CHICAGO — Wrigley Field is a shrine of sorts, a top Chicago tourist attraction and haven for baseball fans who revel in its throwback ivy-covered walls while partying and rooting for their Cubbies.
There have been changes over the years, some that initially made purists cringe: lights in 1988, advertising on the walls, new bleachers, and this past offseason a makeover of the playing surface.
But here’s one possible alteration that really has Chicago buzzing during one of the city’s longest and coldest winters: Would Wrigley be the same with another name?
Billionaire Sam Zell has taken over the Tribune Company and is expected to sell the Cubs. And Wrigley, too, most likely in a separate transaction or in a purchase by the Illinois Sports Facility Authority.
But what really has some people angry is that Zell is considering selling the naming rights to the second-oldest ball park in the majors, dating back to 1914. The park was named Wrigley Field in 1926 for club owner William Wrigley.
Crane Kenney, the Tribune Co. executive in charge of the Cubs, said Zell has been stressing that all potential revenue streams be investigated.
“Naming rights has gotten a lot of attention lately, and I think Sam, as he is at the Tribune generally, is stirring the pot and asking people to reevaluate the way we do business and rethink everything we do throughout the organization,” Kenney said.
Kenney and Cubs legend Ernie Banks appeared at the Chicago Board Options Exchange on Monday to promote a new seat auction partnership between the team and the CBOE.
Mr. Cub was asked how he would feel if the park where he made his name and hit his 500th home run in 1970 got a new name.
He handled it diplomatically.
“Every time I went to Wrigley Field, I didn’t think about the park, the name of the park, just playing the game, going on that field,” Banks said.
ATHLETICS: Oakland shortstop Bobby Crosby was dropped from the starting lineup for Monday’s exhibition game against the Los Angeles Angels due to back spasms.
Crosby was working out with the team in the morning when he started experiencing tightness.
Crosby has not played a full season since being voted AL Rookie of the Year in 2004. The 28-year-old played through rib and ankle fractures in 2005, missed 66 games in 2006 with a fractured vertebrae in his back, then sat out the final 62 games last season with a broken left hand after being hit by a fastball from the Angels’ Justin Speier on July 24.
BRAVES: Atlanta renewed outfielder Jeff Francoeur’s contract for the second year in a row Monday after failing to agree on terms.
With less than three full years in the big leagues, Francoeur is not eligible for arbitration until 2009.
Terms of the new deal were not immediately available, but Francoeur likely will make about $450,000 this year. He was paid $427,500 last season after the Braves renewed his deal in similar fashion; he went on to bat .293 with 19 homers and 105 RBI.
DIAMONDBACKS: Arizona right-hander Micah Owings skipped a scheduled start Monday because of a sore shoulder. Owings said he’s had soreness in the back of the shoulder before and that he’s confident it will subside soon.
PHILLIES: Philadelphia first base coach Davey Lopes has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and team officials said he was expected to make a full recovery.
The former Milwaukee Brewers manager will have surgery later this month at the Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater and is expected to miss six weeks after that.
Lopes’ cancer was found after he went through a routine examination with the rest of the coaching staff on Feb. 12, two days before pitchers and catchers reported to camp.
REDS: Cincinnati infielder Jerry Hairston Jr., whose name appeared in the Mitchell Report, signed a minor league contract Monday with the Cincinnati Reds.
The report said former New York Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski alleged he sold human growth hormone to Hairston on two or three occasions in 2003 and 2004. Radomski said he had one check from Hairston.
Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky said the team talked to Major League Baseball about Hairston’s situation before offering the contract and was “comfortable” with what it was told.
Hairston, who played for current Reds manager Dusty Baker in 2005-06 with the Chicago Cubs, spent the bulk of his 10 seasons with Baltimore. He’s also played for Texas.
The Reds also signed outfielder Corey Patterson to a minor league contract. He played for the Cubs from 2000-2005 and for the Orioles in 2006-2007.
Both players are expected to report to camp today.
DODGERS: The Los Angeles Dodgers’ trip to China next week will be delayed by a day. Originally scheduled to make the long flight to Beijing on Monday, the team will depart from Orlando the following day because the original charter company contracted by Major League Baseball didn’t receive approval to land in China before its deadline.
Now, the Dodgers will bus to Orlando on Monday and spend the night before departing on another charter.
Team spokesman Josh Rawitch said the team will arrive about 20 hours later than originally scheduled.
“The only thing it really does is eliminate the off-day there,” manager Joe Torre said. “It just makes sightseeing a little tighter. We’ll work out here (Monday) before heading to Orlando.”
Rawitch said a visit to the Great Wall of China still is planned.
“I did the Wall in January,” Torre said, referring to his trip to Beijing for a news conference to discuss the series.
The team also announced that players from seven countries, including two from China, will make the trip for the first major league exhibition games in that country. The Dodgers will face the San Diego Padres on March 15-16 at Beijing’s Olympic baseball venue.
Pitcher Hong-Chi Kuo and shortstop Chin-Lung Hu are both from Taiwan. Among the others listed on the travel party are infielders Nomar Garciaparra, Ramon Martinez and Mark Sweeney; outfielders Andruw Jones and Matt Kemp; and non-roster pitchers Chan Ho Park and Tanyon Sturtze.
“What a unique opportunity, to go play baseball in another country,” said Garciaparra, who chose to be member of the traveling party. “I haven’t been to China, it will be difficult, hard on our bodies with all the travel. But I look forward to it.”
The games will begin at 1 p.m. local time — 10 p.m. in California on the previous two days.
The two exhibitions and the Olympics in Beijing give baseball a chance to show its appeal, with the sport dropped from the 2012 London Olympics but looking to return in 2016.
“I’m not excited for the flight time. I am looking forward to everything else about it,” Sweeney said. “I’m a big fan of traveling, seeing different cultures. I know a lot of stuff is going to be new for us.”
With Torre gone, Hall of Fame manager Tom Lasorda will manage a Dodgers’ split squad in eight exhibition games in Florida. The 80-year-old Lasorda retired as manager of the Dodgers in 1996 after a heart attack.
Coaches Larry Bowa, Bob Schaefer, Mike Easler and Rick Honeycutt will stay behind to work with Lasorda.
Notes: RHP James McDonald agreed to a one-year contract, becoming
the last player on the 40-man roster to each an agreement. … RHP Jason Schmidt made 40 throws from about 40 feet Sunday. Schmidt, rehabbing from shoulder surgery last June, took four days off from throwing because of fatigue in his shoulder. Torre repeated that he’s not planning on Schmidt being ready by opening day. … Torre said closer Takashi Saito, bothered by cramping in his right calf, also threw Sunday and barely any soreness. It’s unclear when Saito will make his exhibition debut.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
