Brenna McCumber, age 7 from Montgomery, Ill., is our winner. Thanks to everyone who has visited us all weekend long!

Cubs Convention-goers: We have an autographed copy of Vine Line for the next person to visit our booth and say “I love Vine Line!”—find us on the first floor of the Sheraton (in the Exhibition Hall). We’ll update the post once we have a winner.

Update: We have a winner—see our next post for our awesome follower!

We’re back live from the 2013 Cubs Convention, with a couple more panels to go. This morning’s session will cover the farm system, from scouting to player development. Jason McLeod, Joe Bohringer, Brandon Hyde, Josh Vitters and Chris Rusin. Here we go!

9:10 Gary Cohen, editor of Vine Line, starts things by talking about some of the overall progress in the farm system—he also mentions the February issue of Vine Line, which includes the annual Minor League Prospectus. Over 60 prospects profiled—don’t miss it!

9:15 Dave Otto introduces the panel, and we’re into questions. McLeod talks about the “Cubs Way,” which is all about defining how the organization is going to teach every prospect. Every organization does that to some extent, but McLeod says it’s all about accountability for staff and players.

“How to run the bases, defense, holding runners—it’s holding everyone accountable to do that. How are we going to teach our players and really impact every player in the organization. As a development staff, we talk about how it should be our goal to get every player in the minor leagues a cup of coffee.”

9:20 Hyde talks about the Rookie Development Program, held last week: Brought in 12 players—give them a feel of the city and Wrigley Field. They brought in speakers and introduced the major league staff.

9:22 On big league debuts: Rusin says that he told his family not to talk to him before his first game, reserving the celebration for afterward. Vitters said it was a great experience and a whirlwind—he flew out on his first at-bat but said the swing felt good.

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“Apparently, a lot of people care about Wrigley Field,” opens Crane Kenney to a room full of laughs.

Got your seatbelt on? We’ll be updating this post thoroughly—both live and also to paste in photos as we can.

1:33 Kenney says, in all of his years on this panel, he’s never been more excited for one. And with all the news they want to share about Wrigley Field’s future, they’re going to keep this session to the ballpark only.

1:34 “I never thought we’d have a focus group on the troughs,” Kenney says to more laughs. Fan feedback played an integral role through the entire process here, and it’s a cornerstone of what we’re about to see.

“We can better serve our fans” and “We can better serve our partners” are key goals here, with the latter referring to neighbors, media and sponsors.

1:36 Total price tag? $300 million. A guiding principle is for people to experience Wrigley Field as those did generations ago.

1:38 Video playing now, with Pat Hughes narrating the walkthrough. Great stuff!

A quick rundown:

Expanded concourses, more point-of-sale, so less lines. Structural upgrades in the upper deck, with the wooden roof being removed. The seats and concrete will be removed from the upper deck for new seating platforms. Then a new grandstand roof will be built.

The lower deck will undergo a makeover too. Behind the dugouts, seats and concrete will be removed. New steel structures will be built and seating platforms added. All of this is to make way for a new underground batting tunnel for Cubs players. Dale Sveum’s prayers answered!

Expanded dugout, clubhouse and training room (with hydrotherapy available).

Better premium seats and lounges. The press will have a better seating area as well as enhanced network infrastructure.

More behind-the-scenes: better food-delivery avenues, plumbing and more. Restroom capacity will increase by 42%. Food points of sale will increase 100%.

New outdoor concessions servicing the upper deck, allowing fans to eat and enjoy great views of the city.

And great news: The historic facades of the ballpark will be preserved.

The video has just ended, and the crowd is going crazy! It’s electric in here.

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With the Cubs prospects having just wrapped up, we pick up the panel with the big league coaching staff already in progress. Refresh for updates.

12:30 Jamie Quirk is answering a fan question about advance scouting and preparation. The hitters go over opposing pitchers each series, with hitting coach James Rowson and other coaches walking through each one. The pitching coaches go over all the hitters from the opposing hitters. And players look at video on their own. For relievers who warm up, bullpen coach Lester Strode uses his binder to walk through upcoming hitters once again.

12:33 Dave McKay says that, despite having been with the Cardinals organization for over a decade, he’s never been in a clubhouse that is so prepared. There’s an incredible amount of background, behind-the-scenes work that goes into this. But you have to break down what’s important and what’s just noise.

12:34 On advanced stats that the coaching staff uses, Sveum says they do have access to and utilize some—but he jokingly adds that the front office has some so advanced they don’t even share it with them. Bottom-line stats that he uses: OPS on the offensive side. Anything over .800 is good, over .750 in the middle infield. Pitcher WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) and to strike out more and walk less. But ultimately it comes down to players playing and executing.

12:38 Rob Deer, the Cubs’ new assistant hitting coach, tells players, “Do I say, not as I did.” He has always had a passion for hitting. He preaches to hitters about their two-strike approach and using the whole field. You will not hear him talk about hitting a home run—that’s the product of the right approach and situation. Their motto is to be “selectively aggressive.” And Deer adds he is very grateful to be on the coaching staff.

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Our second live blog of the day covers the long road to the big leagues with several of the club’s top prospects. Dalles Beeler, Rob Whitenack, Matt Szczur and Tony Zych are on stage and taking questions now! Refresh for updates.

11:28 Szczur is asked about the choice to play baseball instead of football. He says a big part was being able to play the game without a lot of the wear and tear, and injuries, that come with football. In terms of how football helped his game, he says that it’s how he brings an aggressive mentality to the field, while acknowledging that it has had its drawbacks in that area as well.

11:30 Asked about game preparation and advanced information available in the minors, Szczur says he likes to peak at the pitchers’ spreadsheets to understand how pitchers are attacking hitters like him. He says they also have a lot of video available to them, even in the minors.

Whitenack likes to look at opponents’ stats and pitching charts that track each pitch thrown. He also consults video to see what may have gotten a hitter out in a previous confrontation. “You try to expose that until they prove they can hit it.”

Beeler says the pitchers get a packet for each series, with spray charts, tendencies and other information. He says that it’s not really about pitching to hitters’ weaknesses but instead to play your strengths against their weaknesses. It’s a subtle difference that shows how much the player-development staff teaches to these young players.

11:33 Player role models:

Beeler: Roy Halladay, saying that he models his mechanics and style after the veteran righty.
Whitenack: Derek Jeter for always coming to play.
Szczur: Shane Victorino, clarifying that he WAS a Phillies fan.
Zych: Also Derek Jeter, as well as Mariano Rivera for how he pitches and works hard.

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