Clevenger scores big

I don't know about you, but Tony Campana going down to Steve Clevenger yesterday throws off my whole bracket in the Cubs Bunting Madness Tournament. I'm going to need strong performances by Dempster and Barney to get back into this thing. Yesterday's anticipated Campana/Clevenger match was the final contest of the day out on Fitch Park's back half diamond. With music pounding out of the Cubs weight room, apparently Clevenger had his "mind on his money and money on his mind" as Snoop Dogg's Gin and Juice played while most of the players and coaches watched the catcher put up a monster score. Perhaps Campana may have been over-confident going into the match, judging by some earlier comments claiming himself to be one of the favorites. A couple interesting upcoming matches include Manager Sveum vs Kerry Wood and Darwin Barney vs Bobby Scales.

After watching the bunting yesterday I headed up to Scottsdale to check out the Spring Training Festival, talk about perfect weather - 79 degrees, a slight breeze and abundant sunshine! This was the first Spring Training Festival and it wasn't overly crowded, at least while I was there. Lots of good food, music, and plenty of baseball related activities. Cubs Hall of Fame pitcher Fergie Jenkins was there raising money for his foundation along with some of his Hall of Fame pals. Susie Steckner was signing copies of her new book about the Cactus League, more detail on the book tomorrow. The museum exhibit Play Ball the Cactus League Experience was on display (at least a portion of it), with great artifacts and photos of baseball history in Arizona. However the highlight of the festival for me had to be when 76 year old former major league pitcher Jim (Mudcat) Grant stepped in with Dennis Rowland's band and sang a blues tune. Here is a BOS Exclusive, Mudcat singing at the Spring Training Festival yesterday.



Only one week until the Cubs start up Cactus League play March 4th against the Oakland Athletics at Hohokam Stadium. The Cubs will play the first three games of the spring season at Hohokam (two against the A's then the Rockies) before heading to Surprise to play the Royals on Wednesday March 7th.

The Academy Awards are happening tonight and a baseball themed movie Moneyball is up for many of the big awards including Best Picture. In the spirit of awards season we have our own recognition coming up this week with the 2012 Boys of Spring - Best Cubs Site Awards to recognize all the dedicated Cubs fan sites who spend much time and energy covering our favorite ball club. You probably already noticed the poll for the Ryno Award which is for 'Fan Favorite', this award is the one you can vote and choose your favorite Cubs site. The rest of the categories are:

The Santo - Best Original Cubs Content


The Harry - Best Cubs Blog Single Author


The Billy & Fergie - Best Cubs Blog Multiple Author


The Jolly Cholly - Best Cubs Humor


The Mr. Cub, aka The Ernie - Best Overall Cubs Site


Voting for the Ryno closes on Wednesday Feb. 29, so vote now!