The Longest Day - Off Days and Other Newsy-ness

Things Desperate Baseball Fans Do On Off Days

Even with fake games I hate off-days...especially after 4 months of off days.  There should be a law that
requires baseball games every day, and that law should also allow me to sit at home watching those games...getting paid handsomely.

But...here I am, slaving away pounding the keyboard after working behind a keyboard.  Oh well...at least, hopefully, someone else gets to read me drone on and on and on about nothing.

So...about that Newsy-ness:

• Jesse Rogers reports that Rick Renteria may not be all business.  He gave the Cubs a day off from baseball today after "Pushing them a lot".  It's easy to forget that baseball players are humans and I don't mind an off day after over a month of straight through baseball activities.  There seems to be a lot of Cubs with some minor injuries so taking a breather can never hurt.
• Mike Olt had good things to say about his 2-HR night to Rogers.  It's Spring Training and we always hear the standard platitudes of "Best Shape of My Life" and "As the Good Feelings Turn" but when a player who was suffering A LOT due to injuries last year and comes back talking about how good he feels, I have hope.  If Olt can become a .250/.350/.450 3B with Plus-Plus defense, I can begin to forget about Ramirez.  Even if you short that line by .020 points each stop, that is a very good player to have in the pre-arb years.
• Welcome home Marcos Mateo.  Tony Andracki reports that the Diamondbacks have returned Mateo after a few weeks in Spring Training after selecting him in this offseason's Rule V draft.  Mateo struggled to get results in 2010-2011 despite posting a reasonable BB and K rate and is 30.  I'm guessing he will be kept in Des Moines for insurance in case the Cubs have a sudden rash of a dozen pitchers hitting the DL.
• It appears that this Sunday, CSN Chicago is showing the Cubs game sans commercials according to Paul Banks over at Cubs Den (Wow, I greatly dislike his opening paragraph).  Instead opting to show player/manager/coach profiles.  Bully for them.  (Side note, a scan of CSN Chicago's webpage didn't mention this, but I may have missed it)
• Neat-o.  The Cubs set an attendance record for Arizona on Wednesday at 14,680.  I bet community officials in Mesa are sure glad they ponied up to keep the Cubs around.  Man, if only the Cubs didn't greatly benefit from Wrigley Field and could have busted out the move card as soon as discussions over public financing went south.
• Giggity!  John Arguello over at Cubs Den is hearing that Olt is a near-lock for Opening Day 3B, provided that shoulder is healthy.  That is just totes Cubs.  A former big-time prospect appears to overcome the biggest issue facing him coming into the season, only to get sidetracked by not being able to do the one thing that no one questioned.  If Olt needs a couple weeks on the DL and some rehab time at Iowa (I doubt this but...), does it make sense to keep him down for a bit longer?  Do I have another article brewing that this might be leading into?  Do I like dumb teaser questions?
• Serena Dai over at DNAInfo highlights something us Out of Towners may want to be a bit more aware of.  The cops around Wrigleyville are stepping up their efforts to crackdown on illegal parking/fun having/debauchery.  I say good for them...if it helps keep crime at bay in a city that is constantly battling the forces of evil.
• And now your random picture/gif/whateverthehellIfeellikepostinghere.  Apparently, throughout the Cold War, Soviet scientists ran an experiment to domesticate the fox.  Turns out, as they bred out wildness, the foxes turned, gradually, into looking like domesticated dogs.  Mmm...what would the fox have to say about that?