Des Moines--It felt more like a Sunday, with the way the guys sauntered into Principal Park this morning around 11 AM. But from what I am told, it was a much-preferred and welcomed alternative to the typical 4 AM wake-up call for 6 AM flights to further Pacific Coast League cities like Portland, Fresno and Salt Lake City.

Today, the guys were headed to Omaha, Neb., just a short two hours away down Interstate 80, and I was going with them.

Everyone's seen the 1988 film "Bull Durham" starring Kevin Costner. There's a classic scene where Costner's character Crash Davis is telling all his teammates about his time in the big leagues while strumming a guitar confiscated from a shrill Nuke LaLoosh.

Well, right-hander Justin Berg, who apparently plays in a band in his off-season, brings a guitar on the road, as does rightfielder Brad Snyder. But neither pulled out their axes on the bus.

"I only play in my hotel room," Berg said. However, during his brief cup of coffee earlier this season, I saw Berg's guitar in the home clubhouse. In fact, I saw the guitar before I saw Berg. But on this trip, the guitar and wa-wa pedals were stowed below.

Some guys slept, some guys just listened to music. Left-hander JR Mathes watched a movie on his laptop. It was surprisingly quiet, guys weren't even talking to each other much. Because Omaha was so close, manager Bobby Dickerson, who normally flies ahead of the team to rent a car for the staff, simply drove ahead in his own truck so that the staff would not have to rent a car. In the minor leagues, cutting costs is applicable all over.

Dickerson is a fair, but tough manager, who is not afraid of calling out a player, but will offer a pat on the back just as readily. At the Triple-A level, many of the players have "grown-up" responsibilities, supporting spouses and children, mortgages. In a short trip like this, he allowed several players who had family with them to drive themselves to Omaha. So the bus was a little light of personnel.

I asked infielder Bobby Scales--who himself is married-- about the seeming lack of interaction among his teammates. A veteran of nearly 11 minor-league seasons, Scales has seen a lot and his insight was enlightening.

"Part of it is the technology," Scales said. "You mentioned Bull Durham. Yeah, they put a lot of stuff in movies, but really, if you think about it, technology has changed things. Guys have a lot personal entertainment devices, so guys aren't really talking all that much. I think guys back in the day probably talked more because there was nothing else to do.

"The other thing is this team is very heavy on both ends, there aren't a lot of guys in the middle," Scales added.

"There are a bunch of older guys, maybe 27 or older then a bunch of guys 24 and younger. So there's a gap there. What do you talk about? I talk about my wife and my house, but these younger guys don't want to hear that."

The busiest guy on the bus was trainer Matt Johnson, whose duties also include acting as the traveling secretary--arranging bus and plane rides, keeping track of meal money and hotel arrangements. Or in the case of this photo, coordinating travel arrangements for the end of the season for outfielder So Taguchi, who lives in St. Louis.

"Sometimes there's a lot to do that isn't necessarily athletic training," said Johnson, the LaGrange Park, Ill., native said. "First and foremost, our job is to keep these guys healthy, but there are a lot of other things you have to do as well. It is the minor leagues."

--Mike Huang

Des Moines--An overcast day at Principal Park today. I was commenting to Andrea Breen, Iowa's manager of media relations that the clouds covering Iowa will most likely meet me in Chicago when I return tomorrow.

It was business as usual for these farmhands, most of them strolling into the clubhouse around 10:00. Poker chips lay strewn across a table in case an impromptu game might just break out during a rain delay. Clubhouse manager Cleo Welch was busy cooking breakfast--big fluffy pancakes, some eggs.

Five guys were taking early cage work with hitting coach Desi Wilson. Utilityman Matt Matulia, catcher Chris Robinson, and infielders Darwin Barney and Bobby Scales were all taking their hacks.

Andrea told me that when she asked the players to fill out a questionnaire at the during the season, the player teammates voted as the "most intense" was Scales. In the cage, that was evident.

Always quick with a smile and a guy who loves to talk about college football--especially his alma mater the University of Michigan--you'd never think Scales was that intense given his usually cheery disposition when we last saw him in Chicago. But there he was, talking and muttering to himself, motivating himself, trying to talk himself into squaring up the ball better and not swing a bad pitches. He takes his job very seriously, and after getting his first taste of the big leagues this year, he desperately wants to return.

Outside, the pitchers started throwing long toss; Jeff Samardzija looked relaxed, as did lefty James Russell. Playing a different kind of long toss was Micah Hoffpauir and Matt Craig. They were throwing the pigskin around a little bit.

As a guy who was with the big-league club most of the season, Hoffpauir is in the awkward position of being a strong consideration for a call-up but he has put up mediocre numbers at Iowa.

"I don't have any control over what happens in Chicago," Hoffpauir said. "My numbers aren't what they should be, but I've been working things out, trying to right the ship here."

He has tried to prevent the impending Sept. 1 date from hovering in his mind, despite his eagerness to return to Chicago. Like Scales, when you get that taste, you want more. There's something special when the skipper calls you in on that day.

"For younger guys, they probably aren't even thinking about [Sept.1]; they're just happy to be in Triple A," Hoffpauir said. "But for some older guys, they might be a little more disappointed. But I remember when me and Koyie Hill went up at the same time. Pat [Listach] called us in. We both had been up once already, so he told us together. But Casey McGehee hadn't been up yet. So when it was his turn, they called him in by himself to make it a little more special."

It was Chris Robinson's last game, too, chipping in a single for good measure. Afterward, he shook hands with every one of his teammates and coaches and set off to the Great White North and Team Canada. To a man, Iowa personnel and the team all said Robinson was one of their favorite players this year.

The I-Cubs took down the Redhawks again, 2-0, behind some fine pitching from Mitch Atkins, John Gaub and Blake Parker.

--Mike Huang

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Des Moines--I arrived at Principal Park startled to see a huge board in the concourse with the current standings of the North Division of the Pacific Coast League. Even at Triple A, the Cubs were chasing the Cardinals.

The Iowa Cubs entered tonight trailing the Memphis Redbirds by a game and a half. I'm here doing a story for Vine Line following our Triple-A club. I wanted to see what life was like for Triple-A players leading up to the Sept. 1 call up day.

Not only that, I wanted to see what that proverbial minor-league bus ride was like. Thanks to Cubs farm director Oneri Fleita and Iowa Cubs media relations manager Andrea Breen, I was able to somehow weasel my way on to the bus for their Aug. 30 road trip to Omaha.

But before that, I am taking in two games at Principal Park, watching the I-Cubs take on the Oklahoma City Redhawks, the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers.

Before the game, I wandered around batting practice saying hi to a bunch of players and coaches. There were a lot of familiar faces, as many of them, like Andres Blanco, Micah Hoffpauir, Bobby Scales, Justin Berg, Jeff Samardzija, Mitch Atkins and Jeff Stevens, have seen big-league action this year. It was almost as if I were watching the Chicago club.

Blanco came over to me and laughed, "Hey, did they send you down, too?"

Hitting coach Desi Wilson was watching behind the cage while catcher Chris Robinson lined a shot to third where Andres Blanco, who has been battling a calf injury, snagged the ball that would have certainly speared teammate Nate Spears.

"There's baseball going on right now, you know!" yelled Hoffpauir.

Hoffpauir, who had made the big-league club out of spring training seemed to be in OK spirits, but there was a tinge of melancholy.

"How you doin' Hoffy?"

"I'm doing fine. Things in Chicago good for you?"

"It's been a little rough, as you might have heard."

"Yeah, well, it's still where you want to be, right?"

And that was when it hit me that even though the big-league team was struggling, as a player, the big-leagues was where he would rather be.

Don't get me wrong; he loves Des Moines, saying "it's a great city. Quiet. Clean. A lot like where I live now." But he'd trade it for a ticket back to Chicago in an instant.

The I-Cubs ended up winning 7-4. Robinson's last game is tomorrow, as he will be going to play with Team Canada. He was voted the team's MVP.

-Mike Huang

Theriot, SS
Bradley, RF
Lee, 1B
Ramirez, 3B
Fukudome, CF
Soriano, LF
Fontenot, 2B
Hill, C
Wells, RHP

Right-hander J.D. Martin (2-3, 4.76 ERA) pitches for the Nationals.

"Big Z" behind the mike

Yesterday, Vine Line recorded an exclusive video interview of the Chicago Fire's Cuauhtemoc Blanco ... conducted in Spanish by the Cubs' very own Carlos Zambrano.

"Big Z" enthusiastically introduced and closed out the segment as a Chicago Cubs correspondent, and he looked like he was having fun talking right to the camera and to the Mexican-born soccer star. After asking several questions of Blanco, Zambrano told us that he even enjoys practicing a little bit of commentary while watching a game on TV.

Keep an eye out for the interview in a "Cubs CrossOver" segment in a future edition of Vine Line. Also, those of you interested in hearing more from our Latino players can listen to live Spanish-language radio broadcasts of select Cubs games on La Tremenda 1200 AM and using MLB.com's Gameday Audio package.

(Cover is from the Nov. 2005 issue of Vine Line. Subscribe today.)

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

Right-hander Garrett Mock (2-5, 5.10 ERA) pitches for the Nationals.

Welcome back!

Former Cubs manager Jim Riggleman (1995-99) and Cubs minor-league coach and skipper Pat Listach (2002-08) are visiting town with the Nationals. Riggleman was named interim manager earlier this season, and Listach currently is the team's third base coach.

Our November 2008 issue of Vine Line caught up with Riggleman, back when he was wrapping up an interim term with the Mariners. Riggleman reflected on his eight-year absence from big-league managing as well as his time with the Cubs, which included the great wild-card season of 1998 as well as the rough starts in '97 and '99.

"I feel like, other than my mother and my son [Jon], this is really what consumes my thoughts," he told Vine Line's "Alumni Notebook." "I love managing a ballgame. I love managing a ballclub. ... Ultimately, it's a player's game. You may have an impact in a few games."

"I have no negative or hard feelings about what happened [when he was let go in '99]. I had four and a half great years. Everything I own in my personal life is due to my time here with the Cubs. I had a lot of fun here. I would have liked to have been here another 10 years."

Welcome back (too)!

And of course, Carlos Zambrano gets to put his ab work to, well, work today. The team activated him from the 15-day DL and optioned right-hander Esmailin Caridad to Triple A.

While the Cubs were away in Hollywood, a little TV personality came to Wrigleyville.

And as she stood next to several Chicago firefighters while welcoming a crowd of several hundred, The Food Network's queen of convenient cooking, Rachael Ray, looked tiny! 

Standing up on a cherry picker, firefighters Jon Algas, Greg Keenan and Sam Holloway

helped Ray--armed with a megaphone and wearing a firehelmet--usher in the crowd accompanied by a loud sound of a fire engine horn. A news helicopter circled high above.

All along Sheffield and Waveland avenues, Ray was hosting  "Rachael Big Block Party" complete with food tents, ferris wheel and a performance by Kool & the Gang.

Seen noshing near the Frontera Grill tent: Bill and Giuliana Rancic. Bill is known by most "The Apprentice" Season One, and his wife is a host on E! News.

Helping coordinate the event was Chicago Events, the same outfit that helps the Cubs put on the annual Race to Wrigley 5K.

--Mike Huang

photos by Kelsey Peters

Wrigley Field tour patrons got a pleasant surprise when Carlos Zambrano walked right next to them for a mid-afternoon workout today. In preparation for his rehab start in low Class-A Peoria on Thursday, "Z" played some long toss in the outfield before throwing a short bullpen session. He then started doing sprints around the basepaths, doing several for single, double, triple and home run lengths.

You can check out the Peoria Chiefs' site for details on purchasing tickets for Thursday's start.

Slightly different lineup today. There was no full-field BP this morning because of the night-day follow-up, but several guys took some time in the batting cage, under the rightfield bleachers.

Theriot, SS
Fukudome, CF
Bradley, RF
Lee, 1B
Fox, 3B
Soriano, LF
Soto, C
Baker, 2B
Dempster, RHP

Left-hander Cliff Lee (2-0, 1.13 ERA in the NL) pitches for the Phillies.

Fresh arms

Right-hander Justin Berg was recalled today, and last night's starter, Jeff Samardzija, was optioned to Triple-A Iowa. With the injuries and extra-inning games lately, the Cubs can use as many fresh arms in the bullpen as possible.

Theriot, SS
Bradley, RF
Lee, 1B
Fox, 3B
Fukudome, CF
Soriano, LF
Baker, 2B
Hill, C
Samardzija, RHP

Right-hander Pedro Martinez pitches for the Phillies, making his first appearance of 2009.

What beats that? Jeff Samardzija is making his first career start -- and we hope the first of many.

I am Sam

I followed Sam Fuld into the ballpark this afternoon and was amused when he was stopped at the gate for his ID. Sam is about average height and, while strong, looks inconspicuous for a professional athlete, especially when wearing plain clothes.

He started to pull out his driver's license when I backed him up to the guard. "They'll recognize you soon enough," I told him with a laugh. And I think Cubs fans already do.

-- Sean Ahmed

It's often a long road for a lot of minor-leaguers to travel, but they do it because playing in the major leagues has been a lifelong dream.

Today at Wrigley Field, some of the Triple-A Iowa Cubs players and coaches just soaked up their big-league surroundings before their game against the Las Vegas 51's in the second annual Road to Wrigley game.

Last year featured the Cubs' low Class-A affiliate, the Peoria Chiefs, including current Iowa hitting coach Desi Wilson, who served as Peoria's hitting coach last year. He is the only repeat participant, but it doesn't make the experience any less special.

"I just love seeing how the players respond," Wilson said. "But it's great for the fans to see some of the organization's prospects."

However, with Iowa just three and a half games out of first in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League's North Division, the game still is a game--one they must win.

"We try to tell the guys that it is just another game," said Iowa Cubs manager Bobby Dickerson. "But I'll tell you what--this is special, and I am going to try my darndest to get as many guys in as I possibly can. Not everyone can make the big leagues. For some guys, this could be the closest they ever get."

So it probably would be great for the Iowa Cubs to get out to a 14-0 lead by the third inning so Dickerson could sub guys in at will, right?

"Heh, well I wish it were that easy," he laughed. "But there are places where I can pick and choose to bring some guys in."

Last year featured Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg (pictured, left), who managed the Peoria Chiefs and is now the manager of the Cubs' Double-A affiliate, the Tennessee Smokies. This year it was Dickerson's (pictured, right)  turn at the helm.

"Heck, this might be the only time I'm up here, but hopefully not," Dickerson said. "Desi made it up to the bigs as a player. I never did. So I'm just going to enjoy the heck out of this."

For some Iowa Cubs, being at Wrigley Field was more than de ja vu. They've actually been here already this year. I-Cubs like right-handers Justin Berg, Mitch Atkins and infielder Bobby Scales all have seen cups of coffee with the big club this year. Heck, first baseman Micah Hoffpauir--who was optioned Aug. 7 to make room for Geovany Soto--still has his old locker. 

Clubhouse attendants Rich Rupp, Gary Stark and Tim Hellmann sheeted off the big-leaguers' lockers with plastic and ran a steel rod the length of both walls for the minor-leaguers to hang their clothes. I patted Hoffpauir on the back to sort of "welcome" him back.

"So, Hoffy, it's like you never left! But you can't use your old locker?" I asked.

"Well, I didn't want to ruin the delicate plastic sheets in front of them," he laughed, pointing to his big-league jersey lurking just behind the I-Cubs jersey hanging on the steel rod. "But really it's not that big a deal. And a lot of these guys have been here before earlier in the year, so for them it's old hat. But for the new guys it's great to see their faces as they walk out on to the field. Because [Wrigley Field] is an awe-inspiring place."

Iowa Cubs general manager Sam Bernabe said: "For the Iowa Cubs organization, the game is extremely exciting. I've been in town two or three times in the past couple of weeks and to see our logo all over the place promoting the game, it's incredible."

--Mike Huang

Hello,

Our team and every player are playing well after the All-star break. I personally ended my 10-game hitting streak, but I have been feeling good since right before the break. I think a 10-game hitting streak is a little too good for me. I do have good days and bad days. Today went a little too well for me. [In the final game against Houston at home, Kosuke went 3-for-3 with a single, double, triple, two walks and four RBIs].

The break was really relaxing. I think the break gave me a mental and physical break from our busy schedule, especially since I could spend a lot of time with my family and we could play golf. [Golf is Kosuke's favorite thing to do on an off-day.] What's my score? I don't really care about my score when I play golf.

Again I really appreciate Kyosuke Sasaki for coming over to visit our team and the Cubs for accepting him as a part of the team. [Kyosuke Sasaki is a former hitting coach of Kosuke, and he visited the Cubs for the Philadelphia series on the road and Cincinnati series at home.] I think Kyosuke wore the Cubs uniform really well, but I felt a little awkward since I remembered him with a different uniform. 

We still have several injuries, so I don't think our team at its best. But each player is doing their part. Although we are a few games over .500, I am not really thinking about our position in the division. It is still far from the end. I just want to stay healthy and contribute to our team's winning.

Please keep cheering for us.

We will be heading on a long road trip now. I will see you when we come back.

-- Kosuke Fukudome

Special thanks to Hiro Aoyama, Japanese interpreter/media assistant, for his translation.