spring day. Visitors to the area have long marveled at Californians huddling together like penguins in Antarctica just to share body warmth. These innovative new ways to survive have now been picked up by the Los Angeles Angels who have devised a new way to keep their fans warm, and set a world record at the same time.

Continue reading at FanHouse

Lou Piniella Names His Lead-Off Hitter

And it's Alfonso Soriano!

Okay, no it isn't.  It's Ryan Theriot.  Lou Piniella announced on Monday that when the Cubs start the season in only a few short weeks, Ryan Theriot will be the first man to get an at bat this season as he has won the lead-off spot previously owned by Soriano.

Which is a nice cookie to toss Theriot after he's had to listen to everybody talk about how Starlin Castro should take his starting shortstop job and move him to second base.  Everyone's been so caught up in Castro's exploits this spring that it feels like nobody's noticed that Theriot is hitting .550 with an OPS of 1.259 in Arizona.

"I'm just glad he has the confidence in me to stick me out there and say that," Theriot said. "I feel comfortable at the top of the order, as you guys know. One-two, wherever … One's good. (No. 2) is good. Honestly, just as long as I'm in the lineup. I just can't get him to let me hit fourth or fifth, but I'm working on that. We'll see."

Considering that Aramis Ramirez is hitting .235 while Derrek Lee has a .273 average this spring while battling injuries, that little joke about hitting fourth or fifth may not be all that funny when it happens in a few months.

Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 3/16/10

Couple things wrong in this tweet.  First of all, it's a Chevy Traverse, not Transverse.  Second, I'm not certain, but I'm pretty sure "luck good" isn't a bastardized version of "good luck" but rather a bastardized version of "look good."

So Ozzie went to get his new Chevy Traverse on Monday afternoon, and it has nice wheels so he'll look good this summer.  Unlike his team this spring who got shellacked by the Royals 9-1 last night.

Roster Battles Shaping Up

Coming into the spring there weren't many positions that were up for grabs on the White Sox or Cubs roster, but now that we're a few weeks into camp some are popping up while others are almost settled.

We'll start with the battle to be the starting second baseman for the Cubs.  Going into camp it was between Mike Fontenot and Jeff Baker.  Right now it looks like a good bet that Fontenot will be taking the spot.  Not only is he a left-handed bat, which the Cubs have a severe lack of in their lineup, but he's also just plain out-hitting Baker.

Fontenot went 2-for-3 with a homer to improve his batting average this spring to .474 with 8 RBI in only 19 at bats.  Baker is only hitting .133 with 3 RBI, so barring an injury or an epic slump through the rest of March, Fontenot will be returning to Chicago as the starting second baseman.

Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 3/15/10

You know, Ozzie didn't tweet much over the weekend while he was in Vegas watching his team lose two games to the Cubs.  Which sucks because it leaves my options for Tweet of the Day limited and I end up having to choose tweets like thisssssssssss.

The Sox are playing the Royals but not until 7pm in Arizona, so I guess that leaves Ozzie plenty of time to go golfing this morning, which he's obviously pretty exxxxxxxxxxxxxxcited about.

Cubs Previews At FanHouse

We covered the White Sox on Friday at FanHouse, and today it's the Cubs' turn.  If you're not like me and watching the Blackhawks right now, going over there to read them isn't a bad idea.

First there's the 2010 primer from Matt Snyder, and then Tom Krasovic's story on the team.

Now, if you don't mind me, I'm going back to my television.

The Daniel Cabrera Project Should End Soon

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm going to tell you right from the start of this post that I wasn't even aware that the White Sox had signed Daniel Cabrera and invited him to camp until after spring training had started.  Though when I found out about it, I wasn't upset about it or anything.

Seeing Cabrera pitch while he was in Baltimore it was obvious that the kid had a phenomenal arm, but just didn't have any concept of the strike zone or how to hit his spots.  Still, I thought that maybe a few hours in the bullpen with Don Cooper could help turn Cabrera's career around.

Well, now it's become somewhat obvious that Cabrera is not salvageable.

Jared Mitchell's Season May Be Over

One of the nice surprises of the spring for the White Sox so far this year had been the play of last season's first round draft pick Jared Mitchell.  Mitchell didn't come into camp with a realistic chance of making the roster, but was instead destined for Double-A and Triple-A, but that didn't keep him from making a nice impression on the White Sox staff.

Mitchell was 4-for-9 this spring with four runs driven in, three extra base hits and a stolen base.  He was also playing very good defense in the outfield, and his ability to run down fly balls may have cost him the 2010 season.

Mitchell hurt his ankle while running down a fly ball and hitting the left field wall and had to be carted off the field on Friday.  It turns out that Mitchell has a torn tendon in his left ankle and it's likely he's not going to be able to play this year.

Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 3/13/10

It seems that Ozzie is not a fan of Sean Penn, nor his comments about Hugo Chavez last week.  Penn was on Bill Maher's show on HBO when he said this about Chavez and the way he's portrayed by the American media.

"Every day this elected leader is called a dictator here, and we just accept it and accept it," Penn said. "And this is mainstream media, who should -- truly there should be a bar by which they -- one goes to prison for these kinds of lies."

Yes, well, we'll just let Sean Penn go on about his business thinking that those elections they held were completely on the up and up.  I mean, so Venezuelans who actually have lived in Venezuela and still have family there don't think Chavez is a great guy.

Sean Penn has noticed from his home thousands of miles away in California that things are just fine down there, and he's been in movies before, so we should all probably just take his word for it.

Radio Station Mocks McGwire, Gets Booted From Stadium

Maybe you haven't heard, but new St. Louis Cardinals hitting coach Mark McGwire came forward earlier this year to admit to his steroid use while playing baseball, including the 1998 season in which he broke Roger Maris' single-season home run record. It's an admission that is easy to mock, and Big Mac should probably get used to seeing fans pull quite a few stunts regarding his confession when he's on the road this season.

In fact, it's already started at Roger Dean Stadium, where on Friday a radio station was kicked off the premises for a stunt they were pulling to give away tickets to the game. Outside the stadium Wild 95.5 had set up a life-sized cutout of McGwire and had fans throw "steroid darts" at it...

Continue reading at FanHouse

Denard Span Agrees To Five-Year Extension With The Twins

There's yet another contract extension coming out of Minnesota Twins camp this spring, and once again, it's not for Joe Mauer. No, this extension belongs to center fielder Denard Span who has reportedly agreed to a five-year contract extension with the club. The deal will pay Span $16.5 million over the next five seasons, and includes a club option for $9 million in 2015.

This extension follows the four-year $14 million extension that the Twins gave Nick Blackburn earlier this week, and locks up another one of their up and coming young stars. Span played so well in center for the Twins last season that they had no qualms with trading Carlos Gomez -- the key piece in the Johan Santana trade -- to the Milwaukee Brewers this winter...

Continue reading at FanHouse

Mark Buehrle Is All About Shots

Mark Buehrle is being treated like a porcelain doll this spring, which has caused quite a bit of speculation about his health. Me? I don't think Buehrle's hurting as much as I just believe the White Sox are just being smart.

Maybe you haven't noticed, but over the last few seasons, Buehrle has slowed down at the end of the year. After throwing a perfect game last summer he only picked up one more win over the final two months of the season.

So I don't think he's hurt as much as the Sox are just trying to save as many innings as they can from his left arm. Buehrle probably thinks it's just as obvious as I do, which is why he finds all the questions about his possible injury so amusing.

The Cubs Don't Need No Stinking Cubs Tax

Speaking of Crane Kenney and stupid things, there's some news on the proposed "Cubs tax." If you're not familiar with this tax, the Cubs had plans to help raise money for their new spring training complex by putting an 8% surcharge on all tickets sold in the Cactus League.

Then they couldn't figure out why other teams didn't want to charge their fans more money so the Cubs could build a stadium.

Well, now that they've realized that this whole "Cubs tax" idea isn't going to fly, the Cubs have come out and said that they won't even need it to get the place built. Which only further proves how solid an idea it was in the first place.

The Day Crane Kenney Created A Non-Story

Is it just me or does Cubs president Crane Kenney say a lot of dumb things?

I can't think of any specific examples off the top of my head, but just seem to remember instances when Kenney is talking to the media and either says something stupid, or doesn't say anything wrong but completely goes the wrong way about saying it.

The latest example was on Thursday when Kenney was asked about the future of Lou Piniella. Piniella's in the final year of his contract, and whether or not he'll be returning to the Cubs dugout next season is a popular topic these days. It's also one that Lou and the Cubs would prefer didn't become a distraction this season.

Chicago White Sox 2010 Primer

The 2010 season could turn out to be a pretty interesting one for the Chicago White Sox, as there's really no telling where this team could end up. On paper they appear to have a solid pitching staff, led as always by Mark Buehrle and the two youngsters Gavin Floyd and John Danks, but this year they're going to have Jake Peavy as well.

The question is, even if the White Sox pitching staff manages to hold their opponents to one run a game, are they going to be able to score the two runs they'll to win the game? It's an interesting experiment taking place on the south side of Chicago as the station-to-station, home run-or-bust team we're accustomed to seeing tries to morph into a team built on speed and defense.

The only thing we know for sure about the White Sox in 2010 is that Ozzie Guillen is still the manager, and no matter what happens, he'll be providing some great quotes...

Continue reading at FanHouse

Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 3/12/10

You know, so far I've been pretty successful when trying to translate Ozzie's tweets, but I've got to admit that I have absolutely no idea what the hell he's talking about here.  Still, it's the only tweet the man made yesterday and he hasn't tweeted this morning, so it didn't have much competition.

Maybe if Kenny Williams and the White Sox would let Ozzie start that website he was thinking about, he'd explain it to us.  Speaking of Kenny, today at FanHouse we're looking at the White Sox in our daily season previews and while I'll link to my primer when it goes up there's also this nice story on Kenny written by Jeff Fletcher.

You should read it while you wait for mine.

No More Milton Bradley

Over the last two days there was a whole hell of a lot of talk about Milton Bradley in the Chicago area.  It all started when Bradley blamed his struggles in Chicago on the city itself.  It wasn't that Milton couldn't hit a baseball while he was in town, it was that the racists in the bleachers wouldn't let him hit a baseball while he was in town.

As you'd expect, members of the Cubs reacted negatively to these accusations, including Jim Hendry himself who told Bradley he needed to "look in the mirror."

It was all very junior high, and I'm sick of it.  From this day forth I'm not going to write another word about Milton Bradley unless it has something to do with his performance on the baseball field.  If it's another war of words between Bradley and the Cubs, I'm ignoring it.

I just don't care anymore. 

Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 3/11/10

No, Ozzie!  Drinking and driving is bad!

Now at first this tweet seems confusing, which isn't what we'd expect from Chicago's favorite manager, but it's somewhat out of context.  You see, in previous tweets Ozzie was complaining about the traffic in Arizona.

Saying things like "I hate the trafic I arizona aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" and "This is crazy I thought the gas cost a lot money to many car lord" or "Big reazon to love my boat no trafic in the ocean."

Yes Ozzie has a boat, he's even got a nautical-themed pashmina afghan.  Sometimes he even rides on dolphins, doing flips and shit.

But yesterday Ozzie was stuck in traffic dreaming of the open seas.  And open bottles of cold beer in his hands while he waded through it.  Now the problem here is that you're not supposed to tweet about the fact your drinking and driving.  You just do it.

Advertising it will only lead to trouble, kids.  Remember, the more you know...