Hawks Land, Simpson to Boise, other Notes

The Boise Hawks officially landed in Boise at 12:55 p.m. this afternoon, as 21 players, skipper Mark Johnson, trainer Bob Grimes, and the newest addition to the Cubs staff, a video intern made their debut in the Treasure Valley – getting hounded by reporters from KTVB (NBC) and the Idaho Statesman.

The team will have a dinner tonight with the host families, have Media Day and their first Memorial Stadium workout tomorrow, then hit the road to Salem-Keizer.

I also had the opportunity to have a quick chat with skipper Mark Johnson about arriving in Boise – you can watch the video here.

SIMPSON TO BOISE: Former Chicago Cubs first-round pick Hayden Simpson has been assigned to the Boise Hawks and will be in uniform for the season opener on Friday night.  Simpson spent the first two months of the season at Advanced-A Daytona, where he had a 2-3 record and a 7.17 ERA, with 29 walks and 14 strikeouts.

BEYERS PROMOTED: Former Boise Hawks manager and current Cubs short-season Hitting Coordiator, Tom Beyers, was promoted today to Minor League Hitting Coordinator – as MLB hitting coach Rudy Jamarillo was fired.  Beyers managed the Hawks in 2004, 2007, and 2008, while serving as hitting coach in 2001-03 and 2005.

DEVOSS ON ESPN: Former Boise Hawks second-baseman, Zeke DeVoss, was featured on ESPN’s SportsCenter as one of the Top-10 plays from Monday night.  You can see the outstanding play online at http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8040831.