Results tagged ‘ Rick Sutcliffe ’
11/6 Cubs search for color man
According to Comcast SportsNet Chicago, the Cubs will begin interviews this week with five contenders for the TV analyst job as they search for a replacement for Bob Brenly. The list includes Dan Plesac, Rick Sutcliffe, Eric Karros, Todd Hollandsworth and Gary Matthews. Plesac was a pre and post-game analyst for Comcast SportsNet before joining MLB Network. He also played for the Cubs in 1993 and ’94. Sutcliffe, another former Cubs pitcher, is under contract for one more year with ESPN.
Karros, played for the Cubs in 2003, was approached for the WGN Radio color job after Ron Santo died in December 2010. Hollandsworth is the current pre and post-game analyst on Comcast SportsNet Chicago. He has filled in for Brenly before. Matthews is currently a color commentator for the Phillies broadcasts. “Sarge” played for the Cubs from 1984-87 and was a member of Dusty Baker’s coaching staff from 2003-06. Brenly left to join the Diamondbacks TV broadcast team.
– Carrie Muskat
2/29 Lopez, the Cubs’ baby-faced assasin
Rodrigo Lopez is happy to be reunited with Rick Sutcliffe. The two were together with the Padres when Lopez was pitching in rookie ball and Sutcliffe was the pitching coach.
“He’s been like a son to me,” Sutcliffe said Wednesday. “I call him a baby-faced assasin. I heard it said a long time ago, Walter Alston said, ‘I can win with that guy,’ and ‘Lopey’ is that guy. Whatever you need — he’ll start, he’ll relieve, he’ll close. He’s not afraid of anything.”
Sutcliffe did make some minor changes with Lopez’s grip.
“I put him back where he was when I saw him there [with the Padres],” Sutcliffe said.
Lopez is 36 but looks young. He looked even younger in rookie ball.
“I said, ‘People look at you and they’re not sure if you’re tough or not,’” Sutcliffe said, “so I told him I wanted him to hit somebody, and he hit three people in a row. He got two outs and he hit three of them, and I said, ‘Whoa, I got it.’”
– Carrie Muskat
12/16 Kerry Wood fundraiser Jan. 13
Kerry Wood will kick off the Cubs Convention with “Woody’s Winter Warm-Up,” a celebrity mixer, on Jan. 13 from 8:30-11:30 p.m. CT at Harry Caray’s Tavern on Navy Pier. Wood will be joined by friends, teammates and baseball legends behind the bar to serve drinks and food to fans — and compete for tips — to raise money for the Wood Family Foundation. Players who will take part include Marlon Byrd, Matt Garza, Sean Marshall, Andrew Cashner, Geovany Soto, Starlin Castro, Ryan Dempster, Randy Wells, Welington Castillo, Darwin Barney, James Russell and legends Ernie Banks & Rick Sutcliffe. The event will include “meet and greet” opportunities with Cubs players, a premium open bar, a dinner buffet, auction and raffle. All proceeds benefit the foundation. Plus, there will also be a special acoustic performance by the Plain White T’s.
Tickets are $150 per person, or fans can reserve a booth for four people for $1,000, which includes tableside cocktail service. Parking is available for $10 after 5 p.m. CT at the Navy Pier Garage. For additional information or ticket sales, visit www.woodfamilyfoundation.org.
– Carrie Muskat
3/11 How many home openers have you gone to?
Where were you on April 4, 1994? That’s the day Tuffy Rhodes led off the first inning of the Cubs home opener with a homer, connecting off Dwight Gooden, then hit another in the third, also off Gooden, and another blast leading off the fifth, again off Doc. That wasn’t enough, as the Mets topped the Cubs, 12-8, in the season opener.
How about April 4, 1989? In that home opener, Andre Dawson backed Rick Sutcliffe with a two-run homer in the fourth to lead the Cubs to a 5-4 victory over the Phillies.
Or, do you recall the April 9, 1982, game when Fergie Jenkins and Lee Smith combined on a six-hit shutout in a 5-0 victory over the Mets?
We’re looking for fans who have dutifully attended Cubs home openers several years in a row, and are willing to share some stories about how special Opening Day at Wrigley Field is. Send a note to CubsInbox@gmail.com, and include your name and email address and some details.
– Carrie Muskat
1/12 Cubs radio update
The Cubs and WGN Radio will not announce Ron Santo’s replacement as color analyst at the weekend Cubs Convention. Interviews are currently being conducted and an announcement was expected sometime before Spring Training games begin.
Santo died Dec. 3 at the age of 70. The Cubs will celebrate him during the Convention in a seminar called “Remembering Ronnie,” to be held Saturday at the Hilton Chicago. Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Fergie Jenkins plus Glenn Beckert, Randy Hundley, Milt Pappas and Jose Cardenal will share some of stories about their teammate.
Who will take over for Santo? It most likely will not be Mark Grace or Rick Sutcliffe, two fan favorites. Grace is currently an analyst for the Diamondbacks and does work for FOX TV, while Sutcliffe signed a new contract with ESPN. The Cubs and WGN Radio are looking for a former Cubs player to do the job, but they want someone who can commit to the full 162-game schedule.
– Carrie Muskat
8/8 Lineup vs Reds
Blake DeWitt and Tyler Colvin were given the day off Sunday in the Cubs’ series finale against the Reds. Also, Geovany Soto is getting one more day off to nurse a mild ligament sprain in his right shoulder. And, Rick Sutcliffe will handle the seventh inning stretch duties. Here’s the lineup:
SS Castro
2B Baker
1B Lee
3B Ramirez
CF Byrd
LF Soriano
RF Nady
C Hill
P Diamond
– Carrie Muskat
3/5 No Vegas for Lou
Lou Piniella says he’ll skip the Cubs trip to Las Vegas March 12-13 against the White Sox. Piniella’s wife Anita is in town and was leaving March 14. The Cubs have split squad games both days, so Piniella will watch the half that stays back in Arizona.
Former Cubs pitcher Rick Sutcliffe, who has been a guest coach as well as providing some comic relief, was asked if he would make the road trip.
“I said, ‘Do you want to go to Vegas?’ He said, ‘I haven’t tried on a gray uniform in a few years,’” Piniella said of Sutcliffe, who never made a road trip in Spring Training when he pitched for the Cubs.
It’s one thing to ride the bus two hours from Mesa to Tucson and another to go to Vegas for 24 hours.
“We haven’t talked about Vegas,” Sutcliffe said. “I would go to Vegas to hang with you and Ozzie [Guillen].”
Instead, bench coach Alan Trammell will be the Cubs’ acting manager. On Saturday, Piniella and Guillen will meet for the first of five games between the intracity rivals.
“Maybe he can show me how to Twitter a little bit,” Piniella said.
– Carrie Muskat
3/4 Cubs notebook
Even though the Cubs will be at home Saturday and Sunday at HoHoKam Park, they will use a designated hitter because the visiting clubs requested it.
“It’s good for us in a way because we can get [Xavier] Nady in there and get him some at-bats,” Lou Piniella said of the outfielder, who is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.
Nady was expected to start at DH either Saturday or Sunday. Alfonso Soriano was expected to start in left field on Saturday.
* Kevin Millar will likely play first base and left field this spring for the Cubs.
* David Patton, the Cubs’ Rule 5 pick a year ago, will most likely start at Double-A Tennessee this year.
“That’s been the scuttlebutt as to where he’ll end up,” Piniella said of the right-hander. “Remember this kid was out of [Class A] ball. Basically the whole time he was here, we were a first place team or battling for first place. It wasn’t easy on him. He made it through the whole summer and now we have him in our system.”
* Former Cubs pitcher Rick Sutcliffe showed up Thursday.
“I heard you were looking for a veteran starting pitcher,” Sutcliffe said to Piniella. “Where’s [Greg] Maddux at?”
Maddux actually has returned home, but will rejoin the Cubs after their trip to Las Vegas on March 13.
– Carrie Muskat
12/7 Koyie Hill got his wish
Koyie Hill’s Big Wish event Saturday in Wichita, Kan., was a huge success, and the Make-A-Wish foundation estimates they raised between $180,000 to $210,000. Cubs players who attended included Ryan Dempster, Mike Fontenot, Randy Wells and Rick Sutcliffe. Thanks to all who participated.
– Carrie Muskat
4/13 Opening notes
There was a moment of silence before Monday’s Cubs-Rockies game in honor of Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas. Kalas died Monday prior to the Phillies game against the Nationals. WGN Radio’s Pat Hughes was saddened at Kalas’ passing.
“I just loved the guy,” Hughes said. “He was somebody I admired as a young man growing up trying to get into the business. I was struck by his voice and how clear and strong it was. Then I realized beyond that, he was really a great announcer. He knew what he was talking about.
“He could build the drama in a game,” Hughes said. “I loved his call of Mike Schmidt’s 500th home run. I loved hearing him do the voiceovers on NFL Films. It was a voice I never got tired of hearing. Everytime I heard it, it sounded fresh and vibrant and good.”
* Rick Sutcliffe threw out the ceremonial first pitch to his former catcher, Jody Davis, who is now a Minor League instructor for the Cubs.
* Milton Bradley, sidelined with a strained right groin, did not take part in the player introductions for the home opener.
– Carrie Muskat
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