Cubs

The Chicago Cubs baseball franchise sued Baltimore-based Under Armour Inc. yesterday, contending that the sports apparel maker reneged on a promised $10.8 million, five-year sponsorship agreement after its profits declined. In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, the ballclub said the garment maker agreed to the deal and is still using Cubs players and the team's stadium, Wrigley Field, in advertisements for its products. Under Armour told the Cubs in a Dec. 12 letter that it would not sponsor them for the next season and "would not meet any of its obligations under the agreement," according to the team's complaint, which seeks full payment of the contract price.

At Oriole Park at Camden Yards Day...Time...TV...Starters Tonight 7:05 CSN Shawn Estes (5-5, 5.67) vs. Pat Hentgen (1-3, 5.25) Tomorrow 7:05 CSN Matt Clement (3-6, 4.61) vs. Omar Daal (4-6, 4.91) Thursday 7:05 CSN Carlos Zambrano (5-5, 3.05) vs. Rick Helling (3-4, 6.13) Radio: All games on WBAL (1090 AM) Cubs update With or without Sammy Sosa, the Chicago Cubs will be a formidable foe for the Orioles. They went 6-6 on their recent homestand, taking two of three from the New York Yankees this past weekend, and sit one game behind the first-place Houston Astros in the National League Central.

The Orioles are no closer to making a blockbuster deal involving shortstop Miguel Tejada, but they are progressing with talks that soon may yield them a new outfielder. According to one industry source, the Orioles are "closing in" on a deal that would send a minor leaguer to the Chicago Cubs for center fielder Corey Patterson. Club officials would not confirm specifics of the proposed trade, but one source suggested the minor leaguer would not be one of the team's "top five or so prospects."

Nationals Report: 3 prospects to be dealt for Cubs pitcher Gorzelanny The Chicago Cubs have agreed to trade pitcher Tom Gorzelanny to the Washington Nationals for prospects, a person familiar with the deal told the Associated Press. MLB.com, citing two unidentified baseball sources, reported that outfielder Michael Burgess , right-hander A.J. Morris and left-hander Graham Hicks would be sent to the Cubs as part of the trade. Gorzelanny, a 28-year-old left-hander, is 36-37 with a 4.68ERA in six seasons.

NEW YORK -- The day after the Chicago Cubs fired manager Don Zimmer after a confrontation with the team president, Chicago hired an organizational man as his replacement. The club yesterday promoted Jim Essian, who has been a minor-league manager in the system since 1986.Essian, 40, becomes the youngest manager in the big leagues. He has managed 15 players on the Cubs' roster while in the minor leagues."My idea was to stay in the organization," general manager Jim Frey said. "I've got confidence in Jim Essian.

NEW YORK -- Don Zimmer, who had given the Chicago Cubs a July 1 deadline for making a decision about his future, was fired as manager yesterday.Cubs president Don Grenesko said the decision to fire Zimmer, who took over the team in 1988, was completed Monday.The Cubs named hitting coach Joe Altobelli, who managed the Baltimore Orioles to the 1983 World Series championship, as interim manager, but there were indications that a permanent hire could come as early as today. Jim Essian, the Cubs' Class AAA Iowa manager, took an evening flight to New York to meet with Grenesko, general manager Jim Frey and Tribune Co. attorney Dennis Homerin, who handles the club's major contracts.

MARLINS PITCHING VS. CUBS HITTING The Marlins feature one of the best young starting rotations in the business, with plenty of depth for a seven-game series. Manager Jack McKeon chose to open the Division Series against the San Francisco Giants with big right-hander Josh Beckett, who emerged as a dominant force in the second half of the season, but the Marlins got strong seasons from Rookie of the Year candidate Dontrelle Willis, offseason steal Mark Redman and right-hander Brad Penny.

BILLINGS, Mont. -- Around Yellowstone National Park, five wolf dens are alive with new litters, leading biologists to predict that the wolf packs introduced into the park from Canada during the past 18 months will thrive on their own, without more imports."

CHICAGO -- There seems to be a minor movement afoot concerning Harry Caray, who's working his 49th consecutive season as a big-league broadcaster. Specifically, some of Harry's listeners feel he has lost his fastball and should retire from the public airwaves.This is folly, but Harry isn't the first messenger to be blamed for relaying unwelcome messages. If the Cubs were engaged in a pennant race instead of another lost summer, fans would like what he has to say a lot better.A few of them were in good throat the other day on Chicago's WSCR Radio, where morning host Tom Shaer devoted a segment to the issue.

Jim Frey lost the struggle for control of the Chicago Cubs yesterday and was replaced by former Chicago White Sox general manager Larry Himes.Frey, who took over as general manager after the 1987 season, had seen his power erode in a battle with former club president Don Grenesko. Frey, who has one year remaining on his contract and will report to Himes, was forced by Grenesko to fire manager Don Zimmer, Frey's close friend."I've had better days, I've had worse," said Frey, a former Baltimore Orioles coach.