The Cubs limped into the All-Star break with a record of 39-50, uncertain about if, or when, Carlos Zambrano will return to the team and also where they will be playing spring training games in the future.

According to a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Cubs and the City of Mesa, the deadline for Mesa present the Cubs with plans for a new Spring Training facility has passed.

According to the agreement, the Cubs are now free to talk to the Florida group trying to woo them to Naples, and that group can now approach the Cubs again.

A naplesnews.com column pointed out that Mesa has not lived up to the MOU. It claims Mesa does not have financing and does not have a site picked out. It also claims the Naples group, called Project Home Run was ready with its own MOU when the Cubs “caved in” to Major League Baseball to stay in Mesa.

The naplesnews.com piece is quick to point out what the City of Mesa has not done pertaining to the exclusive agreement with the Cubs, but it also appears to leave out some key pieces of information such as the fans outcry to stay in Mesa, the sites that have been targeted for a new stadium and how the stadium would be financed.

They even go as far as likening the Cubs bad fortunes to its ties to Mesa. Where do they come up with this stuff?

The writer says Naples is ready to play ball, has financing and a site picked out, but what he fails to also state is that the teams are so far apart very few people would want to come to Spring Training in Florida after all the years in Arizona and the proximity to the other teams.

And what does Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts say about the MOU deadline? Not much, which is expected, although he did tell Comcast Sportsnet that he is not worried about deadlines and the team is working with the City of Mesa on an agreement that will be agreeable to everyone.

Today, Cubs spokesperson Peter Chase issued a statement that the Cubs are encouraged by the progress Mesa has made and they continue to work with the City of Mesa to finalize a deal.

Apparently, new options have become available to the Cubs, including land that is partially privately owned right now, near a light-rail line that will extend to Downtown Mesa in 2016. A downtown location was considered by the Cubs and Mesa in the 1990s when the Cubs decided to renew the lease at HoHoKam.

The question now is, will the Naples group make another move?

Used with permission of the author.

In addition to contributing to Sports Climax, Miriam Romain maintains a Chicago Cubs column for Examiner.com. The Chicago native has also been published in several Cubs annuals by Maple Street Press and is writing a book with the working title “Summers at Wrigley with my Dad.”

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