Cactus League Day 3

So today was day three in the desert and it was a cold and wet one.

We started off with high hopes and after breakfast headed for the Cubs minor league camp at Fitch Park in Mesa. It started raining just as left and by 9:15AM there was a steady but light rain. We waited around the minor league complex for 45 minutes or so and then headed over to HoHoKam Park to see what was happening there.


As it turned out there was nothing happening there so we killed time in the team shop and hung out in the concourse. We did see Ron Santo entering the park, looking like he was getting around very well and caught a glimpse of Pat Hughes and Steve Stone. I didn't realize Stone might be around since he was unceremoniously run out of town after the 2004 season.


Anyway, while down below we also saw Ronnie Woo-Woo making the rounds. He's the guy who makes the annoying "woo-woo" sound during many a Cubs game both in Mesa and in Chicago. I wondered what the career path was to get to be a Ronnie Woo-Woo and almost asked him. But what was most sad probably was that while in Tucson White Sox fans had their pictures taken with the World Series trophy, Cubs fans settled for getting their picture taken with Woo-Woo. Well.

The Cubs wives were auctioning off lots of memorbilia before the game including game bats, autographed bats and balls, autographed jerseys, and a bunch of batting helmets. I picked up a Billy Williams autographed ball for a good cause.


The game actually did start on time and the game time temp wsa 48 degrees. It did warm up to about 50 I think and Carlos Zambrano was sharp through 5 innings giving up 2 runs. Those two runs were enough and the Cubs never did get anything going and lost 2-0. Well, they had once chance to score when Eric Patterson got to third with one out but failed to score.


By the 5th inning most of the Cubs starters were out of the game and we had a chance to see Brandon Sing at first base. He's another guy needs to have a big year to keep his momentum as a prospect going.

After the game we went to a local golf course and played 9 holes before dinner at a Mexican restaurant on the campus of ASU. All in all a good day but I must say that we've now been sun-burned, wind-burned, rained on, and half frozen. Hopefully tomorrow will be more comfortable as we head to Surprise to see the Royals take on the White Sox.