Catching up with Marlon Byrd

Greetings from Mesa, where the Rangers are playing the Cubs. Plenty of ex-Rangers in the Cubs clubhouse including hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, outfielder Alfonso Soriano and pitcher Thomas Diamond.

Also Marlon Byrd, the former Rangers outfielder and team leader who signed with the Cubs in the off-season. The Rangers, handcuffed by their financial situation, made little effort to sign him. Not that they didn’t want to but we all know what the situation was in the off-season.

Byrd on….

Being a Cub: “I love it. It’s something different. It’s just so cool to be a Cub. There are some many great old Cubbies around like Ryne Sandberg, Billy Williams, Ron Santo, Rick Sutcliffe…all of them. It’s just nice.”

On disappointed not re-signing with the Rangers: “At first I was. But I saw the situation. Julio Borbon is ready to play center field and they got Vlad Guerrero. They made their team better. The Cubs did the same by getting me.”

On comparisons in Chicago to Milton Bradley: “It didn’t bother me. I talked about it once and moved on. Nobody talked about me replacing Reed Johnson or Mark DeRosa. But I understand. Milton and I have the same initials, we both came from Texas and we’re both black. There has to be a transition. They have to get Milton off their minds. We’re almost there.”

On being reunited with Jaramillo: “I’m not leaving him. Hopefully in another three years, he’s here and I’m here. If he goes somewhere else, I’m following him. No, it’s made the transition easier. I already know his system. You come in to a new team, it’s nice to know you have someone in your corner.”

One of the all-time great Rangers.