I'm going to be out of town for a few days, so nothing new will be up until at least Friday.

In the meantime, drop over to the Cub Reporter to see what Christian Ruzich is up to -- he always has some good thoughts on the Cubs. Also, be sure to read The Untitled Cubs Page. It's pretty new, but it's off to a very good start and recently did a position by position analysis of the Cubs that is worth checking out.

Finally, go say hi to Aaron over at Aaron's Baseball Blog. He's still in college and that makes him funny.

Write to me here.

The Dusty Effect

Word this morning is that Sammy Sosa will actually be in Cubs camp on Wednesday of this week. Mike Kiley of the Suntimes has an article here. It's called "A Show of Respect from Sosa."

It's interesting to think of all the intangibles that Dusty is getting credit for bringing to the Cubs. If Sosa shows up, he'll be the first manager to get him to report on time. I happen to think that more is made of when Sammy reports than is probably necessary, but I can guarantee that if I were on that team and Sammy waltzed into camp 3-4 days after I had to report, shouting "Welcome to my house!" no less, I would probably resent it. No, check that, I would definitely resent it.

Let's make it clear: when Sammy reports has nothing to so with how he performs as an individual. He always has good numbers in the Spring and usually comes to camp in shape, so there is no argument that he should show up earlier in order to get more at bats or get into better shape.

No, the argument is that he completely obliterates any bond with his teammates, especially any new ones. Is it any wonder that Manny Alexander was about the only player on the team a few years back that wanted to "hang" with Sosa? I remember Sosa walking in last year and Bobby Hill was sitting there and Sosa went off on his media-inspired monologue. Can you imagine what he thought? If there is one set of rules for the "team" and one set of rules for the "man," it's almost impossible not have some feelings on the issue. It doesn't make Sosa an evil guy and it doesn't mean we should trade him or anything like that -- it just is another example of why Sosa seems like a pretty selfish guy. I think we all get that. But while it might affect what his teammates think of him, I'm pretty sure it doesn't affect how he plays. Seems to me that nobody was saying he was too selfish and didn't come to camp early enough back in 1998 when he set the world on fire.

In any event, Kiley's title for the article is right on. If Sosa shows up on time - it's something he didn't do for any other manager. Now maybe that's because Dusty Baker hasn't ripped him publicly before even talking to him (Baylor) and Dusty Baker didn't publicly lambast him after a failed stolen base attempt at the end of the previous year (Riggleman). I'm not excusing the fact that Sosa had such a fragile ego that he felt like he needed to make a statement on those occasions, I'm just saying that maybe -- just maybe Sosa is waking up a little and realizing that there is more to baseball than necklaces that say "30-30" on them. And so far, we have Dusty Baker to thank for that.

We also have Baker to thank for this critical mass of optimism we seem to have entering the first few days of camp. Mike Remlinger publicly said that he would have signed somewhere else if Baker wasn't the manager. Kerry Wood is dropping quotes as if he's accepted the role of elder statesman on the club - guy who has been around the wars for awhile - kind of a Mark Grace / Matt Stairs role that pretty much went unfilled last year.

Damien Miller is talking about developing his rapport with the catchers and how the tone the manager sets affects the entire team. Kyle Farnsworth seems grateful that Baker could care less about last year and is giving him a clean slate. Even Corey Patterson seems eager to work with Baker.

Rod Beck is lighter, clean-shaven and seems to think he'll make the team. Can I just tell you how cool it would be to see the shooter back on the hill at Wrigley dropping 78 MPH splitters under hitters bats all year? Much was made of his moxie during his first stint with the Cubs, and I think that's something that the Cubs have lacked in recent years -- fire. I can remember Beck and Terry Mulholland pitching until their arms fell off and still asking for the ball the next day. These guys were warriors and man were they fun to root for.

Maybe Beck's got nothing left and this is just wishful thinking, but if it's not, and some of this is rubbing off onto Sosa of all people, it can't be bad.

It's impossible to quantify what things like moxie and fire can bring to a team, and the boys over at Baseball Primer will surely come up with a 20 page treatise that "proves" why these intangibles don't help a team. That's fine - I understand what it means and why they think it is that way.

But in the end, I say bullcrap. I've been on too many mediocre teams that got alot out of things like teamwork, competitive spirit, and a refusal to lose.

Statistically, it can't be proven. Of course not. I'm not saying that it can.

All I am saying is that it doesn't hurt. There IS some value to it, and I really don't care if I can't point to some numbers and prove to you that there is.

Somewhere along the lines this year the Cubs will win a few games even though they were outplayed by better teams. The statheads will say it wasn't because of any of these factors - that it was random or luck or it was because the wind was blowing in after the 7th inning during a day game the day after the Cubs lost by more than 4 runs but less than 8 and the sun was aligned with scorpio.

But if you talk to any of the players, they'll say it was because of their moxie, their attitude and their drive.

Will this make a difference over a 162 game season? Probably not. Will it make a difference in the psyches of the players? You better believe it, and no amount of statistics, numbers or theorems can make me feel differently.

I have a feeling that some of you will disagree. Write to me here.