Cubs getting belated building permits

September 10, 2004

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter

After a war of words with Mayor Daley over falling concrete at Wrigley Field, it appears the Tribune Co. will finally get the permits it needed all along for $1.9 million worth of past stadium repairs.

On Thursday, the Chicago Cubs filed an amended permit application to reflect work actually performed in response to a 2001 report on the structural integrity of 90-year-old Wrigley and included updated drawings demanded by City Hall.

"There's additional information that clarifies the work ... included in the financial information submitted in the first permit [application]. They needed to show drawings for that. And they clarified that what they hadn't done wasn't required," said Craig Vespa of the city's Department of Construction and Permits.

The new drawings cover an array of past work, including bleacher stair replacement, concrete beam, flagpole and scoreboard repairs, lattice truss work on the upper deck and renovation of restrooms and the ticket office.

Construction and Permits spokeswoman Sabrina Miller was asked if the second time would be the charm for an Aug. 13 application rejected by City Hall. ". . . I'm told it should be permitted within four to five days," Miller said.

It was not known what penalty the Tribune Co. would pay for making major repairs without the required permits, which had drawn sustained and pointed criticism from Daley.

The Cubs issued a carefully worded statement in hopes of putting the controversy behind them:

"The information provided aims to put to rest issues regarding work done in the past, and the Cubs look forward to continuing to invest in future renovation and repairs to the Friendly Confines," the statement read.
U.S. Cellular Field is among the ballparks the Florida Marlins never have visited. They could cross it off the list as early as Monday.

If Hurricane Ivan looks like it might affect South Florida's weather, Major League Baseball is prepared to relocate next week's Marlins-Expos series to Chicago.

The two teams are set to play the first of five games, including a Tuesday doubleheader, Monday at Pro Player Stadium. The Marlins are already in Chicago to face the Cubs in a four-game series beginning Friday and the Expos have been told to prepare for a possible trip from Atlanta to U.S. Cellular, home of the White Sox.

"We're not going to make a decision at least until [Friday]," MLB president and chief operating officer Bob DuPuy said. "[The Marlins] are going to Chicago. They are prepared for the duration. Probably sometime [Friday] we'll make a decision about the game on Monday. Then on a rolling basis continue to make a decision on any subsequent games."

Another highly placed MLB source said Chicago makes the most sense for relocated games because the Marlins are already in the city.

Brooks Boyer, vice president of marketing for the Sox, hadn't heard of the possibility yet but was ready to help figure out ways to draw fans.

"We'll come up with something. Baseball is baseball. Sox fans will probably support [the Marlins] if they are competing with the Cubs for a wild-card spot."

Because Wrigley Field and U.S. Cellular share some personnel, the Marlins and Expos would have to play when the Cubs and Pirates aren't. For the Marlins, that would translate to day games Monday and Tuesday, and a night game Wednesday. The Cubs travel to Cincinnati Thursday.

Before Thursday's game against the Mets, Marlins players were briefed about possibly playing some or all of the Expos games in Chicago. They delayed their charter flight to Chicago until 9 p.m. so team members could go home and pack additional clothes.

The Marlins also gave players the option of bringing their families on the trip in case Hurricane Ivan hits near South Florida while they are on the road.

"It's a great [gesture], especially with what we have to go through the next month on the field with all the games in a short period of time," said Jeff Conine, whose team is scheduled to play 27 games in 24 days. "That's all we need right now, to be away and worry about our families."

Asked about losing more home games, Conine shrugged. The Marlins already lost one when Hurricane Frances washed out last weekend's Cubs series.

"Chalk it up to the great luck we've been having and go get 'em," he said. "There's nothing we can do about it."

Joked manager Jack McKeon: "We could go to Vegas or wherever, Atlantic City. I packed for three [days], but I'm going back to pack for seven."

On Friday, the Marlins will play the first of three scheduled doubleheaders in 11 days. It will be the 19th in franchise history (ninth on the road). The Marlins have swept their last two doubleheaders (five total).

The Sept. 20 doubleheader against the Cubs, to make up for games postponed last weekend, will start at 12:05 p.m.
Cubs left fielder Moises Alou retains an unshakable faith in where he and his team are headed in the season's final five weeks, despite perceptions he believes are unfair.

His recent baserunning misadventures, for example, have been characterized as judgment errors, but Alou views getting doubled off base on occasion (four times since Aug. 8) as taking a calculated risk to try to score. He firmly believes the Cubs will pull out of their 3-6 tailspin and win the wild-card playoff berth.

Entering today's opener of perhaps the biggest series at Wrigley Field since Florida came to Chicago on Oct. 12, 2003, and robbed the bewildered Cubs of their World Series aspirations in the National League Championship Series, Alou talked about how this year's Cubs are superior to last year's. He said it would be stunning if they missed the playoffs in what could be his final year with the club.

''If it doesn't happen -- and I don't mean to think negative -- it would be probably the biggest disappointment of my career on any team,'' Alou said. ''Next year, you don't know what's going to happen. In order for us to keep this team together, we're going to have to win.''

Seeing the Marlins for the next four games, beginning this afternoon with a doubleheader (1:20 p.m., Fox Sports Net), should have the same effect as waving a red flag at a bull.

''We have the same pitching as last year and we are a lot better offensively,'' Alou said. ''It's going to be tight. It's going to go all the way to the end. We have to get everybody going, because the teams that we are fighting are good teams. In order for us to win, we are going to have to turn it up a notch in every aspect of the game.

''Expectations are higher from the fans, media and ourselves. Because we're not leading the division, and another team [St. Louis] is doing what we were supposed to do, that's why people are always looking at the negative part of the season. But we have played pretty well to be in the situation we are. I still have a lot of faith in this season.''

Alou is critical of stories such as the one in last Friday's Sun-Times in which White Sox broadcaster Ken Harrelson supported Cubs broadcasters Chip Caray and Steve Stone in their well-publicized battle with players who chafe at their criticisms. Alou was the first to make public what he and other Cubs felt about the analysis of Stone and Caray, but now Alou faults the media for dragging out the story.

''I don't think it's our fault; I think it's your guys' fault,'' he said. ''The other day we had no game and I guess you guys had nothing to write about. I saw the article reminding the fans about our relationship with Steve Stone. That's over. Everybody's forgotten about that. Nobody thinks about that anymore on our team. And then we've got the media bringing that [stuff] up and I don't think that was fair -- saying we're whiners. We're not whiners.

''There are a few guys here that say what they feel. And there's a bunch of guys that don't say what they feel. That's not whining. If I talk [stuff] about you, and you're a guy that has pride, you're going to talk some [stuff] back. So that [story] right there bothered me. We're human beings. Sometimes you're [ticked] off and don't agree with somebody and that's the way everybody is.''

As far as chemistry is concerned, Alou rates these Cubs more of a tight-knit group than 2003.

''We got nicer guys, a bunch of guys who care for each other,'' he said. ''You see a bunch of guys hanging out together and talking [stuff] before the game, during the game. We got a better group of guys this year than the past two years I have been here. I'm not saying we had some [jerks] last year. We got along great last year, but I think this team is getting along better.''

Alou said his three ejections this year, as well as suspensions to Kerry Wood, LaTroy Hawkins, Kent Mercker, Carlos Zambrano and Dusty Baker, are a sign that they care a lot.

''Woody got suspended for arguing a call when he was right,'' he said. ''Dusty got suspended because the umpire screwed up a double switch. Mercker got suspended for something that didn't happen on the field. Hawkins went ballistic with a guy he has a history with. Zambrano hit a guy and that's the way you play the game. You lose your temper sometimes. Doesn't mean we're bad guys.

''I have been thrown out of three games because I always fight for my rights. We haven't been playing on all cylinders all year. It's a combination of injuries and not getting good pitching and good hitting at the same time. Everybody knows our pitching isn't as dominating as it was last year. But we also weren't hitting like we were supposed to for the first half of the year. Hopefully, we can get both things going and win the wild card.''