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Ryno Says Bye-Bye
Sandberg Leaves Cubs After Quade Gets Job
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
Well, we probably knew this was coming, but we're still bummed: Ryne Sandberg has left the Cubs' organization. The team picked Mike Quade to be the manager, and Sandberg apparently decided it was too painful to return to Des Moines and manage the Iowa Cubs. So he said "I'm leaving" and he's gone daddy gone. The Cubs think it was all-or-nothing for Sandberg, who managed in the minors for four years: "I don't think that was ever in his plans, to be in the minor leagues after this year," GM Jim Hendry said.
Chicago Sun-Times: For now, he's Ry-no
Chicago Tribune: Sandberg makes it official; he's leaving Cubs
ESPN Chicago: Ryne Sandberg leaves Cubs
Praising Arizona
Mesa Votes to Fund Cubs' Spring Training Site
The Cubs have been playing baseball in Arizona for ages, but the team might have headed to Florida if Mesa voters had voted down Proposition 420. Thankfully, about 63 percent of the voters approved the measure to help fund the team's upcoming massive entertainment complex. It will include a water park, restaurants, a hotel, and more. And the team is psyched about the results: "We're super-pumped about saying in Mesa," owner Todd Ricketts said. "We're happy they want us to come back, because we wanted to come back."
CSN Chicago: Winning over voters, Cubs staying in Mesa
Crain's: Cubs win! Cubs win! Voters approve funding in Arizona
Undercover Brother
Our Chat with Cubs Owner Todd Ricketts
Cubs owner Todd Ricketts heard the whispers about his upcoming appearance on this Sunday night's episode of CBS' "Undercover Boss." He knows some people think the owners should be working to improve the team, not starring on network TV. His response: "Yes, I am left-handed, but my fastball isn't what it used to be. So I wouldn't have been much help to the team anyway," he says. Ricketts also reveals why he's optimistic about the team, where he's been fired from before, and why he wanted to look like Tom Selleck.
Read the Todd Ricketts interview on the Cubs Fan Report blog
Who's on First?
Blog: Vitters Should Platoon at First Base
As the San Francisco Giants just proved, you don't need an Albert Pujols-caliber stud to win it all. But the Cubs do need someone at first base. Cubbies Crib says the team should abandon the Tyler Colvin thoughts and give third-base prospect Josh Vitters a try. Yes, Vitters hasn't yet proven he's all that. But he's got 11 RBIs in 13 games in the Arizona Fall League, and he's struck out a mere six times. So instead of spending big money on Adam Dunn, the Crib recommends a platoon of the cheaper Aubrey Huff and Vitters. Hmmm....
Cubbies Crib: What they need, what they have
The Shin Hits the Fan
Phenom Jackson Goes Down with Leg Injury
File this under "You've got to be effin' kidding me": Phenom prospect Brett Jackson is done for the rest of the winter season with a shin injury, suffering a bacterial infection that became cellulitis and required hospitalization. Between this and Tyler Colvin's freak bat stabbage, the Cubs are truly snakebitten when it comes to bizarre injuries. Here's hoping Jackson fully recovers, because he looks like a great prospect. The outfielder was one of the stars of the US Pan Am team, going six-for-nine with a homer and six RBIs in three games.
MLB: Infection sidelines prospect Jackson for year
The Cubs have finalized their coaching staff: Pat Listach will be Mike Quade's bench coach, with Dave Keller as Major League staff assistant... To no one's surprise, Aramis Ramirez has declined free agency and will return to the Cubs next year... Want to toss the pigskin around on the Wrigley Field grass? Here's your chance... Harry Caray's CEO Grant DePorter, famous for blowing up the "Bartman ball," bought Sammy Sosa's corked bat... Are you a Derrick Rose and Chicago Bulls fan? If so, please sign up for the new Bulls Fan Report. You could win an autographed Derrick Rose basketball and photo just by signing up!
"If I could say one thing to Ryno on his way out the door, I'd say, 'Thank you.'"
-Stephan Hall
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