WGN radio’s Andy Masur–who’s spent the last five years covering for Cubs play-by-play man Pat Hughes’ late-game, half-inning breaks–is leaving the station for greener pastures in San Diego, where he will work Padres’ radio broadcasts.

Masur leaves behind an eight-year legacy that WGN management will be hard-pressed to fill.

“When it comes to working five, maybe 10 minutes, nobody in radio gives a better effort than Little Andy Masur,” said WGN’s station manager Steve Grogan, brushing back a tear. “And who will be able to forget Andy’s tireless dedication to his famed ‘Square D Scoreboard’ updates?”

With pitchers and catchers reporting to Mesa this week, Grogan is eager to plug the hole swiftly. According to the WGN Web site, qualified applicants will “have the innate ability to drive Ron Santo around in golf cart during Spring Training” and “keep seat warm for Pat Hughes during 8th inning bathroom breaks.”

Several candidates have lined up to fill the position, including former Cubs Dave Otto, Mike Bielecki and Randy Hundley, and Lindsay Walters, a 7th grader from Des Plaines, who posts on her MySpace account that she “likes broadcasting and stuff.”

Otto is the odds-on favorite to get the job.

heckler editorial staff