The fun time’s over for some MLB teams now at Spring Training. That is most definitely not the case for the Chicago Cubs (and it will stay that way all year with Joe Maddon as manager).
Joe Maddon’s been driving his awesome Arizona-themed 70s van to Cubs camp, and even had clowns jump out of it on the practice fields. There’s been some hilarious karaoke, with Munenori Kawasaki belting out a rendition of Aerosmith’s “I don’t wanna miss a thing”. Then there’s the David Ross farewell tour, which so far has included the 38-year-old catcher receiving a motorized scooter, as well as a “Grandpa Rossy” Instagram account — created by Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant — to document his final season.
Pitcher Adam Warren was acquired by the Cubs in a trade with the New York Yankees (for Starlin Castro) over the offseason, and recently described the atmosphere of his new team’s camp:
“I told him, ‘You come to the park, you know you’re gonna laugh, but you have no idea what’s gonna happen,'” Warren said. “I think that’s fun. It makes it interesting to come to the ballpark. The unpredictability, you know you’re gonna have fun and you know you’re gonna work on baseball.
Well on Wednesday, those laughs came thanks to the players tying up strength and conditioning coach Tim Buss to a chair during warm-ups:
Players getting payback on conditioning coach Tim Buss: pic.twitter.com/aFjsog7TaM — Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) March 9, 2016
More, via ESPN Chicago:
Buss’ assignment before team stretch every day is to lighten the mood, which usually involves making fun of a player or coach. On Tuesday he went “too far,” making fun of some of the Cubs’ relievers, so on Wednesday they tied him up and strapped him to a chair for warm-ups. Eventually he was released — but not before being spun around several times as players jogged by him, and not before the relief staff took pictures with him tied to the chair.
When asked by the media as to why the players pulled the prank, Bruss simply said “Chihuahuas and scorpions”:
Upon his release, Buss refuses to say what triggered the attack and capture. “Let’s just say it had to do with chihuahuas and scorpions” — Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) March 9, 2016
Chihuahuas and scorpions were the reason #Cubs coach Tim Buss was wrapped in tape. That’s all he’d say
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) March 9, 2016
[FTW]
