(Forbes Field photo from public domain, taken July 5, 1909, shortly after opening)

For ballpark buffs out there -- and fans of the Cubs must have a certain affection for the early steel-and-concrete parks -- tonight's game against the Pirates marks the centennial of Forbes Field, Pittsburgh's ballpark from 1909-1970.

And did you know that the Cubs opened the ballpark exactly 100 years ago today?

They were winners, too: 3-2 in one hour and 54 minutes.

I spent some time this afternoon researching the Chicago Tribune's archives and picked up Ring Lardner's story that appeared in the July 1, 1909, edition of the Chicago Daily Tribune.

As was typical of the time, the story doesn't feature any quotes from the players, but it does feature some neat information on the opening of the $1-million ballpark. (For reference, Wrigley Field opened five years later as a Federal League park that cost just $250,000.)

• An over-capacity crowd of 36,338 broke baseball's previous record by 91 fans. It was said to be a peaceful crowd that overflowed "from first base all the way around the outskirts of the yard."

• Lardner: "If there had been no ball game at all the masses of sweltering humanity would have paid for their coming, for the stands on Forbes field look out on some of the prettiest scenery to be found in Pennsylvania. And the stands themselves are pretty enough to draw sightseers even if there was nothing else for them to see.

Continue reading 'When the Cubs opened Forbes Field 100 years ago'...

On Friday, I was walking down the hallway of the Cubs front office when Patti James, the Cubs manager of minor-league operations, told me that Brett Jackson, the Cubs' first-round pick of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, was in town to take his physical and cross the T's and dot the i's on his contract.

My managing editor, Lena McDonagh, had told me the Cal outfielder was here just moments before, so I told Patti that Vine Line would jump at the chance to take some photos. Every year, we usually try to get a photo of the player signing his contract for our records and for the player and his parents.

Jackson signed a $972,000 deal with the Cubs and will be headed to Mesa, Ariz. At some point he will then head to short-season Boise of the Northwest League.

We met Jackson in the front office conference room and got some shots of him signing his contract. We wanted to take some photos of him out in centerfield--the place we all hope he will be roaming sometime in the near future. Today, however, he just was happy to be at Wrigley Field and in Chicago.

"I love Chicago--it's a great town," he said. "Every time I've been here it's been a lot of fun, and the people are so nice here."

He was going to be on a flight back to California in the early afternoon, so he wasn't going to have the chance to take in a little Cubs/Sox rivalry. Hopefully it won't be long before he does. Scouting assistant Alex Suarez, publications intern, Kelsey Peters, and I took Jackson down to the clubhouse to get fitted for a hat and jersey.

His hat size is 7 1/4, but one would've thought his head was even smaller, because this kid didn't have an arrogant bone in his body. There was no big head here.

Just then, Cubs right-hander Rich Harden walked into the clubhouse. It was cool to see this young man seem just a little taken aback at seeing a guy he no doubt grew up watching while Harden was with the Oakland A's and Jackson was growing up in the Bay Area. I introduced them and they seemed to hit it off.

Continue reading 'Californian dreaming...at Wrigley Field'...

Editor's Note: About every two weeks, Cubs outfielder Kosuke Fukudome updates his diary, which can be found on his website www.fukudome1.com. Translation by Hiro Aoyama, Japanese media assistant and interpreter.

 

Hello,

My body feels good, and I have no injuries so far, so I need to be patient for now with my hitting. (Kosuke had four hits and went 4-for-5 on June 20th, a day after he wrote this diary entry). The team needs to be patient as well, since we are around .500. We have a month left before the All-Star break, and we definitely would like to have more wins before then.

Speaking of games against the Atlanta Braves, I really enjoyed a game against Kenshin Kawakami (below) on J  une 22, a makeup of a June rainout. Kawakami is a former teammate 

in Japan. I always watched his back from the outfield, so it felt really awkward to look at his face from the batter's box. When I went up for my first at-bat, I almost laughed at him, and I am sure he almost did, too. I thought he was a really good pitcher when I was in Japan, but after facing him, he is a great pitcher.  He located his pitches really well.  I don't think he made a single mistake when he faced me... There were no easy pitches to it.

I might have faced him once before in Japan. It was probably during a team scrimmage in Japan.  I don't remember how I did, but I think I struck out. 

After the game, I and Kawakami went out for a quick dinner together--his treat.  We talked a lot, mostly about a life in the United States since I have more experience in the United States. 

I am looking forward to facing him again in Chicago next month. (The Cubs have a series against Atlanta on July 6-8).  I think this time I will treat him in Chicago..... maybe.

 
--Kosuke Fukudome

 

 

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Yesterday afternoon, the Cubs signed their top pick from MLB's 2009 First-Year Player Draft, Cal outfielder Brett Jackson for a reported $972,000, pending a physical.

Jackson is a high-motor guy with a quick bat, strong hands and a near-major league ready body. He boasts plus speed and covers some serious ground in centerfield. He has good instincts, takes good routes to balls and owns a plus arm. His power is above-average, which means the left-handed hitter could  project anywhere from 12-18 homers a year.

With that, however, comes some swings and misses, as he led the Golden Bears this year in strikeouts, with 68. He makes good contact nonetheless and should hit for average.

In three seasons at Berkeley, Jackson batted .303 with 91 runs scored, 25 doubles, 11 triples, 12 home runs and 85 RBIs in 152 games.

In the July issue of Vine Line, both scouting director Tim Wilken and area scout John Bartsch chimed in on Jackson's abilities. Neither are worried about the strikeouts and are fully confident that Jackson will be patrolling Wrigley Field's outfield sooner, rather than later.

"We're really thrilled we could acquire a player like Brett Jackson," Wilken said. "He plays the game hard, and we think he has a chance to be a front-line centerfielder and everyday player," he added. "He has an above-average throwing arm. He's an athletic centerfielder, a plus runner and has a chance to have some power."

 

Said Bartsch: "He's a hard-nosed player who likes to get dirty and compete. He's got a short compact stroke with stronq, quick hands. He's got plus range in all directions, gets good reads off the bat and takes instinctive routes....He looks the part now. He still gets pull happy at the plate. He needs to recognize off-speed pitches better and use the whole field. But he has the tools to play."

--Mike Huang

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Alfonso Soriano flies into first base, as his ninth-inning RBI flare downs the Sox. (Stephen Green)

Soriano, LF
Theriot, SS
Bradley, RF
Lee, 1B
Soto, C
Fontenot, 3B
Fukudome, CF
Blanco, 2B
Zambrano, RHP

Right-hander Gavin Floyd (4-5, 4.94 ERA) pitches for the White Sox.

I won't jinx things by playing weather forecaster today. (No makeup date has yet been announced for last night's game -- it won't be scheduled during this series, though.)

Same lineup today facing left-hander John Danks for the White Sox. Ryan Dempster will pitch for the Cubs, with Carlos Zambrano being pushed until tomorrow afternoon.

It's drizzling a bit at the ballpark right now, but we should be getting the first of three games against the White Sox underway just fine today.

Soriano, LF
Theriot, SS
Bradley, RF
Lee, 1B
Soto, C
Johnson, CF
Fontenot, 3B
Miles, 2B
Zambrano, RHP

Lefty John Danks (4-5, 4.81 ERA) will pitch for the White Sox.

Crosstown, split town

The Cubs and White Sox are at a dead-even split through 66 regular-season head-to-head games since interleague play began. And the White Sox have the slightest of advantages in runs scored, 323-322.

On a roll

Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee is sporting a 1.018 OPS (.456 OBP + .562 SLG) since May 16 ... prior to this stretch, Lee had begun the year with a .607 OPS in his first 26 contests, recording a .270 OBP and .337 slugging percentage.