Baseball spring training games started this past Thursday, and teams are working hard to get in shape by Opening Day, which due to the recent strike has been delayed until April 7th. In addition to all the work on the field, teams are also signing free agents that they think will help them get to the playoffs. The Colorado Rockies just signed former Chicago Cubs superstar Kris Bryant, who owner Dick Monfort thinks will take the team to the World Series. Good luck with that one. My only advice to the Rockies is that they should avoid signing more than one additional former Cubs player. My favorite newspaper columnist, the late Mike Royko, wrote many years ago about the "ex-Cub factor," which is a phenomena where if three or more former Cubs are signed by another team, these players give off a negative energy called "Cubness," which dooms any chance the team might win it all. I think this was scientifically proven true several years ago. Rockies management, you have been warned! The photograph above, by the way, was taken by me at Payne Park, in Sarasota, Florida, back in 1985, when it was the spring training home of my South Side heros, the Chicago White Sox. This was back when spring training was a lot more informal, teams played in small parks where players and fans all used the same entrance, and getting in shape, not making money, was the main purpose during the spring. Now, most of the teams play in smaller versions of major league parks, and tickets cost as much or even more than a regular season game. Oh, for the good old days.
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