Sunday, July 16, 2006
Meet the Feebles, Part Three: The Chicago Cubs
Editor's Note: I live on the north side of Chicago, about two miles from Wrigley Field. I will confess to a certain fondness for the Cubs...but I wouldn't consider myself a fanatic by any means.
Mediocrity, thy name is Cubs. It's been harder to love the lovable losers the last few years because no one really seems to be trying or taking any responsibility for their suckitude.
Ask Dusty Baker why the team is playing so badly this year and what he could do, and he'll tell you he can only do so much when he has so many injuries. So is that what happened to Maddux? How about Aramis Ramirez? It seems to me that both of them have been healthy all season and just not playing up to potential. When he players have the ass, big time, he just lets them roll with it. OK, so AJ Pyerzinski is a jackass, but that doesn't mean that it's fine for Michael Barrett to just sucker-punch him. It was an ugly move that deserved a longer suspension, an apology, and some tough talk from Dusty.
Baker hasn't had control of his team since 2003, and it seems more and more as if that year was a fluke. In 2004, Baker & company blamed the media for their troubles. I forget what 2005's miserable excuse was. This year, it's injuries. The man earns $4 mil, and he tells the local media that if he had a team of quality players who were all injury-free, then he could do something. Cripes, I could do something in that situation! Hire me—I'm a hell of a deal in comparison!
The front office ain't no great shakes either. GM Jim Hendry goes for a few big names (Derek Lee, Nomar) and then picks up a bunch of scrubs (Hello, Neifi Perez and nonsavior Corey Patterson!) to fill in the rest of the field. The farm system is a joke. It seems to function more as a rehab facility for Kerry Wood and Mark Prior than a place to develop future Cubs.
And then there's Andy McPhail, the president. Earlier this summer, McPhail called in the Tribune's beat reporter for the Cubs and chewed him out. He felt the coverage was too critical and expressed that since the Cubs and the Tribune have the same owner, the paper should be more of a "house organ." So look for that Jacque Jones for MVP campaign in the sports pages soon!
Who's fault is it? There's plenty of blame to share. The players are frustrated, they're not giving the game their all, and they have a distressing lack of fundamentals; Dusty Baker is lazy and complacent; the front office is a bunch of fools who don't have a plan. They should just fire everyone except Derek Lee and start over again.
Will they outdo the 1962 Mets? No, but to quote a favorite Wrigley phrase, there's always next year.
Push comes to shove, will they be in the basement? You know, at the break, I was convinced the Cubs were going to get their shit together and finish in third or something and that I was just being unfair. And Derek Lee is back, so that'll help. Then, yesterday, they gave up two grand slams in one inning. So even though I have a six pack of beer riding on them winning 55 games before the Royals get to 50 and I seriously doubt the Cubs are going to finish out worse than the Pirates ... I'm not ruling it out.
Mediocrity, thy name is Cubs. It's been harder to love the lovable losers the last few years because no one really seems to be trying or taking any responsibility for their suckitude.
Ask Dusty Baker why the team is playing so badly this year and what he could do, and he'll tell you he can only do so much when he has so many injuries. So is that what happened to Maddux? How about Aramis Ramirez? It seems to me that both of them have been healthy all season and just not playing up to potential. When he players have the ass, big time, he just lets them roll with it. OK, so AJ Pyerzinski is a jackass, but that doesn't mean that it's fine for Michael Barrett to just sucker-punch him. It was an ugly move that deserved a longer suspension, an apology, and some tough talk from Dusty.
Baker hasn't had control of his team since 2003, and it seems more and more as if that year was a fluke. In 2004, Baker & company blamed the media for their troubles. I forget what 2005's miserable excuse was. This year, it's injuries. The man earns $4 mil, and he tells the local media that if he had a team of quality players who were all injury-free, then he could do something. Cripes, I could do something in that situation! Hire me—I'm a hell of a deal in comparison!
The front office ain't no great shakes either. GM Jim Hendry goes for a few big names (Derek Lee, Nomar) and then picks up a bunch of scrubs (Hello, Neifi Perez and nonsavior Corey Patterson!) to fill in the rest of the field. The farm system is a joke. It seems to function more as a rehab facility for Kerry Wood and Mark Prior than a place to develop future Cubs.
And then there's Andy McPhail, the president. Earlier this summer, McPhail called in the Tribune's beat reporter for the Cubs and chewed him out. He felt the coverage was too critical and expressed that since the Cubs and the Tribune have the same owner, the paper should be more of a "house organ." So look for that Jacque Jones for MVP campaign in the sports pages soon!
Who's fault is it? There's plenty of blame to share. The players are frustrated, they're not giving the game their all, and they have a distressing lack of fundamentals; Dusty Baker is lazy and complacent; the front office is a bunch of fools who don't have a plan. They should just fire everyone except Derek Lee and start over again.
Will they outdo the 1962 Mets? No, but to quote a favorite Wrigley phrase, there's always next year.
Push comes to shove, will they be in the basement? You know, at the break, I was convinced the Cubs were going to get their shit together and finish in third or something and that I was just being unfair. And Derek Lee is back, so that'll help. Then, yesterday, they gave up two grand slams in one inning. So even though I have a six pack of beer riding on them winning 55 games before the Royals get to 50 and I seriously doubt the Cubs are going to finish out worse than the Pirates ... I'm not ruling it out.
