Two Cubs have already reported to Mesa, Arizona to get a head start, Carlos Zambrano and Kevin Millar. The rest of the team will report on February 17, which is just ten days away!
Derrek Lee joined the MLB Network's Hot Stove last week on Tuesday:
- Lee talked about how tough it is to get on the NL All Star teams a first baseman because of the masses of first base talent.
- D-Lee thinks the main thing reporting to Spring Training is to not get too far ahead of yourself.
- Theriot and Kosuke will hit in front of Lee in the batting order.
- He talked a little bit about his daughter's situation and Project 3000. You can go to firsttouch.org for more info!
Ryan Dempster joined Chicago Tribune Live on Wednesday:
- Demp has been watching a lot of hockey lately.
- Blackhawk's defenseman Duncan Keith thinks Demp could score a goal in the NHL.
- Ryan is really excited about the Blackhawks and the Olympics coming up.
- He thinks the Hawks are a Stanley Cup title contender.
- Dempster went to a Bulls game in the past dressed as Kirk Heinrich.
- Of Hawks and Bulls talk in the first segment, the guys finally turned to the Cubs. Dempster cannot believe that this is going to be his seventh year with the Cubs. "Time flies," he said.
- He thinks the Cubs had a good team on paper in 2009, but they just had an off year.
- This year, the team plans to be right back where they were in 2007 and 2008.
- Dempster thinks that starting pitchers could go a lot deeper into games than they are allowed to at times.
- A lot of different thinks contributed to the struggles of Milton Bradley in Chicago.
- The 2010 Cubs will start fresh and just go forward from there.
- Ryan thinks that if the Cubs win the World Series, players will have to be air lifted out of Wrigley Field.
- He is humbled an honored to know that he has played in Chicago for seven years.
- Demp would like to believe that the game is totally clean, but there could always be something going on that we don't even know about yet.
- Ryan loves Lou Piniella as a manger and has a great relationship with him. He has a lot of baseball knowledge and is fun to talk ball with.
- Dempster will be honored at the 22nd annual Comcast Sports Net awards on Thursday (February 11).
- Having Riley (his daughter) in his life has really changed Ryan's life. Dempster says he is lucky to have his wife. The way Riley fights on a daily basis makes Ryan want to be an even better baseball player.
- Going public with his daughter's disease could help Riley and many other children.
- Cubs first baseman Kevin Millar called in live to the show to say hi to Dempster and Chuck (the host who was filling in for Kaplan. Millar has been staying in shape, and is hoping to take Dempster deep in inter-squad games.
- Kevin says that the big thing with getting over a curse (like he did in Boston, and will hopefully do in Chicago in 2010) is the team coming together and not believing in any of "that".
- The 2003 and 2004 Red Sox were normal guys who didn't listen to any of the negative stuff.
- Millar and Dempster are like brothers. They played together with the Florida Marlins.
- Kevin thinks Chicago is one of the greatest cities ever, and is looking forward to the challenges of trying to break the curse.
- Dempster called Millar "one of the greatest teammates he's had".
- In 2008, when Dempster guaranteed the Cubs would win the World Series, Millar replied by guaranteeing his team, the Orioles would win the World Series.
Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry is a Colts fan, while assistant GM Randy Bush roots on the Saints. Hendry will be in attendance for tonight's game in South Florida.
More Cubs stuff tomorrow!
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