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No more Wrigley? Cubs ace asks for a new ballpark
By HOWIE RUMBERG
NEW YORK (AP)—Standing in the plush visitors’ clubhouse of Yankee Stadium, Carlos Zambrano made a plea for Chicago to replace Wrigley Field.
“You come into a ballpark like this and you see great things,” the Cubs ace told The Associated Press on Saturday before his team’s 10-1 exhibition loss at the sparkling ballpark in the Bronx.
“You wish that Chicago’d build a new stadium for the Cubs,” he said.
Built in 1914 and home to the Cubs since 1916, Wrigley Field is the second-oldest major league stadium, trailing only Boston’s Fenway Park (1912). Fans in Chicago still flock to see the ivy-covered walls and keep alive Harry Caray’s tradition of singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during every seventh-inning stretch.
In 2008, their 100th season without a World Series title, the Cubs drew a Wrigley record of 3,300,200 fans, and thousands more peered into the field from rooftops near the neighborhood park.
Zambrano wasn’t just being his unpredictable self Saturday. As a player he wants a relaxing environment to work in, and he understands Wrigley’s appeal for fans despite the lack of amenities—who needs a martini bar, as there is in the new, $1.5 billion Yankee Stadium, when you can go loopy just trying to figure out the wind direction for that day’s game?
“People are used to Wrigley Field,” he said. “As a fan it’s hard to think of a new ballpark.”
Cubs manager Lou Piniella couldn’t agree less with his opening-day starter. The former Yankees outfielder and manager was enchanted by the new ballpark in the Bronx, but can’t wait to return to Chicago for the first home game on April 13.
“I don’t see why,” Piniella said when asked if the Cubs need a new stadium. “Wrigley’s got its own uniqueness. There’s no question the facilities need to be redone but that’s going to happen.
“My favorite time of year is when the ivy turns green. It’s really a great environment to play a ballgame,” he said.
Planted in 1937, the ivy that clings to the outfield wall sometimes snares balls.
But his favorite part of managing a team at Wrigley is checking the flags to see how the wind is blowing and then devising a lineup based on the directions.
“It’s like playing the British Open over there,” he said. “You’ve got to adjust to the weather.”
After two years as manager of the Cubs, Piniella has become well attuned to a ballpark’s wind. Aftere just one game at the new stadium in New York, he said, “It seems like there’s a wind tunnel that shoots the ball to right-center.”
Two of the Yankees’ four homers Saturday went to right-center.
![[Image: lou.jpg]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v608/cubsbz/lou.jpg)
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Well if he really wants a new park, he can donate some of his 92 million dollars to help the cause.
@TheBlogfines
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I don't know if it's possible, but if they could revamp "some" things there, it would be nice. The club house could be overhauled. The work out facility.
I know I'm in the minority, but I would have no issue with a new Wrigley. Keep the things that make Wrigley, Wrigley but build a current park. They could make up the cost within a few years.
I got nothin'.
Andy
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<!--quoteo(post=26902:date=Apr 4 2009, 08:47 PM:name=Andy)-->QUOTE (Andy @ Apr 4 2009, 08:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->I don't know if it's possible, but if they could revamp "some" things there, it would be nice. The club house could be overhauled. The work out facility.
I know I'm in the minority, but I would have no issue with a new Wrigley. Keep the things that make Wrigley, Wrigley but build a current park. They could make up the cost within a few years.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Agreed.
@TheBlogfines
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What are you guys, fucking idiots? Everyone knows the only reason anyone roots for the Cubs is because they like getting drunk at Wrigley.
I wish that I believed in Fate. I wish I didn't sleep so late. I used to be carried in the arms of cheerleaders.
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<!--quoteo(post=26904:date=Apr 4 2009, 07:51 PM:name=BT)-->QUOTE (BT @ Apr 4 2009, 07:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->What are you guys, fucking idiots? Everyone knows the only reason anyone roots for the Cubs is because they like getting drunk at Wrigley.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Wasn't that Obama's quote?
I hate my pretentious sounding username too.
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<!--quoteo(post=26902:date=Apr 4 2009, 09:47 PM:name=Andy)-->QUOTE (Andy @ Apr 4 2009, 09:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->I don't know if it's possible, but if they could revamp "some" things there, it would be nice. The club house could be overhauled. The work out facility.
I know I'm in the minority, but I would have no issue with a new Wrigley. Keep the things that make Wrigley, Wrigley but build a current park. They could make up the cost within a few years.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Isn't this basically the plan that has been discussed in the past?
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The Triangle Building will fix almost every problem that exists from a players standpoint.
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Yes and yes. I don't have a problem with a new ballpark, but if the renovations go as planned, the players won't be complaining any longer. The only thing a new Yankee Stadium solved is adding more luxury boxes. Other than that, this was completely unnecessary. Yankee Stadium was redone 30 years ago and was updated/maintained constantly, so it hardly needed to be rebuilt.
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<!--quoteo(post=26915:date=Apr 4 2009, 11:24 PM:name=rok)-->QUOTE (rok @ Apr 4 2009, 11:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Yes and yes. I don't have a problem with a new ballpark, but if the renovations go as planned, the players won't be complaining any longer. The only thing a new Yankee Stadium solved is adding more luxury boxes. Other than that, this was completely unnecessary. Yankee Stadium was redone 30 years ago and was updated/maintained constantly, so it hardly needed to be rebuilt.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I will say I was at Yankee stadium twice in the last 5 years, and I thought it was awful. the aisles were too small, the access was terrible, the bleachers were pretty remote, and the rain delay turned the place into a nightmare.
People might have similar complaints about Wrigley, but other than the obvious sense of history, Yankee stadium kinda sucked to me.
I wish that I believed in Fate. I wish I didn't sleep so late. I used to be carried in the arms of cheerleaders.
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<!--quoteo(post=26915:date=Apr 4 2009, 09:24 PM:name=rok)-->QUOTE (rok @ Apr 4 2009, 09:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Yes and yes. I don't have a problem with a new ballpark, but if the renovations go as planned, the players won't be complaining any longer. The only thing a new Yankee Stadium solved is adding more luxury boxes. Other than that, this was completely unnecessary. Yankee Stadium was redone 30 years ago and was updated/maintained constantly, so it hardly needed to be rebuilt.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Bingo
I hate my pretentious sounding username too.
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<!--quoteo(post=26916:date=Apr 4 2009, 11:40 PM:name=BT)-->QUOTE (BT @ Apr 4 2009, 11:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=26915:date=Apr 4 2009, 11:24 PM:name=rok)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (rok @ Apr 4 2009, 11:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Yes and yes. I don't have a problem with a new ballpark, but if the renovations go as planned, the players won't be complaining any longer. The only thing a new Yankee Stadium solved is adding more luxury boxes. Other than that, this was completely unnecessary. Yankee Stadium was redone 30 years ago and was updated/maintained constantly, so it hardly needed to be rebuilt.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I will say I was at Yankee stadium twice in the last 5 years, and I thought it was awful. the aisles were too small, the access was terrible, the bleachers were pretty remote, and the rain delay turned the place into a nightmare.
People might have similar complaints about Wrigley, but other than the obvious sense of history, Yankee stadium kinda sucked to me.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Just saying that it didn't need to be rebuilt. I would never say it was a great facility, just as I wouldn't about Wrigley either. Personally, I think $1.5 billion is an obscene amount to spend on a sports complex, when the old one wasn't exactly falling apart. But, hey, it isn't my money.
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