Results tagged ‘ Ted Lilly ’
Vine Line Sweepstakes Survey Winner: Don Quinones
One would be hard-pressed to find a contestant happier to win the Vine Line Sweepstakes Survey than Don Quinones. The 51-year-old resident of Havana, Ill. faxed in the survey that was randomly selected from a collection of over 500 people.
He is now the owner of a game-used Ted Lilly duffle bag packed with Cubs gifts.
“It was awesome,” Quinones said. “I can’t wait to take it to work and show everybody.”
Quinones (right), a pharmacist and partial season-ticket holder, received his prize prior to the Cubs’ Aug. 2 game versus the Milwaukee Brewers.
He also got to step out onto Wrigley Field for the first time.
Quinones makes the trip up to Wrigley from Havana, which is south of Peoria in central Illinois, for four or five games per year. The rest of his season-ticket share goes to others in his community–the post-prom committee; those putting on benefit auctions; and less fortunate individuals, such as cancer patients.
His tickets aren’t the only possession of Quinones’ going to good use, though. He’s got big, but practical, plans for the Lilly bag.
“I think I’m going to use it quite a bit,” Quinones said, referring to his short trips north for Cubs games. “I would pack my stuff in it. Something like that would be perfect.”
–Joe O’Donnell
A last cast for Ryan Theriot
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With this past Saturday’s trade of shortstop Ryan Theriot and left-hander Ted Lilly to the Los Angeles Dodgers, it affords Vine Line an opportunity to run one last piece about the diminutive shortstop from LSU.
In the August issue of Vine Line, we offered a new installment of our popular Cubs CrossOver feature, which often places a Cubs player in a non-baseball situation. It’s your standard fish-out-of-water story. However, this month, the only fish out of water were the ones Ryan Theriot was catching.
After a particularly tough day at the office, which included a 12-0 loss to the visitng Los Angeles Angels, Vine Line and bass columninst Mike Pehanich took Theriot out 40 miles
northwest of Wrigley Field to do a little bass fishing. An avid fisherman all his life, he even had a fishing bobblehead giveaway this year at Wrigley Field (left).
On the trip, Theriot relayed some classic fishing stories. After all, you can’t have a fishing trip without fishing stories, all in a Southern drawl and some photos from the day.
“My dad, he doesn’t like bass fishin’. He’s a saltwater snob to a certain extent. But he’ll fish croppie all day long. He’ll sit out there with his ultra light hookup…Then we’ll have a big fish fry at night. That’s what we grew up doing, fishin’ like that.”
“I did a salt water show once, redfish show on the coast. Me and a couple of other ballplayers….The host was this nice lady who didn’t know anything about fishing. We were on the boat 45 minutes, and she starts throwing up. She’d never been on a boat before. And we had just gotten on the fish, too. I was like, ‘What is going on here?’ So we had to go back in. We dropped her off and went back out and fished. We didn’t do the show, but we got to fish.”
“One time, our whole coaching staff went out in Houston on the Gulf to catch Cobia and snapper. And one of our coaches, I’m not going to name names, but for eight hours straight, he threw up. Our trainer, too. He spends all this time taking care of us, and yet, he’s hugging the toilet. It was like a real nice 68-foot boat, too.”
“My glove sponsor, Wilson, gives me a choice of gear from Cabela’s or Bass Pro Shop. My garage looks like a mini Bass Pro.”
“I love fishing because it lets you kind of get away from everything, turn yourself on/off.
It’s always been a passion of mine. Quiet time. It’s a good time to get people out of their element, it let’s people relax and get to know someone pretty good. I’ve rown up doing this, fishing and hunting. So it’s something that’s second nature to me.”
“[I remember] fishing one time when I was little in a lake called Country Club of Louisiana. I was in a little sweet pea row. A pea row is like a little canoe. I guess that’s Cajun for canoe. My dad both my brothers and myself in there, so if you moved to hard to one side, it would tip over. But I had the cane pole, and we’re fishin for croppie. A catfish hits my bait. It dragged us around the lake for an hour. And I swore I had Moby Dick on the line. I was talkin’ so much trash to my brothers and my dad. We finally dragged it in the boat, and it was only about a three-pound catfish, but I’ll never forget that one. That was a lot of fun. It was cool.”
“Mike Fontenot is a horrible fisherman. Probably one of the worst fishermen I’ve ever been around my entire life, true story. But for some reason he always catches fish, though. At LSU, we’d skip class and go fishin’. That’s just what we’d do.
“So me and two of our clubbies, Otis and Gary, were fishing in Arizona, of all places–the desert–right near my house out there so ‘Font’ comes out and fishes with us. Otis and Gary were in one area, me and Mike were in another area so Mike thinks it would be funny to cast right where their lines were and mess them up, hang them up. He ends up catching a five-pound bass. How does that happen? How do you do that? Where’s the rabbit’s foot? He’s a terrible fisherman, but he catches fish. So does that make him good? I don’t know. He has no idea what he’s doing. Maybe that’s what makes him a good baseball player. He has no idea of what he’s doing, but he’s just good.”
–Mike Huang
ONE TOWN
Sunday’s game against the White Sox almost had all the drama of a Hollywood script. There were men in black and men in white. A duel ensued under sheet of misty rain. And a champion paraded into town to uplift the masses….
Baseball fans were treated to near history with a double no-hitter taken into the seventh. White Sox right-hander Gavin Floyd lost his bid in the seventh, while Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly extended his no-hitter through the eighth. Juan Pierre broke it up in the ninth with a single.
In the end the Cubs won the game, but the city of Chicago was the real winner. To be sure, it has been a rough first half for both sides of town. On national television, the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks triumphantly paraded around “The Friendly Confines.” Indeed, the Blackhawks gave Cubs and White Sox fans something to cheer about, as they all collectively drank the goodness from Lord Stanley’s cup.
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The Stanley Cup gets the grand tour of “The Friendly Confines.”
Ryan Dempster and Carlos Marmol revel in the Cup’s presence. Who’s No. 1?
Hoisting the Cup, Dempster hopes to be hoisting another type of trophy someday.
Forward John Madden shares the Cup with ecstatic Cubs and Sox fans.
And amid all that, a pitching duel broke out as Ted Lilly (left) and Gavin Floyd had no-hitters going through the seventh and eighth innings, respectively. Lilly earned the win with a one-hitter.
–Mike Huang
Game 162
Yesterday brought the 2009 season to a close, and despite the Cubs being out of it, the 162nd game reminded me why we stick it through to the end.
This time it was to see Sam Fuld pick up his first major-league RBI. And of course, he did it with some style, hitting a home run to deep rightfield to get it done all by himself. Fuld made a name for himself — and rewarded many of the organization’s scouts and minor-league coaches who have praised him for his baseball IQ and plate discipline — this season with a number of full-extension catches as well as a .299 batting average and .409 on-base percentage.
Being that it was Fuld’s first home run, it was worth paying close attention to the dugout’s reaction. Sure enough, the team gave Fuld the silent treatment while the outfielder beckoned them on a little bit. They held still until Fuld walked by Derrek Lee, who reached back to give him a big pat on the back.
“I kind of sniffed out what they were doing when I got back in there,” Fuld told reporters. “But it meant a lot to me.”
Once again, Cubs fans, you showed why you are the best in baseball. After Derrek Lee’s eighth-inning flyout, the near-sellout crowd gave him a standing ovation for his outstanding season.
“I wasn’t expecting it; I didn’t know how to react,” Lee told reporters after the game. “I appreciate it. It was really cool.”
Thanks to all of our fans who supported us at the ballpark or across the nation by subscribing to Vine Line this season.
Seen around the ballpark this last weekend:
? The Alfonso Soriano promotional poster from 2008 hanging in the clubhouse, with a bandage stuck over his left knee.
? Ted Lilly and Ryan Dempster continuing to go on runs together, even after Lilly had thrown his last pitch in 2009.
? Top Cubs prospects Brett Jackson, Casey Coleman and Kyler Burke wearing eager smiles as they were taken through the Cubs clubhouse to meet the big-leaguers and on the field for a ceremony with Double-A manager Ryne Sandberg (right).
? Sandberg and Lou Piniella talking Cubs baseball in the home dugout, minutes before the national anthem on Saturday.
– Sean Ahmed
Back home
Nice to have some baseball back at Wrigley Field! The Cubs start a seven-game homestand today, including the July 30 makeup date against the Astros.
Fukudome, CF
Theriot, SS
Lee, 1B
Ramirez, 3B
Bradley, RF
Soriano, LF
Fontenot, 2B
Hill, C
Wells, RHP
Right-hander Aaron Harang (5-10, 4.17 ERA) pitches for the Reds.
Chicago sights
All-star left-hander Ted Lilly attended last night’s PAWS Chicago 2009 Beach Party on North Ave. All proceeds benefitted PAWS Chicago’s humane efforts.
Putting on the big show
You can still get great seats from just $5 to this year’s Road to Wrigley game, pitting the Triple-A Iowa Cubs against the Las Vegas 51s on Sunday, Aug. 9 at 1:20 p.m. There will be loads of mascots, food and drink specials, inexpensive parking and, of course, kids run the bases after the game.
Inside a frigid Opening Day
Ah, Opening Day. No matter if it’s played on March 31 (like last year) or a full two weeks later, on April 13, that first game always seems to bring out the worst in Chicago weather.
But an impressive turnout of Cubs fans endured temperatures in the 40s and the constant misty rain, all after a one-hour, 12-minute rain delay. And they were treated to a great home opener:
? The crowd gave a standing ovation to National Guard Specialist Eunice Hernandez, an honored guest of the Cubs’ community affairs department. Hernandez, 22, became nationally known when, during the Commander-in-Chief Inaugural Ball, she answered President Barack Obama’s question of “White Sox or Cubs?” with “Cubs.” Hernandez was visiting the ballpark during her couple weeks in between tours of duty in Afghanistan.
? The Captain Morgan Club was at capacity the couple times I walked by in the late innings. And the crowd inside was as much a part of the Wrigley experience as any, joining “Sut” for “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”
? Ted Lilly took a no-hitter into the seventh inning despite the wet mist that wreaked havoc on pitchers’ command. He said after the game that he wasn’t thinking about maintaining the no-hitter but rather that the conditions forced him to focus only on making quality pitches. Lou Piniella raved about Lilly’s performance under tough conditions.
“It was a cold, raw day, and Lilly really mastered the weather,” Piniella said. “He threw strikes, changed speeds, got his curveball over … really an outstanding pitching performance.”
? General manager Jim Hendry was his typical, enthusiastic self after the game. Aside from a brief stop in the office last Friday morning before heading to Milwaukee, Jim hasn’t been in Wrigley Field for over two months. Glad we got this first one today.
– Sean Ahmed
1000 Words: Springtime rarities
At the end of practice this past Tuesday, they were teaching pitchers how to slide. And they have these large sheets out to slide on because pitchers are rarely in a situation where they have to do that. They were just reviewing with them, especially the American League guys like Chad Gaudin, running through with them how to go down how to do it.
But the funny part was that the guys were just busting each other up over it because nobody’s got style. They’re all figuring out how not to get hurt.
– Steve Green
