| Dennis Hobein. 2nd June, 2006 - 7:12 pm
 Leave the goat out of this. Please. The goat has nothing to do with being able to lay down a sacrifice bunt. Nor does the goat have anything to do with working the count and making the opposing pitcher actually break a sweat.
After the Cubs loss to the Reds on Wednesday night, Reds starting pitcher Eric Milton had this to say: “I didn’t feel good. I didn’t have much velocity…..I couldn’t believe the pitch count. They were out there swinging.”
In the bottom of the 7th inning, the Cubs had their 3-4-5 hitters up, trailing 3-0. Eric Milton had to throw precisely 4 pitches to retire the side.
Dusty Baker has long been known for allowing his hitters to be “aggressive” at the plate. It is obvious to even the most casual fan that opposing pitchers are using this to their advantage. Left-handed pitchers, such as Eric Milton, have been dominating the Cubs since Dusty has taken the helm of the sinking ship Cubs.
Most southpaws rely on changing speeds and location to retire hitters, which plays into their hands against the ultra-aggressive Cubs. The Cubs have ranked at, or near, the bottom of the league in walks and on-base percentage for the last 2.5 years. If there ever was an “Anti-Moneyball” approach to baseball, it would be Dusty’s version. According to Dusty, walks “clog the base paths.” This also explains why the Cubs offense has had the greatest percentage of runs scored via homeruns, but have ranked very low in total runs scored. If the bases were “clogged” a little more often, maybe all these solo home runs would turn into 3-run home runs.
The Cubs are also lacking in the basic fundamentals of the game. It is very typical to see an outfielder miss a cut-off man, or a botched sacrifice attempt, or even a baserunner being picked off second base. Although, that does help to un-clog the bases. How can a team with a $90 million payroll not execute these seemingly simple tasks that are necessary to winning baseball games? Simple. It is not a priority in Dusty’s version of winning baseball. Why move a runner over when you can just hit a homerun and jog around the bases? The fact that the Cubs are not losing solely because Mark Prior and Derrek Lee are on the DL is becoming abundantly clear to many who have previously supported Dusty Baker. There is even a www.firedustybaker.com website available for all who would like to blow off some steam.
But Dusty Baker is not the only reason why the Cubs are a bad baseball team. He might be the most visible on a daily basis, but behind the scenes lurks the Tribune Company and the higher ups running the show. They would like you to believe that the problem is bad luck or a curse of a goat from decades ago. It reminds me of the wizard from the “Wizard of Oz” who doesn’t want you to look behind the curtain. Because behind the curtain is a company that’s first priority is, and always will be, to the shareholders of Tribune Company. Which is precisely why the Tribune should consider selling the Cubs.
If the Tribune truly cared about the fans of the Chicago Cubs, which they want you to believe, then they would consider offers from potential buyers such as Mark Cuban, who has expressed some interest in owing the Cubs in recent weeks. This past week the Tribune Company reported that they will be selling off some “non-core” assets to raise capital in response to their tumbling stock price. The Cubs were not considered part of the sell off. And why would they be? The Cubs generate hundreds of millions in revenue, and they don’t have to worry about winning baseball games. If you had an inferior product, but still made millions of dollars, would you sell?
Until fans stop their parade through the turn styles at Wrigley, the execs are going to keep feeding the fans with excuses such as “we’ve had too many injuries”, and “we couldn’t get another bat to fill in for Lee because the market wasn’t right”, or “the weather, the wind, and the infield grass aren’t conducive to our ball club.” There is no accountability for failure in the organization, and if somebody within the organization suggests criticism, they are chastised. Take T.V. analyst Steve Stone for example. A fan favorite for decades, Steve Stone was attacked by Dusty Baker, Jim Hendry, and Andy McPhail during the 2004 season for critical comments he made during a game. I guess if you can’t take the heat, you fire the cook.
The nonsense about the “Curse of the Goat” and Steve Bartman must stop. These problems are human made, not goat made. Cubs’ fans are beginning to wise-up to this and you won’t see many fans mutter the words “Wait Until Next Year” around the old ball park. When Roger Clemens decided to come back to the Astros this past week, one reporter asked him, “Why did you not consider the Cubs?” Clemens response, “Because it’s all about winning.” If only the Tribune shared those same sentiments.
Dennis Hobein can be reached at dhobe13@yahoo.com |
