Results tagged ‘ Koyie Hill ’
12/16 Come have lunch with Cubs
Mike Quade will headline the fourth annual Cubs Caravan luncheon on Jan. 12. The event will be held at Harry Caray’s Italian Steakhouse, 33 W. Kinzie Street, Chicago from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. CT. Players expected to attend with Quade include Andrew Cashner, Koyie Hill, Sean Marshall, James Russell and Randy Wells.
Tickets are $100 each and include a buffet lunch and the opportunity to sit at a table with a Cubs player, coach or member of the front office staff. Cubs television announcer Len Kasper will emcee the event. Proceeds will benefit Chicago Cubs Charities. Tickets are available for purchase beginning Friday at 10 a.m. CT by calling (773) 404-2827. Space is limited to 120 guests. Players and personnel appearing at the luncheon are subject to change.
The caravan precedes the annual Cubs Convention, to be held Jan. 14-16.
– Carrie Muskat
12/10 Celebrating Santo
It was an impressive turnout Friday at Ron Santo’s funeral at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago. Among the guests to pay respects to the broadcaster and third baseman were Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Fergie Jenkins and Billy Williams, as well as Glenn Beckert and Randy Hundley. The casket was first escorted up the steps of the church by Cubs traveling secretary Jimmy Bank, WGN Radio engineer Matt Boltz, and some of Santo’s radio partners, including Andy Masur, Cory Provus and Judd Sirott.
“It was our last pregame show together,” said Masur, now a broadcaster with the Padres.
Pat Hughes, who was Santo’s partner for 15 seasons on WGN Radio delivered a tribute as did Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig and Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts.
“Ron was the fans’ broadcaster — he was the fan in the booth,” Ricketts said.
Others at the service included Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, and broadcasters Gary Matthews, Thom Brennaman, Len Kasper, and Bob Brenly. Several Cubs players, past and present, were, including Ryan Dempster, Kerry Wood, Sean Marshall, Koyie Hill, Tom Gorzelanny, Justin Berg, Ted Lilly, Kevin Orie, Dave Otto and Scott Sanderson. Cubs manager Mike Quade, general manager Jim Hendry and the rest of the team’s front office also were present to pay respects.
“He’s the No. 1 Cubs fan ever,” Hughes said.
Santo got one last look at Wrigley Field as the funeral procession did a lap of the ballpark.
– Carrie Muskat
12/2 Baker signs 1-year deal
The Cubs and Jeff Baker avoided arbitration, and the infielder signed a one-year, $1.175 million deal on Thursday. Baker was one of six Cubs who are arbitration eligible. The team will tender contracts to the other five: Geovany Soto, Tom Gorzelanny, Koyie Hill, Sean Marshall and Carlos Marmol. As of now, Baker is listed on the depth chart at first base.
– Carrie Muskat
11/29 Postcard from Boca Chica
At the Cubs’ academy in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic, fans were treated to pitching tips from Sean Marshall and Koyie Hill and some advice on hitting from Hall of Famer Billy Williams. At the end of the session, Billy even got into the batting cage to take a few swings — and he was still able to line the ball to right field with one of the prettiest swings you’ll ever see. He’s still got it.
– Carrie Muskat
9/22 Interview process
The Cubs are 18-8 since Mike Quade took over as manager following Wednesday’s win over the Giants. Cubs GM Jim Hendry was in Arizona this week to interview Ryne Sandberg for the manager’s job. Quade also is a candidate.
“I think he’s doing a pretty good job,” Cubs catcher Koyie Hill said of Quade. “If he doesn’t get [the job] — and it’s not the players’ choice — I feel like he’s giving it a pretty good effort. The guys in the clubhouse enjoy playing for him. We just play. When it comes down to it, we’re just fortunate to play for anybody.”
It’s been fun for the Cubs to come to the ballpark lately.
“It could be miserable,” Hill said. “Guys have showed a lot of class and a lot of heart and it’s been fun to come to the ballpark in the last six weeks.”
The Cubs have had a lot of roster turnover since Opening Day following trades, injuries. It’s a happy clubhouse.
“Veteran guys don’t always enjoy young guys coming up and getting in the way of their routines and things like that,” Hill said, “but this time, [the kids] have brought a lot of energy. It’s fun to sit back, like the last game we had in Miami [Sunday] to watch the guys and their enthusiasm. It’s fun to see guys run balls out and chase foul balls. It’s a good little pick me up. I think everybody is feeling good about the way we’re going about our business. It’s that something we were looking for earlier. We all thought as soon as we won a couple games, we’d get rolling and it just happened that way at the end of August and in September.”
– Carrie Muskat
9/21 Cubs lineup vs Giants
Koyie Hill is behind the plate for Tuesday’s game against the Giants, which kicks off the Cubs’ last homestand of 2010. Carlos Zambrano is 6-0 with a 1.37 ERA in his last seven starts dating to Aug. 14. Here’s the lineup:
2B DeWitt
SS Castro
CF Byrd
3B Ramirez
1B Nady
RF Fukudome
LF Soriano
C Hill
P Zambrano
– Carrie Muskat
9/5 Ramirez hurt; Hill steps in
Aramis Ramirez had to leave Sunday’s game with some soreness in his right quad. He will be re-evaluated on Monday. Before exiting, Ramirez notched his 1,600th career hit with an RBI single in the first inning and picked up No. 1,601 with a two-run homer in the third. Ramirez, 32, recorded his 25th multi-hit game of the season and now has hit safely in 10 of his last 16 games.
With Ramirez hurt, Cubs manager Mike Quade inserted backup catcher Koyie Hill at third in the ninth. It’s the second time in Hill’s pro career he has played there, also getting an inning at third on April 30, 2009, against Florida. Hill and Quade had a little discussion in the dugout before he took the field.
“I was trying to talk my way into playing center [field],” Hill said. “[Quade] asked if I wanted to play second or third, and I said, ‘Center field.’ He said, ‘Second or third,’ and I said, ‘Pitcher.’ He said, ‘Second or third,’ and I said, ‘Second,’ and he sent me to third.”
– Carrie Muskat
8/31 Lineup vs Pirates
Blake DeWitt is back in the Cubs lineup Tuesday night in Game 2 vs. the Pirates. No Geovany Soto — he’s getting an extra day to rest his sore right knee. Here’s the lineup:
2B DeWitt
SS Castro
CF Byrd
3B Ramirez
1B Nady
LF Soriano
RF Colvin
C Hill
P Dempster
– Carrie Muskat
8/30 Soto/MRI update
An MRI of Cubs catcher Geovany Soto’s right knee revealed no structural damage and his status was day to day. There was some minor swelling and Soto will be re-evaluated on Tuesday. Soto doubled on Sunday against the Reds and stayed in the game, but apparently woke up Monday with some discomfort. Koyie Hill started at catcher Monday night. Teams can expand their rosters on Wednesday, Sept. 1, and the Cubs most likely will call up another catcher.
– Carrie Muskat
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