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.”

Copyright © 2010 Sports Climax, LLC

The Minnesota Twins have signed catcher and local Joe Mauer to a massive eight year, $184 million contract, which includes a full no-trade clause. The contract is the fourth largest in Major League Baseball history in both value and average salary.

Mauer, who was entering the final year of his current contract with the Twins, got the new new deal that will cover him through the 2018 season, when he will be only 34.

In this final season of his current $33 million, four-year contract, Mauer will earn $12.5 million then under the extension agreed to yesterday, he will earn $23 million in each of the next eight years of his new contract.

Even Mauer’s teammates were impressed with the deal. Twins center fielder Denard Span reportedly tweeting, “184 million for Mauer! Wow.”

Mauer, 26, has won three American League batting titles and was last year’s American League MVP. He is considered one of the best defensive catchers in baseball.

The only contracts bigger than Mauer’s deal are the $275 deal Alex Rodriguez signed with the Yankees in December 2007, the A-Rod $252 deal he signed with Texas in 2000 and a $189 deal signed by Derek Jeter in 2001 with the Yankees. Roger Clemens’ $28,000 prorated deal in 2007 with the Yankees in which he actually received $17, 443, and the $25.2 million Rodriguez deal with Texas are the only two higher average salaries than Mauer’s. CC Sabathia, now with the Yankees, also has an average salary of $23 million.

This signing makes Mauer the highest-paid catcher, surpassing Jorge Posada’s four year $52.4 million with the Yankees.

Mauer was the Twins’ No. 1 overall pick in 2001. After sitting out the first month of last season, he hit 28 home runs and had 96 RBIs, helping propel the Twins in the AL Central Division champs.

A press conference will be held at the Twins spring training facility in Fort Myers, Florida, at 7pm this evening.

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

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax™

If you build it, they will come. And yesterday they came – all 13,391 fans, setting a new Cactus League record. And those fans saw the Cubs lose to the Dodgers 7-3. It’s not surprising that this game was so popular, the Cubs and Dodgers have the most draw in the Cactus League, with Cubs fans following their team to the different Arizona venues.

But the biggest losers of the day were not the Cubs; the biggest losers were the fans who could not get out of the parking lot after the game at Camelback Ranch.

What makes this so disturbing is that fans can get in and out of every other stadium in the Phoenix area with minimal problems. This is year two for Camelback Ranch – which is shared by the Dodgers and White Sox.

You’d think that after the horror stories of last year, the powers that be would have figured out a better way to route traffic out of the stadium than what is currently in place. Not so. If you park in the lot, and if you park in handicap parking (or ADA, as they call it there), forget about getting out – that is if you get there early and you’re lucky enough to get one of the few coveted handicap spots.

Some will say that Camelback Ranch was put up quickly and the infrastructure isn’t quite ready to handle it. Not true. If the person, or people, designing the place had done their homework, getting in and out of the parking lot could have been made a lot easier. The Cubs need to take a good, long look at Camelback Ranch, see all of its flaws and learn from them.

Trying to get out of the parking lot probably made Cubs fans, who were in the majority at the end of the game as Dodgers fans started leaving in droves around the seventh inning, forget that former Cub favorite Reed Johnson hit a three run home run for the Dodgers, or even that the Cubs lost.

In addition to writing her Chicago Cubs column for Examiner.com, Miriam Romain has been published in several Cubs annuals by Maple Street Press and is a contributor to SportsClimax.com . She is currently covering the Cubs in Arizona during Spring Training 2010 while she takes a break from writing her book with the working title “Summers at Wrigley with my Dad.”

If he was nervous about pitching for the first time for the Washington Nationals, it didn’t show in Stephen Strasburg’s spring training debut against the Tigers on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old right hander impressed both his team and the opposing Tigers by throwing two shutout innings, striking out one and allowing just two hits in the two innings he pitched. His fast ball reportedly went no lower than 96, and as high as 100 miles per hour.

The Nationals chose Strasburg as the overall first draft pick in this year’s Player Draft. The 2009 Golden Spikes Award winner signed a $15.1 million four year deal with the Nationals on August 25.

He made his professional debut with the Phoenix Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League on October 16. Strasburg was named the 2009 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award winner last summer. The award is given to the nation’s top amateur baseball player.

Strasburg was the only collegiate player selected to represent the United States Baseball team during the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, China. In his only start in the Olympics he pitched seven innings striking out five of the fist six batters he faced. He allowed only one run. The game was called after eight innings because of rain.

The 6’4″ 220-pounder throws and bats right. His fast ball has been clocked consistently at 95-97 miles per hour. Strasburg finished the 2009 season 31-1 with a 1.32 ERA for San Diego State University.

He allowed only 59 hits, 15 earned runs, 19 walks and had 195 strikeouts in 109 innings pitched. His first career no hitter came on May 8, 2009, in his final home start against the Air Force. He struck out 17 batters in that game.

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

Copyright 2010 © Sports Climax™

CHICAGO – If you haven’t been able to follow this morning’s Tweets from Mesa Mayor Scott Smith or the group CubsWinInAZ, you’ve missed out on being part of the hearing where HB 2736 was presented to the House Commerce Committee. Despite some negativity, the bill was passed by the committee 6-2.

Among the Tweets Smith shared with followers was, “Interesting how some people don’t let facts get in the way of a good argument.” And, “Interesting how everybody wants the Cubs to stay (and love their fans and their money), but nobody wants to pay. Shocking! Simply shocking!”

But there is also news that the Goldwater Institute could bring a lawsuit charging violation of a state prohibition against government gifts to private entities.

Under the new bill, the Cubs would buy the land for the new ballpark, turn it over to the City of Mesa for development but would get, among other things, naming rights and the right to book extra events at the stadium.

The Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks have openly voiced opposition to the bill that would raise ticket prices by a dollar throughout the Cactus League, and raise rental car prices. In this morning’s meeting, however, according to a Tweet by CubsWinInAZ, Representative Rich Crandall put the Diamondbacks in their place, stating that moving their stadium to an Indian Reservation hurts Maricopa County taxpayers because there is no revenue for the community.

Goldwater Institute attorney Clint Bolick called the plan one-sided in favor of the Cubs, which it is. The City of Mesa is trying to keep the Cubs in Mesa. Bolick and Smith have agreed to sit down and discuss this situation soon.

The Goldwater Institute is an independent government watchdog group.

In the midst of this vote and controversy, pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training today.

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

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