Funny how the concept of time works.
Three weeks ago really wasn’t all that long ago. And now, three weeks from tomorrow (Thursday), the sights, sounds and scents of a baseball game will fill the ballpark as Cougars baseball returns. These three weeks will move very quickly.
Needless to say, it’s been a busy off-season for us. As a minor league baseball front office staff, the off-season is essentially over and the “pre-season” has begun. The month of March, while you won’t see it listed on our pocket schedule, may as well be part of the season itself. This is the month where minor league staffs such as ours continue to grind away and make final preparations for the real season to come, beginning on April 4th.
Here’s just a small snapshot of activity around our office these days.
– Publications such as the media guide and the game program are undergoing final changes before being proofed and sent to the printer.
– Hotel rooms have been reserved and are being finalized for visiting teams and umpires this season.
– Bus itineraries for the Cougars are being tentatively written for each of the season’s road trips.
– Ticket orders continue to pour in – Ozzie’s Reading Club orders, individual ticket orders, group outings, ticket packages and season ticket orders.
– Prep work is being done for each of the clubhouses.
– Orientation and training sessions for our hundreds of seasonal staff workers is upon us.
– Pocket schedules are being delivered throughout Chicagoland to various businesses.
It’s going to be fun. Will you be here three weeks from tomorrow? We can’t wait to welcome you back home.
The arrival of pocket schedules – a telltale sign that we’re getting closer to Opening Day!
Some other odds and ends:
Which major league team “won the winter”? According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, the Cubs were ranked #2. Click HERE to read the story.
Cougars beat writer Kevin Druley from the Kane County Chronicle recently caught up with Cougars manager Mark Johnson. Johnson is currently in the middle of spring training at the Cubs complex in Arizona. Click HERE to read the interview.
In conjunction with the city of Geneva, Cougars banners have been placed on many streetlight posts throughout the city. I caught them this afternoon after lunch. Quite a few of them are along Rt. 38. They look great, wouldn’t you say?
We posed an interesting question to our Facebook fans a few weeks ago: “Who was your favorite all-time Cougars player?” The responses were as varied as you can imagine. Some fans went with a recent Cougar, including some from last year in Michael Antonio and Jack Lopez. Others went “old school”, choosing some Cougars from the early ’90’s such as Gregg Zaun and Shaun Hrabar.
And for each fan who chose a “household” name such as Miguel Cabrera, without question our alum with the most big league success, there were many fans who chose a Cougar who left a positive impression with them, above and beyond their on-field success. Guys like Eddie Kim from the ’04 and ’05 teams, or Jim Kavourias from 2001.
Who is your favorite all-time Cougars player? Please let us know by leaving a comment on this blog post. For me, I’ll go with the following: Grant Desme, Andrew Bailey and Kenny Swab.
Thanks as always for reading!
-ST
The Cougars Den 
Favorite All-Time Cougar? I have to go wit Edgar Renteria. His story is well known (I think Dave Hoekstra has done the best of the biographies), having gone from almost quitting baseball when with the Cougars to having the winning hit in two World Series’, around the bookends of his career. He has been a positive role model, and has used much of the wealth he has accumulated to foster the growth of baseball in his native Columbia. Now that he has retired, I hope to someday soon attend “Edgar Renteria” day at a Cougars game.
MICHAEL HEESCH!!! THis kid is exciting and has SOOooo much potential. Amazing performance at South Carolina Beufort… Really looking forward to watching this kid!