The Cubs Chronicle

I’ve added a few new links to the left: GoCubs.org, which I previously noted was offering Cubs fans free e-mail, now has a blog (the free e-mail remains); and Cubs Kingdom, a Cubs message board; and Eamus Catuli, another new member of the Cubs Blog Army.

In Cubs news, in an article mostly about Mark Prior’s achilles heel problem (which he’s apparently had since September; my wife is a physical therapist, and she informs me that with proper care and rest this should have been fixed by now), the Chicago Tribune’s Paul Sullivan reports: “General manager Jim Hendry said reliever Mike Remlinger, rehabbing slowly from off-season shoulder surgery, is 50-50 to start the season with the team.” Kent Mercker appears confident that he’ll be ready to go after having some back problems, but if Remlinger can’t break with the team, there’s a second spot open in the bullpen. The Cubs will likely want a lefty, and “Baker mentioned lefties Carlos Vasquez, Renyel Pinto, Felix Sanchez and Jimmy Anderson as possible candidates.” Please, no Jimmy Anderson. And given Remlinger’s significant reverse-split, there would be no harm in going with a righty like Francis Beltran.

Going back into the Cubs past, here’s a link to an interview with author Howard Rosenberg on Chicago Public Radio discussing Cap Anson’s taking the Cubs south for spring training before it became the thing to do. Rosenberg is the author of Cap Anson 1: When Captaining a Team Meant Something: Leadership in Baseball’s Early Years, which I haven’t read, but appears interesting.

Finally, as Aisle 528 and Al Yellon have noted, the number of tickets the Cubs have sold already is just absurd.