Zambrano asks for a new ballpark (Chicago, Time: school, clubhouse, living)

[STLCardsBlues1989]

Zambrano asks for a new ballpark :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Cubs (http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/1511783,w-carlos-zambrano-replace-wrigley-040509.article - broken link)

Interesting.

NEW YORK -- 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.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring...ory?id=4042580

[Lookout Kid]

Big Z is a good pitcher, but kind of an idiot.

[skipcromer]

kind of?

[ChiMack]

he backtracked his statements..

[j33]

I wouldn't mind seeing Wrigley seriously renovated. Have you been in those bathrooms?

Granted I'm not a Cubs fan (I prefer that team on the other side of town), but I've been to a few Cubs games over the course of my life (and yes, had fun), appreciate the charm of the field and would hate to see it knocked down or turned into something like Sox Park, which, despite having better food (and a better team ... sorry, couldn't resist ; ) ) than Wrigley, lacks the charm, but I do think that improvements could be made to make Wrigley a better ballpark.

[meatpuff]

Man, this guy actually goes to work there at least 81 days per year. He has lift weights and warm up and have his locker at that place. He was slammed by a bunch of Cub fans who get drunk in the seats a few times a year.

Ozzie was right, Wrigley Field is a dump. A charming dump, but what do you expect if the place has not really been renovated since 1914, except to add seats here or there. It's like if you lived in one of those historic Wrigleyville two-flats, they're gorgeous and charming from the outside but I would get sick of living there if it hadn't been rehabbed at all since it was built.

[Lookout Kid]

I agree that rehabbing the park is in order. Something like what they're doing at Fenway. But I'd like to see a linked building put up on that wedge-shaped lot to the west of the stadium, and they could put pimped-out locker rooms in there for the whiny prima donna players.

[aragx6]

Let him whine. I am so sick of baseball players! This is not a gentleman's game FFS. I wish I could have been around for old-school ball when the players didn't make any money and it was no place to take a lady. I want drunken brawls and screaming at the pitcher.

[RichMonk]

Originally Posted by aragx6

I want drunken brawls...

We could go back to Music Cafe if you want that.

[SAI126]

I got slammed good a while back for venturing the opinion that Wrigley Field is past its prime. Cub fans need to face the fact that Wrigley Field is both a dump of a dinosaur. A Cub fan on another board ventured as much when he posted this.

"I've been a Cubs fan my whole life, and I have to say, Wrigley Field is a dump. As someone who has already been to Wrigley plenty of times, I'd love to see a new stadium for the Cubs.

But looking from the perspective of someone who has never been there, I would be distraught if they got rid of it before I had gotten a chance to go.

I see both sides of the argument."

How can you rip such a sensible opinion? I think the whole Wrigley Field mystique is one of many burdens around the Cub organization that is preventing it from shaking off a century of frustration. Yes I'm a White Sox fan but I remember my long ago childhood when the rivalry was a lot more fun than it is today. Polarization is everywhere, not just in politics. It was great being a kid in a city with two major league teams, and yes I enjoyed my share of games in that old ball park. It's time for a new Wrigley Field, or whatever the Cubs and their fans might want to call it.