5) He was a dual - sport athlete. Apparently Sandberg was recruited to play quarterback by several NCAA division I schools and actually signed a letter of intent for Washington State University. As we all know ( and thank God for it ), he chose to play baseball instead after he was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies.

4) His nephew, Jared, played some third base for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, hitting 18 home runs in 102 games.

3) Ryno’s last game at Wrigley was also the last time Harry Caray sang “Take me out the the ballgame”, as Caray passed away during the offseason.

2) He was a former baseball columnist for Yahoo sports and an ESPN Radio 1000 analyst during the 2004 season.

1) During the search for a managerial replacement for Dusty Baker this offseason, Sandberg actually met with Jim Hendry for dinner to lobby for the position. Lou
Piniella was hired instead as Sandberg was a long-shot, but Ryno was offered and accepted the position with the Peoria Chiefs ( the Cub’s Class A farm team ).

I’ve never been a Mark McGwire fan, and today’s episode of Cubscast just cemented it for me. Now I truly understand why I never cared for him. The hosts of Cubscasts ( an excellent podcast, by the way ) were pondering the fate of McGwire, and one of the hosts, probably Sneetch, brought up the point that the former Cardinals home run king went over ten years without hitting a triple. Ten years!! He then immediately declared that no way would he ever cast a hall of fame vote for a guy who spanned ten years without a triple. I couldn’t help laughing out loud at that one and then it dawned on me why I really disliked McGwire so much.

Are you kidding me? Ten years? I have long held a strong aversion to super jocks who appear as if they are major league baseball players BUT in actuality are only softball players. I’m serious .. softball players. Its ALL about the long ball. Softball players swing for the fence each at bat and ease into second if they mess up and hit a double. Maybe they’ll trot down to first if they accidentally hit a single or turn slowly back into the dugout if they flyout.

Mark McGwire is a major league “softball player” in the mold of Pete Incaviglia or Rob Deer. He just happened to juice up a little more so that his drives to the outfield carried further. Even Sammy Sosa ( who isn’t my favorite player either ) had more tools .. he had the speed and athleticism to at least hit a triple once in awhile.

Andre Dawson, who hit his home runs “the natural way”, deserves to be in the hall of fame. He’s got my vote !

7 - He’s not being asked to switch positions. Well, sort of. There’s talk about him moving to center or right field. But hey, he’s an All Star outfielder now. He’s stoked. Besides he sucked at second ( averaged 21 errors per season ).

6 - He’s playing in the friendly confines. What more can you ask for ? Wrigley field is hands-down the best field in baseball.

5 - He gets to wear a little cubby bear on his sleeve. I’m not sure its a good thing, because really — how intimidating do you feel as a hitter with the pretty little icon on your uniform? But hey, he’s a Cub .. life is good.

4 - Soriano’s going to be a legitimate lead - off hitter with pop! Kinduv like Ricky Henderson — with a larger strike zone.

3 - He gets to play for a team that actually has a fan base! There’s legions of Chicago Cubs fans spread across the world.. Do the Nationals have enough fans to fill their stadium ?

2 - Angel Soriano, Alfonso’s son was born earlier this year .. that’s gotta put a little extra bounce in his step.

1 - Um, that $136 million contract.

Unlike past years, when we’ve won ( or at least thought we’d win ) on the strength of our pitching, this year is different. The Cubs, once again, are going to be a lopsided team. Only this time, the batting lineup is going to have to carry us.

Pray for someone on the pitching staff to step up, because after Carlos Zambrano, we’ve got two very average and very overpaid veterans in Lily and Marquis, injury question marks in Prior and Wood, and then the 2nd year players who are still unproven.

These second year arms, I believe, is where the fate of the 2007 Cubs is going to lie. Hopefully, one or two of them will have a break out season … I really liked Marmol last year — he came up with what I thought looked like a live arm and a lot of composure. His stats at the end of the season, though, surprised me. 5-7 with a 6.08 ERA? I guess he had some good outings mixed with some where he got shelled.

Maybe this year will be different .. although I seem to remember hearing that Soriano is somewhat of a free swinger as well..

What happened ? He’s out of the majors ?  How is my fantasy team going to make it without him…  Looks like our favorite utilityman Jerry Hairston, Jr. has agreed to a minor league contract with the Rangers.  I wonder if he’ll make it back …

Speaking of former light-hitting middle infielders, Neifi only hit .179 in 39 games with the Tigers and he’s still in the majors ..

I saw a clip once of him jerking his head back and forth while spitting profanities at a blank-faced umpire. And A-Rod and Palmeiro laughing at him from the opposing dugout…

Now picture Lou’s fury in a Cubs uniform doing the same two-year-old tantrum. Do we really want to see him throw bases around Wrigley. Do we really think we can win with this guy? Have you seen his career record ? Its just hanging around .500. I’m not convinced…