More embarrassment from Wrigley

Cubs... what a CLASS organization & team!

It appeared fairly obvious that Pinella's outburst today was intended to serve a dual purpose. First, he was trying to ressurect and fire up the "cadavers" that play for him and second he was trying to release some of his own anger and frustration because he knows he shouldn't have taken the job in the first place. Now, there is no doubt that he is partially to blame for the impending demise, on Chicago's north side, of still another baseball season. That said, however, his group, to the man, have no idea of how to play the game of baseball. On the bright side, Pinella did look like a bobblehead with his belly jiggling and his head bobbing while he was directing an obvious chorus of expletives at the umpire whose only part in that one act play was making the right call......

As a lifelong Cubs fan, I am very frustrated with the team, but not at all embarrassed. In fact, this is something that needed to happen, and it needed to happen a long time ago. The club has embarrassed me the last three seasons with its immature, unprofessional, and just plain stupid play on the field and behavior on both sides of the line. Just in the last three seasons, the players have thrown temper tantrums because the broadcasters were honestly critical of them, Zambrano has melted down on the mound against the the Cardinals, and Barrett has taken a cheap shot on an opposing player. That doesn't even take into account the sloppy defense, terrible base running, and just stupid plays like the third baseman getting hit the head with a pop up. At least this year is different in the sense that Pinella is actually mad about what is going on and is at least talking about changes. The previous regime just sat back and let things happen. No discipline, no criticism, and thus no changes for improvement. The Cubs have become soft, and even more so, they are just a stupid team. There is no other way to describe it. They just play stupid. Pinella didn't create this problem, and he is not the problem. If he stays long enough, hopefully he is part of the solution. It was just six years ago he won 116 games with the Mariners. He is the one who has the unenviable job of trying to clean up this mess. The one I hold accountable is Jim Hendry. He is the one who now twice has gone with the sexy pick as manager only to see it blow up in his face. He is the one who brought in Barrett, who is nothing more than a glorified designated hitter who constantly puts his pride ahead of the team. It's under Hendry's watch that Wood and Prior achieved shortened careers with Cy Young talent. What makes the Hendry regime even worse, is that he traded away Willis and Garland, so they could win World Series with other teams. And in just the last week, Willis and Sergio Mitre both beat the Cubs in their own park. Not to mention that none of the players acquired in those trades are still on the team. Then he spends way too much money on Soriano, Lilly, and Marquis. Soriano is a debacle. And although Lilly and Marquis have been solid to this point, if they don't trade Willis, Garland, and Mitre, they wouldn't have had to spend the money on pitching. Now they have all that money tied up in Soriano and the pitchers, and have to make a decision on Zambrano. So, now they don't have the money to go after a free agent who is worth is keep, like Ichiro or Andruw Jones. They may not have come here in the first place, but with Ichiro's connection with Pinella, you never know. Now that they have spent so much money, and are fighting with each other, they definately won't. Bottom line is, Hendry has made a mess of the organization and added to the frustration of really good fans, considering the circumstances who have waited patiently far too long for something to cheer about. Hopefully, with a new owner will come a new general manager and just an overall change in philosophy and direction. Pinella may or may not be the right guy, but as long as Hendry is GM, not even Casey Stengel could get this team to win.

Jay T couldn't of written it better. Hendry is a overrated GM & has traded away decent players leaving cubs without much to show for it.Cubs bullpen lost another one today & more base running follies for cubs. Cubs need to get rid of most of bullpen plus Jones & Barrett for starters. Jacque a weak arm & can't hit might bring a decent set up guy like a Linebrink from Padres? Barrett a mental midget ,can't run bases ,field his position or not much of a hitter in 07 either.. Lou appears to have move DRays to Wrigley the way he can't manage. Lean towards Chisox but like to see both clubs succeed. Sox have plenty of issues themselves.

Roman,
I think you should delete all the blogs since the start of the season, and we should pretend the season starts today with Marshall pitching a shut-out. That way maybe we die-hards can regain a little selfrespect. Actually, I thought Lou was pretty funny yesterday. The thing was probably choreographed.Does anyone besides me get the impression that __Sun Times__ sports writers take themselves much too seriously and lack senses of humor?

Cubs have always traded good talent for bad so why is that such a big deal now? Since I can remember guys have left and gone on to World Series or Cy Young careers. So why is it now in question? Of course you won't find a Cub fan who would admit to being embarrassed because they haven't been so why should they now. The team has had few things to smile about over the last 90-plus years,so why should the current fans be anything but morose. Blame Hendry,when 4 years ago he was dipping his fingers in the Chicago River and turning it into gold. The team got close to going to the big game because of Hendry and Dusty and in short order they became a cancer for some of you guys. Blame who got what you have or blame what you have for not doing what they need. Players come up with excuses like day games are the culprit. The majority of us work in the day time. We get up at 3 or 4 in the morning to get where we have to go. If we can move a city along at a 9 to 5,why can't guys show up at a stadium at 10 or 11 and get ready to do their jobs? All I see is a bunch of crybaby millionaires who aren't doing their jobs. Blame whoever you want but someone has to point the finger at themselves after a while. Lou shouldn't have taken this job. I said so in that blog trumpeting his arrival. You have guys fighting each other and they have a firey manager. Why wouldn't you expect that? Forget what Lou did a few years ago. Not many managers get a chance to take different teams to the big show. Name a few who did it. You guys expected Lou to come here and erase 90 years of misery because he didn't mellow out with a tooth pick while his crappy players played with no heart. He was the Ditka that stirred the Cubbies. After watching that eldery gentleman throw a temper tantrum that resembled a 2 month old crying for a bottle I can't wait to see what the Kingdom says about another embarrassing episode. Watch they turn it into "The Great Lou Attempt at Resurrection". All I saw was another chapter to write about futility. WAh,Wah,Wah Cubs.

the late great Steve Goodman said it best in his song "A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request"......do they still play the blues in Chicago when baseball season rolls around?....when the snow melts away do the Cubbies still play in thier ivy-covered burial ground...when I was boy they were my pride and joy but now they only bring fatigue to the home of the brave, the land of the free and the door-mat of the National League

When the idiots littered the field it was an inappropriate display of frustration for sure.

But Piniella's blow up was classic.

Everyone has been waiting for Lou to blow his stack, me included. And he did me proud! Every element of a good Piniella explosion. I think on a scale of 1-10 he gets a 7 unfortunatlly, holding true to Cubbie tradition he was upstaged by a minor league manager who fashioned the rosin bag into a hand grenade. He gets a 10. The ESPN guys gave Lou credit for a few of his moves so maybe bump him to a 7.5. It got me up and cheering and I knew the guy was out. I am not sure at this point if it was for the Cubs or just for a man who has had enough and just couldn't take it anymore and had to do something about it a little like Travis Bickle . Regardless it got me up cheering I even think I was heard saying "They are going to win this one now!"
There in-lies the problem. They couldn't win it.

I will be watching again today woo hoo! Maybe Bobby Cox will get tossed!

GO CUBS

Roman responds: The problem I had with Lou was it wasn't spontaneous. It was just an act for the amusement of the fans. That's all. It was a clown act.

The replay showed that Angel Pagan was out. As it turned out, the umps made the right call. Bleacher fans should have refrained from second-guessing the umpire, who was standing next to the players.

Lou's anger led many fans to believe that Angel was safe, but quite clearly, given the overall circumstances Lou was likely tense and frustrated. Throwing garbage on the playing field is not the same as booing an umpire. Littering is not sportmanship.

Hey,Christine C, why changing the team's name to the Cadavers? It ain't over yet. Or is it?

Roman responds: The problem I had with Lou was it wasn't spontaneous. It was just an act for the amusement of the fans. That's all. It was a clown act.

Egged on by the media and fans way before it happened.

He gave everybody what they wanted. And now he is a clown?

He deserved the suspension. Sometimes you have to take one for the team to serve as an example. Sometimes that has to be premeditated. Some kind of motivation was needed. I am sure everyone has their own opinion on how to motivate.

On the bright side I am glad to see Pie back.

Lets go Cubs

Roman responds: Are you suggesting the media and fans can prompt Lou to do their bidding? That would be a dangerous precedent.

Lou threw the the tantrum to fire the team up. They have been getting their asses kicked and has there been any emotion? Has anyone seen the players actually acted pissed off after losing or making a bad play or geting robbed? No they looked like Dusty's boys........
Now Lou.......He IS the Mike Ditka of the Cubs. Does anyone remeber the time before the Bears won the Superbowl when Iron Mike Broke his hand in the Locker room? Mike cares and he showed it the only way he knew how.
Lou cares and he WILL get these guys winning. Its 305 on Sunday and the Cubs are winning 9-0 and they have thee homers.
Watch for a sweep of Milwaukee Monday Tuesday and Weds......
The fire has been lit. Look Out NL Central

Roman responds: Mike, read the previous post about how it's easy to throw a tantrum and allegedly "light a fire," but it's a lot harder to actually teach fundamentals and be a leader. I think that poster said it perfectly.

Well, I nominate Lou Pinella for the Cubs' special teams for ejections. Just like Lou said, basefunning is special teams. Then he can fulfill his potential. They the Cubs can finally seek a manager that will develop and teach players . Again, like Baker and several predecessors, Lou wants to show up and push buttons.

Have the Cubs ever realized that the best of the managers today develop players and are really coaches and teachers? It's sad to think that major league players require this but the fact is most have very uneven skill levels and game knowledge.

Melt down and ejection is really easy! To be a leader, teacher coach is hard work.

Roman responds: Very well put.

Well, I nominate Lou Pinella for the Cubs' special teams for ejections. Just like Lou said, basefunning is special teams. Then he can fulfill his potential. They the Cubs can finally seek a manager that will develop and teach players . Again, like Baker and several predecessors, Lou wants to show up and push buttons.

Have the Cubs ever realized that the best of the managers today develop players and are really coaches and teachers? It's sad to think that major league players require this but the fact is most have very uneven skill levels and game knowledge.

Melt down and ejection is really easy! To be a leader, teacher coahc is hard work.

Throwing stuff on the field was a classless act that should never have happened. I'd have to disagree with all of the writers here on the meaning and impact of the Friday Fight and Sweet Lou's Duststorm, though.

After watching Dusty's Cubs not even care over the last few seasons, I'm happy to see some fire in the dugout to at least let me know that the players are as frustrated as I am. I'd rather have a brawl in the clubhouse than see another pitcher dozing during the game. I'd rather see Lou explode with frustration (even if we all knew it was coming) than Dusty say it's all OK after another loss while he was looking so tranquil during it.

I don't care if Pagan was out by a mile or not, because it wasn't about that one call. It was about an entire season of blowing lead after lead, of getting thrown out by an inch or two, of loading the bases and getting no runs out of it.

This team should be winning more games and we all know it. Now at least I know they feel frustration, not acceptance. And although that is by no means all I want as a fan, it is a good start.

So here is my plea for the readers and writers here at CST to make an attempt to tone down the articles and posts dripping with cynicism and temper them with touch of insight.

Thanks from all of the loyal readership.

Ok, so you started a new job about four months ago and things aren't going well. You have plenty of talent but your people just aren't responding to you. So what do you do? You pick a moment when someone makes a decision you don't like and you explode. For five minutes you humiliate this innocent person (whose decision happens to be correct) you scream at him, you kick things at him, you even kick your own hat a few times in disgust. And when it was over, how long until you were fired? Five minutes, two minutes, as long as it takes to call the police?
Lou Piniella’s temper tantrum might make a two year old drool, but to most adults it was disgusting. Does ancient Lou really think that belittling this innocent umpire is going to motivate his players? Sadly, it appears that once again that Jim Hendry has hired a manager whose best days are behind him. Neanderthal Lou doesn’t have a clue how to motivate today’s ball players. Where have you gone Joe Giradi?

Juan....Juan......Juan......If you read my blog with even the slightest level of concentration you would have seen that I referred to the players as the "cadavers" and made no mention of changing the name of the team. Please don't let today's rare victory cloud the obvious which is, as I've stated before, this Cubs team will not see the .500 level again at any time during the 2007 baseball season. In fact, I think they should remove the "W" from the white flag that is currently flying above Wrigley and just leave the white flag there for the rest of the year. They are done for this year and will not win while Jim Hendry is in charge of determining who their players will be and deciding who makes the decisions with reference to player devleopment. So if I am wrong, which is very unlikely, I know I'll hear from all of my fellow bloggers........will I also hear from you if I am right??

Not just embarrassment from Wrigley, the Sox lose 6 of 7? What the hell is going on? Why can't we have a good baseball team in this godforsaken town for longer than 2 years? How is it the Redsox have been good for the last decade and the Sox or Cubs can't? Why do the Twins almost always have a good team and the Sox or Cubs don't? Why why why????

Sox are looking like the Cubs from two years ago. Go up, get everyone's hopes up and then go on a five game skid.

The Cubs... well they're just as pathetic as they usually are... maybe a little more.

It's going to be a lonnnnnnnng summer.

Everybody talks about changing the culture of the Cubs.

On the surface, that seems like good medicine. But how? It needs more than changes of attitude, such as switching from a "Cubbie Swagger" state of mind instead of "Cubbie Stagger".

It means ripping out the old culture by the deep roots and building back from the bottom up, maybe. How so? Well, I thought I heard or read a couple of things that make one think, such as the baseball scout or scribe that said "the Cubs have never been known for being strong on fundamentals". In contrast to comment I thought I saw about the Atlanta Braves organization, where it was said that "fundamentals are taught from the Double-A level up" in that organization, and are therefore expected to be a given at the big league level.

Well, the Braves don't win it every year...sure, far from it. But they're there almost every year, and a team to be reckoned with.

Maybe instead of following the Yankee model and spending $ 300 million for a quick fix, installing and instilling the Braves' method of building for tomorrow, but years ago in the making, might work better for Cubs. Imagine if everyone was expected to have a few clues on baserunning instead of none by the time they reached Wrigley?

The Bears didn't win a Superbowl the year Ditka broke his hand. Breaking it the year he did must have been a waste of time because they didn't win anything that year. What blow up did Ditka have the year they won a Superbowl? Not one. Every incident where he blew up didn't follow with a win or a winning season. Frustration and blowing up doesn't get the most out of your players. Some Coaches and Managers just have the team to follow through to a championship. All the pieces fall into place. Why do so many people think that volatile coaches get so many championships? How many has Booby Knight won? I can't think of too many head guys who suceeded year in and year out with an abrasive personality. You have to know when to get to that well and if you go too often it becomes a joke. (See: Bobby,Iron Mike,Billy Martin etc.) He incited a riot, just about. Sugar coat his actions all you want but he should've known what he was getting himself into by becoming the manager here. That team is cursed. 20 years from now they will still be without a World Series.