"It's in my dreams every night," said the 22-year-old son of former major-leaguer Chris Speier. "I had a chance to shag fly balls there when I was a kid.

"There's a lot of tradition and history at Wrigley Field. I just hope to get the chance to play there eventually."

Speier is a relief pitcher for the West Oahu CaneFires in the Hawaii Winter Baseball league. And the 6-4, 195-pound right-hander is off to a great start.

Going into last night's game against Hilo, he leads the four-team league in saves - with four in four chances - and has a 1.50 earned run average in six innings pitched.

His father, who played for the San Francisco Giants, Montreal Expos and Chicago Cubs, is still involved with the game as the Cubs' Double-A batting instructor.

Young Speier is a long shot - a converted catcher who was drafted by the Cubs in the 55th round. But don't forget that the Dodgers' all-star catcher, Mike Piazza, was picked in the 62nd round.

"I signed for a bag of peanuts," Speier said with a smile. "But it was great to get to put a uniform on for one more season.

"Thank God I had a good arm and everything worked out. It really doesn't matter where you get drafted, as long as you get the opportunity to play."

He said it was a thrill growing up around major-league baseball.

"It was very enjoyable," Speier said. "I got to see a lot of sights and sounds that other kids didn't get to see - a young child getting to go to the locker rooms and seeing the role models I looked up to."

The disadvantages?

"I guess the travel got to the family a little bit sometimes. I was the oldest of six kids, so I had to step up when my father wasn't there. But we got used to living out of a suitcase after awhile."

CaneFires pitching coach Dave Schuler said that Speier has big-league potential.

"I don't see any reason why not," he said. "Justin is a real good competitor. He's a guy who's going to get the ball and go after hitters. And in his role that's what you want - an intimidator.

"He's got good movement on his fastball. He doesn't mess around out there."

Schuler said that Speier needs work in a few areas.

"He needs to keep the ball down a little more on a consistent basis and up when he wants to," said Schuler, who is with the San Francisco Giants organization. "And staying ahead in the count is a big thing with him.

"He is a raw kind of a pitcher, with a herky-jerky motion. You're not looking at smooth mechanics out there. You're looking at someone that's all buttholes and elbows coming at you, so that makes it tough to pick the ball up."

Speier agrees.

"I need to gain control of all my three pitches - the fastball, split-finger and slider - and throw them for strikes on a consistent basis," he said.

Speier said he enjoys being a reliever.

"I've always been a set-up or closer. I have no intention of being a starter, unless the Cubs want me to be a starter. But I like going to the ballpark knowing that I have a chance to get in that game and help the team win."

Then Justin Speier smiled again, as the sun started to drop behind the right-field fence at Hans L'Orange Park.

"Playing in the majors has always been a childhood dream," he said. "After watching my father, I always hoped to be able to play in the major leagues, too."

Stingrays rally

The Maui Stingrays broke a 2-2 tie by scoring two runs in the eighth inning en route to a 5-3 victory over the Honolulu Sharks in a Hawaii Winter Baseball game at Rainbow Stadium last night.

Keith Johnson singled with one out and later scored the winning run for Maui on a wild pitch.

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Hilo 9, West Oahu 7

At Hans L'Orange Park, trailing 6-5 entering the eighth inning, the Stars rallied for four runs, with Scott Hunter and Tony DeRosso connecting for RBI doubles.

James Betzsold and Kevin Lidle homered for the CaneFires.