Too Manny in Left

Memo to Jim Hendry:

Congratulations on your recent contract extension. Well earned. There is no question that from April to September you are the best GM in baseball. Now that your near future is secure, perhaps you could do something to secure the near future of the Cubs and their fans. Number one on that list would be to ignore the rumors of trying to bring Manny Ramirez to the Friendly Confines.

You’ve been successful for the past seven years and no doubt know all there is to know about the current state of the Cubs. But while you were cutting your baseball teeth at Creighton University and with the Florida Marlins, we need you to understand there is more to Cubs history than Ron Santo.

We have had our fair share of problems in leftfield – Dave Kingman, George Bell and Moises Alou. Offensive forces in their own right, but absolute dogs in the field and on the basepaths.

The last thing this club needs is another Ramirez preening in the batter’s box as his fly ball lands on the warning track for a “better-hurry-my-ass-to-make-this-a” double. Two Ramirez’s would be too many.

If you insist on putting someone with long hair out on the field, put Marla Collins back in blue pinstripes.

You know Boras isn’t going to let Manny go anywhere for less than four years and they’re pushing for six. With Manny being Manny for thirty-six years now, the last thing we need is to watch a 41 year old stumbling around left field. Haven’t we learned our lesson from Soriano? And he’s only 32.

There’s no doubt that Ramirez has been the premier right handed hitting stud since 1995. But unless he has a Bondsian streak in him, his skills should start to deteriorate and soon. Maybe you get a really great year and one or two decent (in Manny-terms) years after that. He alone will not get the Cubs to the World Series. You still need to find other players who know how to hit between the end of the regular season and Spring Training. Last time I looked, the Dodgers weren’t facing the Rays in the World Series.

One final point. It’s not about the money. You want to spend $130 million to put ballplayers on the field? Fine by me – it’s not my money. It’s the Tribune’s, or Cuban’s or whomever. As a fan I don’t care how much you’re paying these guys.

However, if we are to be teased over the course of six months, only to face a questionable fall, I would prefer we do it with talented, driven ballplayers. Not talented, me-first players.

Torn Between Two Lovers

I was watching the Red Sox lose huge to the Rays in game 4 of the ALCS and I had a Mary McGregor moment. Since my childhood I’ve been a closet Red Sox fan. Something about the long-time suffering, historic ballpark rang true with me as a Cubs fan.

So here’s my favorite American League team getting knocked around (and as of tonight) knocked out of the playoffs by the Tampa Rays of all teams. As a Cub fan I’m looking at the Rays in the World Series with surprisingly mixed emotions. The Red Sox should have won. They have a history. They’ve been around. Granted they are no longer “long suffering”, but Red Sox vs. Phillies has a lot more cache than Rays vs. Phillies. Not to mention the Rays have possibly the worst ballpark this side of the Metrodome. A stadium like this shouldn’t be part of World Series history. But then again, neither should Minute Maid Park.

A strong part of me says “They shouldn’t be there.” They only have been in existence for 11 years. They don’t have enough history.

However that song has been played – by the Marlins, by the Diamondbacks, and as far as getting to the World Series, by the Rockies. So there is a precedent already set.

On the other side of my shoulder is a healthy dose of respect for the Rays. Unlike the Marlins and Diamondbacks, they did not buy their way into the World Series. The biggest name they brought in was Troy Percival, ten years after Percival was really valuable. They did it with home grown talent. Young guys, no team superstar. They did it with a manager who wasn’t afraid to call out his best player (BJ Upton) for not giving his all. Not once, but twice. Hmm. Dusty – you think Sammy would have gotten it through his ‘roided head that he needed to apply himself if he had been benched or dropped down in the order?

This Rays team was up 3 games to 1, came back home up 3-2 needing to win only one of two at home and did it.

And most importantly, this Rays team was able to overcome a crucial 8th inning error by their shortstop.

Will We Really "Wait For Next Year?"

And so we enter into another horrendously disappointing off-season. After watching the so called Professional Northside Squad look dead for a second straight post-season, all my Cub shirts and jerseys have been buried at the bottom of my chest of drawers, the Cubs flag has been removed from our front porch and I found myself weighing the good and bad.

Bad:
I had to
Ø Watch Soriano and Ramirez show no heart.
Ø Watch Lou fall in love with Fukudome for two games after benching him for two months
Ø Get my hopes up only to be kicked in the pills for a second straight year
Ø Watch the Cubs clinch and say “we learned from last year. We’re on a mission.”
Ø Watch the Cubs clear out their lockers four days later saying “We just didn’t get it done.”
Ø Wonder what really happened to Derrek Lee’s power
Ø Watch Rebel (Harden) face Rebel (Kuroda) knowing full well which Rebel would win out

Good:
Now I’ll have time to
Ø Finish those home projects I started last spring
Ø Get my filing done
Ø Meet with clients in the evenings during October
Ø Start my yoga training
Ø Work on my penmanship
Ø Reacquaint myself with the names of my children and see if they’ve started school yet

I suppose the inherent quality of a Cubs fan is resiliency and to return year after year in the hope that this finally will be the season. But the reality of it is, if the ultimate prize is a World Series title, is it worth investing your heart in the regular season so that you are subjected to a worthless display of baseball in October?