Here's a quick look at some numbers for Opening Day:

Cubs vs. Javier Vasquez

Corey Patterson .333
Todd Walker .333
Nomar Garciaparra .333
Aramis Ramirez .077
Jeromy Burnitz .300
Derek Lee .303
Todd Hollandsworth .364
Michael Barrett has not faced Vasquez

Burnitz has homered off Vasquez 5 times in 40 career at-bats. Lee has 3 homers off Vasquez in 33 at-bats.

D-Backs vs. Carlos Zambrano

Craig Counsell .333
Royce Clayton .231
Luis Gonzales .250
Troy Glaus has not faced Zambrano
Shawn Green .286
Chad Tracy .667
Jose Cruz Jr. .000

As a manager, how do you handle the last few games of spring training?

First and foremost, you try and get your guys out of spring training in one piece. Injuries late in camp are always a possibility and usually by this time, the team is pretty well set and you have it all figured out how everything fits together. You just want to be able to break camp with all those pieces in place so you can at least start the season with a full hand. Above and beyond that, you stretch out your starters and get them to go seven, eight, maybe even nine innings. You make sure that your double play combination up the middle has a chance to work together pretty regularly at the end of camp. If there's any matchups between pitchers and catchers that you want to explore, this is the time to do it here in the last week of camp. Usually by this time, though, everything is pretty well set and everybody is ready for the regular season to start. Friday's game is also a chance for the regulars to get some at-bats in a night game setting.

Bob

All right Cubs fans, I'd like to pose a simple question as we get set for the season to start next week. Please post your response. Bob and I will be be discussing this in Las Vegas this weekend and will read some of your comments:

Who do you think will be the Cubs' team MVP (and why) in 2005?

Let us know who you think will be THE key player for the Cubs this year.

Len

Here's our upcoming broadcast schedule (Central time):

Friday-April 1 9p Cubs vs. Seattle in Las Vegas
Saturday-April 2 3p Cubs vs. Seattle in Las Vegas
Monday-April 4 4p Cubs @ Arizona SEASON OPENER
Friday-April 8 12:30p "Next Year is Here" (HD)
Friday-April 8 1p Brewers @ Cubs HOME OPENER (HD)

Hey Gang, we're a week away from Opening Day and Bob and I are ready for the regular season to start. We have a couple telecasts from Las Vegas this coming weekend (Friday night and Saturday afternoon) against the Mariners before heading back to the Valley of the Sun for the opener on April 4 (you can catch all of them on the superstation). I'll tell you, I cannot wait until the Wrigley opener on the 8th vs. Milwaukee (also on WGN). As fun as spring training is, I'm ready to get to work at the corner of Clark & Addison. I've worked in the visiting booth there many times, but this will be my first time obviously in the home booth and my first Cubs home opener. Just think...in one week, the games start to count and we'll have 6 full months (and hopefully a full October as well) of Cubs regular season baseball!

Len

How are you getting along with your new partner Len?

Len? I thought his name was Les! So far it has been very, very comfortable. We have both worked with a variety of people throughout the course of our broadcasting careers and as an analyst, I can say that Len is the perfect play-by-play guy. He gives me plenty of opportunity to say what I need to say, he can carry the telecast if necessary, and I think he's just warped enough that we're going to get along great this year.

Bob

Is it tough to keep your veterans motivated at the end of spring training?

It's tough to keep everybody motivated at the end of spring. A lot of guys come into camp thinking they're ready to start the regular season as it is, so four weeks of spring training games in some players' eyes is too long. Especially the veteran players - they can see it as too long.

Bob

Hi Everyone,

As the Cubs look at their bullpen now without Joe Borowski to start the season, you really have to give Jim Hendry credit for a shrewd risk-free off-season signing in Chad Fox. The only question with Fox the last several years (and granted, it's been a big one) has been his health. He (knock on wood) says his twice surgically-repaired elbow feels great and he sure has been sharp this spring, notwithstanding a tough outing yesterday. I'm not saying Fox will turn into a dominant closer, but I think he can close if needed, and (again) if healthy, will at the very least be a great 8th inning option for the Cubs. His slider is as good as anybody's, he has a solid fastball, and he has a World Series ring to boot. You may recall it was Fox who ended up with the win in the infamous Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS at Wrigley. You may not realize that the Marlins plucked him off the scrap heap that August after he had a short stint in Boston. Let's hope he stays healthy...if he does, he can be a huge factor for the Cubs in 2005.

Len

From Roberto Serrano:
What do you think about the Cardinals and their offseason transactions?

Well, I think the Cardinals made some key moves in the offseason, but I think they also had some very key losses - Mike Matheny, their starting catcher over the last few seasons, their starting shortstop Edgar Renteria, and their starting second baseman Tony Womack. It's always been said in the game of baseball that you build up the middle and they lost three-fourths of their middle defense, so I think it remains to be seen as to whether they are going to be able to be better than they were last year.

Bob

From Carl Mich:
What are your thoughts on Jerry Hairston Jr.? Should he be starting or would he best-used as a supersub?

I think for this year's ballclub and the lineup coming out of spring training that Jerry Hairston's main value will be as a utility player playing a variety of positions. However, should injuries or ineffectiveness crop up, I think that Jerry Hairston is a guy that's perfectly capable of stepping in and being a starting player.

Bob

Check out behind-the-scenes photos from our WGN Sports Cubs broadcast booth during the Cubs vs. Brewers game on Saturday, March 19 with Len Kasper and Bob Brenly.

We're getting ready for our second WGN telecast on Saturday vs. Milwaukee. For Bob and me, it will be our third game working together. For the Cubs, Carlos Zambrano will get the start. It's actually a split-squad game for the Cubs, who will start Glendon Rusch vs. Oakland over in Phoenix.

With the uncertain health of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, it's possible Carlos could be the Cubs Opening Day starter. When you look at last year's numbers (16-8/2.75) he'd certainly be an excellent choice. The Cubs surely want Wood and Prior back ASAP, but the good news in all this is the Cubs have some depth in their rotation and it may come in handy in early April. I look at it this way, there are a lot of teams that would take Zambrano and Maddux as their top two starters. You put that tandem with a hopefully healthy Wood and Prior and 1 through 4 the Cubs rotation might be the best of the lot in the National League.

Tune in Saturday and we'll have the Cubs and Brewers from Mesa!

From Carl in Danville:

Len - if you could pick one broadcast job out there for any team, what team would that be? Did you have any reservations coming into this season and if so, what were they? Lastly, how nervous were you really coming into your first game?

Great questions Carl. 1) I have the best play-by-play not only in baseball, but in sports, IMO. I honestly never dreamed I would ever have the chance to call Cubs games on WGN, but luckily, I was in the right place at the right time. 2) How nervous was I? Tough to answer, but I can say that I always have butterflies on game day. ALWAYS. It's that adrenaline that I get before going on the air that helps me stay sharp throughout the game. Actually, I've been more nervous at home just THINKING about the enormity of this job than I've been in the booth! It's like, "Wow, I can't believe this isn't a dream!"

Len

Hi Everyone, I thought I'd give you a quick rundown of my day today here in Mesa. Of course, we didn't televise the Cubs-Royals game, but I was at the game. People often ask me what sort of preparation I do on game days and non-game days. Well, here goes...we'll title this "The Life of a Broadcaster."

First thing this morning, I got up (good way to start the day, don't you think?) and got on-line for about an hour...perused all the Chicago papers and skimmed the other baseball articles around the country. I then got cleaned up and headed to the ballpark around 10:00 and met up with Oneiri Fleita, the Cubs Director of Player Development, at Fitch Park where the Cubs minor league camp is taking place. Oneira showed me around the four diamonds and pointed out (and introduced me to) several of the Cubs minor league coaches/managers/instructors/prospects.

Then around 11:00 I headed over to HoHoKam and went into the Cubs clubhouse to say hi to everyone and talk to some people and get up to speed on the day's news in camp. I then had lunch with Ryan Lefebvre and Denny Matthews of the Kansas City Royals radio crew before heading up to the pressbox to watch the game. During the game, I also looked through some of the new media guides the Cubs media relations staff had recently gotten from other teams.

In the 8th inning, I joined the Royals radio crew and chatted with them on the air until the end of the game, a Cubs 6-1 win. I then fought traffic and headed back to the hotel. Went out, had a nice dinner at a local Mexican restaurant, came back and typed up this email. Now, I'm gonna do a little more media guide work and then call it a night.

Go Cubbies...

Len

Are you guys still planning on having the 7th inning stretch at home games? Al - Elgin, IL

Yes, we will show the 7th inning stretch singer during each WGN-TV home game again this season. The Cubs will continue the new tradition started in 1998 of having various celebrities as the guest conductors. We'll try and update the singers here on the sports blog at the beginning of each homestand so you know who to respect. Len and Bob have already been notified that they'll be on the hook very early in the season = we can't wait to hear them sing.

Hi Everyone,

We hope you enjoyed Saturday's telecast (I know Bob and I did!). It was great to finally get on the air with my new partner and our great WGN Sports crew. I think it was apparent that one thing Cubs fans can really look forward to is Bob Brenly's sense of timing and humor. He's concise and insightful with his comments on the game and has a wry and cutting wit that will have me on the floor a few times throughout the season.

I know we got a ton of emails Saturday and we'll do what we can in future telecasts to get to as many of your questions as possible.

Hope you can catch the Cubs in action again this weekend--Friday, Hawk and D.J. will work the Cubs-Sox in Tucson and then Saturday, B.B. and I will broadcast the Cubs and Brewers from Mesa.

Go Cubs!

Len

The WGN Sports baseball blog is a fan forum for America's favorite pastime. Hosted by Len Kasper and Bob Brenly, this is your opportunity to talk baseball, no matter what the subject ...from the bullpen to the dugout, from the front office to the clubhouse and from the bleachers to the broadcast booth. It's time to get ready to play ball with WGN Sports as we take you inside the 2005 baseball season!

- WGNTV Webmaster

Hey Cubs Fans... We hope everyone is looking forward to another great season of WGN baseball as much as we are! As you know, Saturday March 12th is our first of four Spring Training broadcasts, and I thought we'd try to include you as part of our production team!

We will again be airing our very popular Fan Cam segment all season long, and thought we'd ask your help in choosing the songs we use! Let's try it for our first two games in Arizona. Send me your ideas, and we'll pick the most appropriate song, provided it's available for downloading.

I look forward to seeing your suggestions and ideas! Can't wait to hear "Play Ball" on Saturday!

Pete Toma
Producer of Cubs Baseball on WGN-TV

Hohokam Park, the Cubs spring training home in Mesa, is named for an Indian tribe that originally occupied the Mesa area. The current Hohokams are a volunteer organization that will oversee the 190,000 plus visitors to the Cub spring games at Hohokam this year. Dwight Patterson, who founded the Hohokams, is remembered as one of the founders of the Arizona Cactus League. He was instrumental in luring the Cubs to Mesa in 1952 and the playing field at Hohokam is named in his honor.

Spring training greetings everyone!

It's been a long winter, but it's great to not only have baseball back, but on a personal level, to be beginning an amazing journey in my first year with WGN and the Cubs. I can't wait to get on the air with my new partner Bob Brenly on Saturday vs. the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (if that, in fact, is still their name by the end of the week!). We'll have lots of fun on the air this year and also on the WGN Sports Blog, to which I will be a contributor. Feel free to throw any questions/comments our way and we'll do our best to answer them or debate the baseball issues of the day. Thanks for checking in and Go Cubbies!!!

Len

With Opening Day less than a month away, here's how some of the Cubs have fared throughout their careers at the Bank One Ballpark, courtesy of our friends at STATS, Inc.:

Corey Patterson .194
Todd Walker .270
Nomar Garciaparra .000 (hasn't played at the BOB)
Aramis Ramirez .323
Derek Lee .247
Jeromy Burnitz .248
Michael Barrett .311
Todd Hollandsworth .290

Kerry Wood - 3 career starts, 2-1 with a 2.61 ERA.

WGN-TV Spring Training Broadcasts

Sat-March 12 2p Central Angels vs. Cubs Mesa
Fri-March 18 2p Central Cubs vs. Sox Tucson
Sat-March 19 2p Central Brewers vs. Cubs Mesa
Fri-April 1 9p Central Mariners vs. Cubs Las Vegas
Sat-April 2 3p Central Mariners vs. Cubs Las Vegas