Cub's Fever: Catch It, Than See A Shrink

It was a game that started an hour and a half late because of a rain delay. It would be a game the Cubs actually would win, but it would also be the game when the season officially ended. Fifteen games in and trust me the season is over. It ended when Nomar Garciparra hit a ground ball to short and tore his groin muscle running to first. At that point Porky Pig should have came in and said, “That’s all folks.”

You see this Cubs team barely has enough talent when healthy to contend for a wild card spot let alone a division title. Already we’ve been hit with are two “ace” starters battling arm ailments in spring training and our closer breaking a bone in his pitching hand. The second basemen blew out his knee on a double play and now our shortstop is out three to four months. I am not sure what God’s the Cubs have pissed of but they sure can hold a grudge.

So as the Cubs now sit at 8-8 I figure at best that is where they will finish. With all things being equal they are a .500 team. They don’t play smart baseball; they are suspect on defense and have a manager who is clueless. Dusty Baker is the worst in game manager I’ve ever seen don the Cub pinstripes ever. Mind you I’ve seen, Preston Gomez, Lee Ellia, Jim Essian, Bruce Kim, Don Baylor, Tom Treblehorn, and Jim Riggleman try to steer the ship as well. While all of them were unquestionably bad managers Dusty beats them all. I could harp on so many things that this blog would go longer than War and Peace.

His insistence on batting Patterson in the leadoff spot is the toper. The kid has drawn two walks all year. A leadoff hitter is supposed to set the table. Not swing at balls over their head. Also he won’t play Jason Dubois, a rookie who shows promise over two long in the tooth outfielders Burnitz and Hollandsworth. He keeps putting Hawkins in the ninth inning were he has consistently failed. And of course, he blamed all of last years failures on, you guessed it the media.

You see Steve Stone could out mange Baker in his sleep. Baker knows it and always felt threatened by his presence in the booth. Stone would question Baker’s moves before the ultimate implosion and then Dusty would accuse Stone of second-guessing. So, this year with Stone not around he is blaming the media for causing a controversy over playing time. His whole act is stale and I almost want the team to fall on its ass so we can get rid of him already.

The Cub team last year is the least likeable I’ve ever seen and this one isn’t much better. With all the injuries they have had to endure you quickly get reminded of the John Lennon line of “Instant Karma is Going to get You.” This team excels in bitching and moaning. I guess it is more a sign of the times with modern athletes but it all stems from the top. When the players see their manager going at it with the press, they feel they can do the same.

So, even though it is early April, another Cubs season has gone down in flames. This year will make 97 without a championship. Think about just how long that is. Teddy Roosevelt was in the White House. As a Cub fan I am sick of the bullshit and excuses. I want to win and not next year, but now. The Tribune prints money and at this point needs to go out and spend it and get the fans who’ve lined their pockets all these years a team that can win the whole damn thing. Division titles, and wild cards won’t do it for me anymore. I am greedy. I think I’ve seen enough losing to have built enough character. I want to win and I want to start now.