Soul Power: Cubs Take Advantage of Gusty Day to Club Four Homers

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Two days ago, the Cubs couldn't do anything on offense, despite the wind blowing out. Yesterday, however, was a different story, as the Cubs went mad with power and Fukudome, Soto, Byrd, and Soriano all jacked homers in yesterday's 11-5 win. Randy Wells allowed five runs in six innings but got the win, and Big Z had an adventurous, but ultimately effective, eighth inning in relief. Essentially, it was a solid win — except for the fact that the .152-batting Aramis Ramirez went 0-4 and seems like he couldn't make contact if he were swinging a tennis racquet.

Chicago Sun-Times: Late April Power
Daily Herald: Cubs turn on the power, end three-game skid
MLB: Cubs provide Piniella offense he asked for

I Saw the Sign: Tom Ricketts Not Pleased About Opposition to Toyota Placard
Cubs' head honcho Tom Ricketts met with the Trib's editorial board Friday and apparently the Toyota sign in left field got his blood boiling. The affable Ricketts showed some surprising fire by saying the move might affect his future investments around Wrigley Field. "I have a lot of other dollars that can be invested in Wrigleyville, or not," Ricketts said. Opposition to the sign is largely spearheaded by one of the rooftop owners, and as Agony & Ivy notes, "the rooftops are not 'mom-and-pop operations.' They are sophisticated, deep-pocketed businesses that profit largely from a product that they do not produce."

Chicago Tribune: Chicago Cubs chairman riled about foes playing hardball...
Agony & Ivy: Ricketts fires back

Razing Arizona: Are the Cubs Migrating from Mesa?
So the Arizona legislature adjourned Thursday without passing the legislation that would keep the Cubs in the Grand Canyon State. That doesn't mean, however, that the Cubs are headed to Florida, which is macking on the team like a teenaged boy on a Swedish exchange student. The Cubs pull in the most fans of any team in Arizona, and Naples, Fla., is slicking back its hair and dousing itself with Axe Body Spray, hoping to lure the Cubs to the Sunshine State. We're thinking Arizona will keep the Cubs, but we'll see...

Chicago Sun-Times: Fla. could swipe Cubs training from Ariz.
Chicago Tribune: New spring ballpark for Cubs hits snag
Tales from Aisle 424: Arizona legislature treating Cubs like an immigrant...

Hot Dog! Only Fenway Faithful Will Wolf More Wieners Than Cubs Fans
Cubs fans will chow more than 1.5 million hot dogs this year, estimates the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council. Who even knew there was such a thing? Only Red Sox fans, who are expected to snarf 1.7 million dogs, best the Cubs when it comes to hot dog eating. Take pride, Cubs fans! Meanwhile, Scoreboard Gourmet drops some hot dog–related knowledge on us, such as: a typical hot dog vendor sells about 150 hot dogs per game and walks an average of four to five miles each game. Interesting.

Chicago Sun-Times: Fenway, Wrigley rank 1-2 in the hot dog standings
Scoreboard Gourmet: Hot dog facts, in and around the ballpark

Cubs' Song Video: Something So Wrong, It's Almost Right. Almost.
Remember Tay Zonday's tune "Chocolate Rain," a song that's so awesomely bad that you couldn't help but marvel at its awesome badness? Well, check out this tune, "Cubs Fans Are Crazy." In it, a dude with dreads drops some rhymes that make Vanilla Ice sound like vintage Chuck D. At one point, our besotted friend raps (kind of), "Where's the goat? Where's the goat? Grab a rope, grab a rope." Is this bad/awful-bad, or so-good-it's-bad? We're still deciding.

YouTube: Chicago Cubs tribute original song "Cubs Fans Are Crazy" [video]

Today's Report by Joel Reese

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