Cubs, White Sox, Mariners, Rockies to play at Cashman

By Ron Kantowski

Monday, Dec. 15, 2008 | 2:27 p.m.

NOW:

Turns out the Chicago Cubs aren't doing a Nicolas Cage after all. They're not leaving Las Vegas. And they're bringing the White Sox along when they return.

The Cubs and White Sox will be part of an expanded Big League Weekend at Cashman Field when the weather gets warmer. The Chicago rivals will play each other on Wednesday March 4 at 7:05 p.m. (bring your parkas) and again the following afternoon, at 1:05.

Traditionally, the Cubs have played their last two Cactus League games in Las Vegas before heading north. But this year on that weekend they'll help the Yankees christen the new Yankee Stadium.

Oh yeah -- the Seattle Mariners and Colorado Rockies will play at 7:05 p.m. on Friday April 3 and at 1:05 p.m. on Saturday April 4 at Cashman Field, if anybody cares.

Just joking, Ichiro and Yorvit Torrealba fans.

One potential drawback to the Cubs vs. White Sox games is they will feature "split" squads comprised of half regular players and half guys sporting jersey numbers in the 80's. But after the first three innings of last year's Cubs-Mariners game at Cashman when Chicago put the I-Cubs (from their triple-A affiliate in Iowa) into the game, hardly anybody seemed to notice. So maybe it's not such a big deal.

The other potential drawback with this year's Big League Weekend lineup is that local fans won't get a chance to familiarize themselves with the Toronto Blue Jays, the 51s' new major league affiliate. But that's only a small drawback, considering A. J. Burnett, the one Jays player you may have heard of, recently signed with the Yankees.

The Chicago rivals have the distinction of setting the Cashman Field all-time attendance record. The Cubs and White Sox played on April 3, 1993 before a crowd of 15,025 when the fire marshal wasn't looking. That record will probably stand forever, because the new fire marshal always pays attention.

Big League Weekend ticket packages for the two series are available now by calling the 51s office at (702) 798-7825.

THEN:

Sometimes when you would get to the bottom of a package of baseball cards, you'd find some guy, usually Woodie Held or maybe one of the Blasingames, who had posed for his picture during spring training wearing one of those rubber suits under his uniform shirt.

You don't see guys pose in rubber suits anymore. I think Bob Horner might have been the last.