(Overly Detailed) Thoughts on Cubs Practice #1

First of all, it should be pointed out that Lindsay Lohan has done today what Britney Spears could not do-provide an all-nude photo shoot while still marginally attractive. Kudos to you, Lindsay. Keep Hope Alive.

Now, for those of you that have kept reading and didn't immediately do a google search for "Lindsay Lohan+nude photo shoot"...on to more Arizona and/or Cubs-related news.

I really, really, really, really, really want Ronny Cedeno to beat out Ryan Theriot (usual Cubs fan response: "His name sounds like "The Riot!" He's white! He's short! He must be good!) for the position of starting shortstop. Unfortunately, Ronny doesn't seem to be putting himself in the good graces of the Cubs' management-on at least two occasions, I watched him kick a routine grounder, then saw one or more Cubs coach shake his head in disbelief/anger. There seems to be a bit of a frustration about the guy.

Fukudome spent most of his BP working on hitting the ball only to the opposite field. Slightly cool, but not nearly as interesting as watching his interpreter strap on what could only be described as a Game-Day Giveaway style glove and saddle up to Right Field in an attempt to fit in to the Spring Training Practice extravaganza. Evidently, it befuddled my partner in nerdy fandom. The following conversation actually occurred:

Me: You see Fukudome's interpreter out there in Right with Lee?

Jason: Yeah. You think Lee is okay speaking Japanese with him?

Me: Well, my guess is that the interpreter probably can speak pretty good English, seeing as how he's an interpreter and all.

Aside from our own stupidity, what continues to amaze me most about watching practice is how quiet everyone remains while the players are on the field. Its like everyone's watching the 18th at Augusta. There are really only a couple possible explanations for this:

1. The vast majority of the audience is old enough to fondly remember the Frank Chance era, and thus never speaks louder than a whisper, or...

2. Everyone's so busy attempting to file through their roster to figure out who number 73 is that they don't have a moment to actually speak to the person next to them.

The only violator of the unspoken code of silence among the fans was some joker behind us who felt the need to prove to his new friend standing next to him that he was, in fact, the heir to the Tim McCarver throne of blatantly-obvious-baseball-observations. He was very proud of the fact that he knew that Ryan Theriot was "scrappy" and that Matt Murton had a "good eye." I'm sure all his friends (that he obviously forces to listen to him when he calls in to sports radio shows to "teach those guys a lesson") were very proud of his performance that day.

All in all, not too bad a first day. Maybe tomorrow I'll even have a post that won't be completely trumped by the lure of Lohan boob.