The Chicago Cubs highest-profile addition this winter was starting pitcher Edwin Jackson. The team and fans got their first look at him in game action yesterday, when Jackson threw two scoreless innings against the Colorado Rockies. How did it feel taking the mound for the first time as a Cub?
“Today was pretty much evaluation,” said Jackson, who gave up two hits. “I see where I am with (hitters ) and try different pitches. The first couple starts you come out with a lot of fastballs. A lot of hitters are tracking it and trying to stay up the middle. I try to keep the ball down, working on things whatever they may be.”
I’m sure you’ve been wondering how Edwin has fit in with the rest of the team. Has he made new friends? Does he feel comfortable? 
“I am pretty comfortable everywhere,” Jackson said. “This is not my first rodeo. I have been around the game. I have been fortunate enough to join loose clubhouses. This is definitely one of the clubhouses where everybody is having fun and taking care of business at the same time. That makes it easier to fit in and get acclimated with everything that is going on.”
Will he be taking a leadership role as one of the top starters on the team?
“If someone wants to give me that role that is fine,” he said. “I am not trying to come in and take over any ship. Everyone will be communicating, and I like to lead by example. I am not really vocal, but I can be if they need me. I just want to come in and handle business.”
Sounds like Edwin is serious about both handling and taking care of business.
In other news of taking care of business, MLB security officials met with Cubs players and gave them a few lessons, including being careful on social media (no word on whether Ian Stewart attended).
“Protect yourself against Twitter, protect yourself against domestic abuse, protect yourself against social media, protect yourself against this and that,” second baseman Darwin Barney said.
Protect yourself against Twitter. It only seeks to hurt you. I’ll bet they mentioned Manti T’eo, didn’ t they?
“They put up a picture about it, but they didn’t need to go into depth about it,” Barney said. “It was nothing we didn’t already know. It was just kind of ‘see what can happen.’ You just never know how much it can affect your life. Everyone is watching because of who you are and what you do.”
Darwin also informed us that the Cubs are paying cab fares for all players this spring. Hopefully any who go out and get ripped have the good sense to take them up on it.
“The Cubs have a program this year in Arizona,” Barney said. “They will cover all our fairs. They have a taxi driver that will come pick you up and drive you home in your car. And it’s for free. You have to be careful out here.”
That’s the “Don’t Be Mark Grace” program.
Sorry to backtrack, but from yesterday’s post re: Brent Lillibridge…
“He was so desired last year that he played for three different teams.”
This caused me to spit out my coffee this morning. Well done, Carl! My laptop hates you now, but I love you.
The Chicago Cubs’ highest profile addition this off-season was Edwin Jackson.
That sentence makes me so very sad.
Their highest profile addition last season wasn’t even a player.
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Touche.
This team needs more Jacksons.
Janet might be availible…
I saw some headline on Yahoo where she was getting married.
So she’s not available.
Cept for another Super Bowl.
On one episode of WTF, we all listed our favorite off-season acquisition. Tim’s was Scott Baker, who is currently rehabbing and not on the active roster, mine was Dontrelle Willis, purely for the potential entertainment factor (thanks a LOT, Dontrelle), and Adam’s was Tom Tango.
That’s what kind of an off-season it was.
Interesting…my favorite was Barret Loux.
Mine were Jesus Castillo and Erick Leal.
Errr… did Wrigley hire a new organist?? Cause I got nothin.
The Cubs are once again offering the 20% markup (15% for MasterCard users) presale this year. Despite the hue and cry from the faithful, I found this to come in quite handy in past years, up until last year.
With last year’s Opening Day and White Sox (and pretty much every other game) ticket availability, I think you have to be pretty ignorant to partake this year. I can’t come up with a single game this season that would legitimately sell out on the first day, much less the first hour or two of the regular sale.
Considering I got a ticket for opening day about 4 hours into the general sale last year…I don’t really think much about this “presale”.
Agreed. Before last year, though, it was actually pretty handy. I didn’t mind the extra 15%, if only because I was trying to get more than a single ticket and it was still cheaper than scalping if you’re frozen out. But there’s no worry about that this year if last year is any indication.
Let’s kick those F#*^#+%! dodgers’s asses today!
Had to listen to my ex’s gloating 2 days ago.
My kids and I were miserable.
You guys know the games don’t count, right?
Don’t tell the L.A. sports media that. They regard any victory or loss as urgent even now…
So she was all happy about the fact that the Dodgers minor leaguers beat the Cubs minor leaguers in a game that didn’t count.
Ok.
Sometimes you just want to start the day over from scratch…
We had a big company meeting today with the an exec that came in from corporate headquarters in New Jersey…this guy is the head of Sony Professional Services of America. I was in an elevator with the guy going down to the conference room when I pulled out my Samsung Galaxy S3 to check my email.
Oops.
Well you should have pretended you were frustrated by it malfunctioning somehow, banging it against the elevator wall a few times, then saying to him, “I hate the Korean piece of crap. You guys got anything I could try out?”
Honestly…I paid too much for that damn thing to bang it around like that. Needless to say, I don’t think my career at Sony is destined to last all that long. This is easily the most boring place I’ve ever worked.
You can drop the SIII out of the 2nd story window and it would be fine. It’s not a shitty iPhone.
Not true. I’ve already shattered one and had it replaced…my son threw it down our carpeted stairs…screen shattered.
Get outta here!! That’s the 2nd gen Gorilla Glass. Insane.
Yeah…I was pretty disappointed.
Castro is hurt.
Probably out for the entire season if not ending his career.
I might be overreacting too.
It sounds like Castro will live.
What happend?
A minor issue with his left leg. Nothing serious…though you wouldn’t have known that by the reaction on Twitter.
Paul Sullivan reported that Castro was weight lifting in the weight room after the trainers examined him.
Actually, I had a banner day on Twitter with sarcastic comments about this.
Darlin’ Starlin is day-to-day. You can all exhale.