Hendry likes this team's character
Don't tell Cubs general manager Jim Hendry that character doesn't count.
Hendry loves to talk about "character guys" in the clubhouse. A lot of those guys are stepping up on the field and in the clubhouse down the stretch, putting the Cubs in good position to win the National League Central.
"I think that shows up the second half of the year," Hendry said before Saturday's 9-5 victory over the Pirates. "Let's not forget. We had a very, very poor start that I don't think we were all too far away from like, 'Wow, this is going to be a tough year here if we don't get it going pretty soon.' "
Hendry parceled out credit between manager Lou Piniella and the players for rallying after a 22-31 start.
"I thought Lou did a good job weathering the storm and keeping everybody together," Hendry said. "The flip side of that is if you've got enough character in that 25 every day putting on the uniform, then you're going to come out of it. That's the main reason we got back in it. Lou didn't panic. Lou kept it together.
"Then the character guys that we had here already or brought in started to show up, and that's why I think they played so well here the last month."
One of Hendry's "character guys" is infielder Mark DeRosa.
"Guys (are) keeping it loose," DeRosa said. "We trust each other, and we trust ourselves. We trust our ability to go out there and play good ball. Even when we fell down 3-2 today, there was never a doubt. We knew offensively we were swinging the bats well.
"We got a lot character in here, and we've got a lot of guys who've been to the postseason and who have experienced it. You try not to change anything, and you try not to get caught up in the moment even though it is exciting and it is what you play for."
Packing them in: The Cubs set a single-season attendance record Saturday by reaching 3,211,098 in their 80th home date, surpassing the previous record mark of 3,170,184 set in 2004.
In addition to establishing a Wrigley Field record, the 3,211,098 is the largest single-season attendance mark for any franchise or venue in the history of the city of Chicago.
With today's regular-season Wrigley Field finale, the Cubs will surpass 3,250,000 at Wrigley.
Gloving it: No one can accuse reliever Scott Eyre of not having a sense of humor. Recently, he's used a glove with the name "Stevie Ire" stitched on it.
That's how manager Lou Piniella erroneously referred to Eyre, even well into this season.
"I thought it would be funny," Eyre said. "He (Piniella) doesn't know about the glove. He will now because you guys will ask him about it. Honestly, I thought it was funny. I hope it doesn't offend him or anything. My comment (from last month) still stands: Scotty didn't pitch very well; Stevie's been pitching good."
Making it official: When Rich Hill got into trouble in the second inning of Saturday's game, Lou Piniella got his bullpen going, with one of the pitchers being Steve Trachsel.
Trachsel will start Thursday's series finale at Florida. He prepped for it by throwing a simulated game after the regular game Saturday. He threw to Sam Fuld, Felix Pie and Henry Blanco.
Game-time change: Next Saturday's game at Cincinnati has been changed from a 6:10 CDT start to a 2:55 p.m. CDT start. Even though the change was made to accommodate Fox TV, Channel 9 still will carry the game in Chicago.
Cubs playoff tickets
Tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. today for Games 1 and 2 of the 2007 National League division series tickets go on sales at 9 a.m. today, according to the Cubs' Web site. Here's how:
Internet: A "virtual" line will begin forming at 8:30 a.m. at chicago.cubs.mlb.com. Click on Ticket Center, NLDS tickets. At 9 a.m., customers will be randomly selected to buy tickets.
By phone: Call (800) 843-2827 (which is tickets.com by phone). For out-of-state callers: (866) 652-2827. For wheelchair tickets, call (773) 404-4107.
Limit: Up to four tickets for one of the games
Prices: From $15 (standing room only) to $265 (dugout box)