(Derrek Lee thanking Nefi Perez in advance for not saying anything about his dad whipping it out)
When he could be celebrating Chicago’s sweep of the fading Dodgers, Ben Schwartz instead turns his attention to Cubs ownership’s propaganda war.
The beleaguered Tribune Corporation, which has struggled in recent weeks to break into the rough and tumble Chicago media world, smacks down all Dusty critics, ie, “Baker Bashers” like CSTB, with Rick Morrisey’s unbiased coverage of his parent company’s own team. According to this, Baker’s only flaw is loyalty. This is one of those lame columns where, when Cub fans dare complain that they haven’t won a World Series in 100 years, we should thank the Trib Co. for not being the as lame as they could be. Just f’n win and I’ll shut up.
Also, Paul Sullivan gets my Pulitzer vote for the headline “Prior’s Swelling Subsides.”
Ben- Gerard is right…You gotta set it aside and live it up when you have the opportunity (however fleeting it may be), whether youre a beleaugured Cub fan or a Royals fan getting to see your team take a series from the Yanks. The Cubs are on a winning streak, swept the Dodgers, and to top it off, Cub fans watching Baseball Tonight got to watch Cubbie castoff LaTroy Hawkins cough up a grand slam to Chase Utley to hand the resurgent Phillies a win over the Giants. I mean, if you cant get Mike Lieberthal to pop-up or GIDP on the first pitch
with the bags juiced and he sharply lines an out, you just aint cutting it.
Ok, .529 is good enough. Yeah, I was very happy to see the Cubs sweep LA, esp. while I am living here, and I hope the momentum carries them into the San Diego series.
If they start losing again (“if!”), I would have to counter Morrissey by saying a) had Dusty and Hendry pursued a closer in the off-season, LaTroy would not be an issue, b) Dusty’s overall handling of pitchers is why Prior’s injury — or any injury to his hobbled staff — is a major setback, and c) Dusty Baker did cause the Punic Wars. You could look it up.
Ben
Ben- seriously, I hear you about the Cubs organization from the Tribune down thru Hendly and Dustbag. $5 mil to Jeromy Burnitz to “replace lost power in the lineup” says it all. My teams FO isnt great shakes, but any gripes I have are trifling compared to the Cubs.