Josh Fields Tweets the following about a new teammate in Kansas City:

Today was filled with a lot of Chuck Norris jokes in the locker room! I would definately say Im more scared of Kyle Farnsworth, than Chuck!

And:

Farns is an great dude! All I'm saying is I don't want to piss him off, & I'm glad I'm his teammate! Anyone like one tree hill, like me?

Probably wise, given this:

We often wondered why Paul Sullivan and company were so eager to run Milton Bradley out of town, given that he was 63.71 percent of what they wrote about during 2009 (according to a Deloitte audit of Cubs media coverage).

There was no need for worry. Bradley's departure hasn't slowed the coverage much, if at all - something that is understandably annoying the 2010 Cubs.

How much do Chicago's baseball writers still have Bradley on the brain? Tons.

Below is a somewhat comprehensive list of the times Bradley has been mentioned by the Tribune or its employees in the last four weeks (does not include radio, TV or things my Google machine did not pick up). It basically works out to one a day, even though pitchers and catchers didn't report until 11 days into this highly scientific study.

Here we go:

(click "read more" for full article)

Phil Rogers shares "10 baseball truths" from spring training this year and beats a dead horse to a pulp:

7. The Cubs really might go 80-82, payroll be damned. They look more like a team in transition than one that will allow Lou Piniella to finish the job he was hired to do. How could they have invested in Bradley, not Adam Dunn? When they gave Bradley $30 million over three years, Dunn would have loved to have taken his $20 million from the Cubs rather than the Nationals.

8. The Mark DeRosa trade still looks bad. Cubs GM Jim Hendry really likes the pitchers he got in that trade (Jeff Stevens, John Gaub and Chris Archer), but now's the time to get something out of the right-handed Stevens and the left-handed Gaub, and both are off to shaky starts this spring.

(click "read more" for full article)

Paul Sullivan's unscientific survey of Cubs players found some support for the idea of adding a Jumbotron (do they still call it that?) at Wrigley Field.

Support came from Aramis Ramirez ("good for the fans and good for us"), Ryan Dempster (add it to a rooftop) and Tom Gorzelanny (he likes it and "it wouldn't take away from anything").

Against? You guessed it:

(click "read more" for full article)

1. He really seemed upset when he gave up that second-inning homer to fall behind 6-0. So that's something.

2. Pinstripes are not all that slimming, at least when it comes to Carlos Silva.

Carry on, citizens.

Interactivity - and work for you, the reader - is coming to Wrigleyville23.

In an attempt to log every TOOTBLAN by the Cubs in 2010, I am asking you all to log them in the TOOTBLAN forum thread under the Forum header above.

We tried to log them last year, but it was rather cumbersome for me to try to do myself. So get on board. It's for history. And science.

What's a TOOTBLAN? Glad you asked:

(click "read more" for full article)

Milton Bradley talking about the Cubs to the New York Times is like catnip for Paul Sullivan. It turned into three Tweets and a story that begun thusly:

MESA, Ariz. -- When Milton Bradley was traded to Seattle in December, he said he no longer wanted to discuss his controversial stint with the Cubs.

"I have no interest in speaking about Chicago," Bradley told reporters. "I'm a Seattle Mariner. I've moved on. I wish you would move on, and I wish the Chicago Cubs organization the best."

But three months later, Bradley had some interesting things to say about Chicago in an interview with the New York Times. In Bradley's eyes, the blame for his unproductive season lies with "Chicago," not him.

(click "read more" for full article)

Alfonso Soriano is going to be hitting in Spanish this year, which I believe can only help the Cubs:

MESA, Ariz. — One after another Wednesday at HoHoKam Park, the line drives exploded off the bat of Alfonso Soriano during Cubs batting practice.

Behind the cage hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo didn't see a single one land, his eyes focused intently on Soriano's hips and his words aimed specifically for his ears.

"Espidad, espidad!'' Jaramillo repeated.

Asked later for a translation, Jaramillo explained the command reminds the free-swinging Soriano to slow down his breathing, which slows down his mind and thus his approach to the ball.

Jaramillo doesn't necessarily have to speak the same language to connect with a hitter he mentored for two seasons with the Rangers. But, in Soriano's case, it improves his hearing as well as his hitting.

"Sure it helps," Jaramillo said. "I love teaching in Spanish."

(click "read more" for full article)

Phil Rogers has something on my Google machine called "Your morning Phil," which is somewhat disturbing.

This morning, he discovers that the Cubs bullpen might not be very good:

Spring training games don't really matter, of course. The ones that do won't start for another month. Still it's alarming that the Cubs might have the least impressive group of right-handed relievers in the majors -- a stunning development given they could rank as high as No. 3 with their $140 million payroll.

Carlos Marmol is a question as the closer, yes. But look at the group behind him. Angel Guzman was the most likely set-up man, based on his pitching in the second half of 2009, but he's unproven over the long haul and has been a physical and emotional wreck this spring, thanks to factor that call for compassion. The other guys with big-league experience are Jeff Gray (also running behind physically), David Patton, Justin Berg, Mitch Atkins, Esmailin Caridad and Jeff Stevens. Untested prospects Andrew Cashner and Blake Parker could contribute. All these guys will be fun to watch this spring. But where's the gristle?

Lou Piniella, at last look not the easiest manager on young relievers, loves the potential of Cashner and Caridad. But the lack of experience in the bullpen could make Baseball Prospectus' 80-82 forecast correct. Does any team have more uncertainty in the pen?

Phil's answer? More Granderson.