(Sweet Lou, reading a review of “The Human Centipede” written by someone who has never directed a movie or been a centipede)
….but you can’t so easily remove his criticism from the head of Lou Piniella. Angered by the Tyler Colvin-related barbs of former Cubs/current White Sox broadcaster Stone, Piniella unloaded to the local press corps prior to this afternoon’s crosstown matinee on the North Side, with the following remarks lifted from the Sun Times’ Paul Sullivan :
“We’ve got a lot of people here that haven’t managed and won any games in the big leagues, but they know everything. You know? They really do.
“I think they should try to put the uniform on and try this job and see how they like it when they get criticized unjustly. That’s all I’ve got to say about that issue. But you get tired of it. I’m trying to do the best job I possibly can and the only people I need to listen to are the people in my organization, that’s it.
“But I get tired of being nitpicked and tired of being criticized unjustly. Why don’t they talk to me first before they do it, OK, and get my viewpoints and my feelings and then make a determination? The same way that I get called ridiculous, they’re ridiculous in the same way they report things, too.”
“And another thing I’m going to say: I won over 1,800 games as a manager and I’m not a damn dummy, that I can tell you. There are only 13 other (managers) that have won more games than me. I guess I think I know what the hell I’m doing.”
“And Steve Stone? He’s got enough problems doing what he does with the White Sox. What job has he had in baseball besides talking on television or radio? What has he done?”
Pestered for a response by Sullivan colleague Paul Van Dyck, Stone countered with “I haven’t seen one guy that gets better on the bench” (re : Colvin), and more to the point, “when you need to have a front-office job to make an observance about baseball, there’s going to be nobody working in baseball…that might be one of the dumber things he’s said.”
Well, I sympathize with Steve Stone’s not being able to focus on South Side baseball and wishing he was back in the booth at Wrigley. He’s obviously missing big league baseball over where he is. Stone’s always been an broadcast manager — it’s exactly stuff like this that got him unjustly fired from WGN in the first place. His name was once bandied about early in the Cubs sale talks (back when Sam Zell let it be known he was selling) as a GM. Stone made clear that he didn’t want the job, but somehow wanted an executive position that gave him some kind of GM authority. Lou’s right about him as a loudmouth with little practical experience.
That said, Cubs are in third place at .450. So, too bad those 1800 wins Lou is boasting about (actually about 1811) aren’t at 1831 right now.
Well, as usual Stoney is right. I’m a regular fan and I figured out that Tyler Colvin will run circles around Alfonso Soriano both on defense and with the bat. So, why isn’t he entrenched in left field ? Soriano’s bat is sporadic at best and he can’t figure out where the ball is half the time in the field. But, he is a veteran. Managers like Lou (ex-major leaguer) will always play the veteran when given the option because they think that a veteran is owed. It doesn’t matter that the rookie is a better player. That’s the way it is. And of course, baseball mentality would never allow a million dollar player to sit on the bench even if he is hitting 260 and the rookie has the potential to hit 320. That’s how baseball operates. A player these days does not have to look over his shoulder or worry about his performance. He could give it his all or go through the motions. It doesn’t matter because in the end he will collect his paycheck. What a sad state of affairs.
Wait, Lou won 1811 games playing veterans over rookies because he’s what, just a dumb jock? And he should give Soriano’s position to a player with “the potential to hit 320?” The Cubs are rarely up front about this stuff. I honestly feel I know more about life on the ground in Waziristan than I know about Wrigley and why the Cubs play someone or not. If Lou can bump Soriano from the lead-off to start the season and move Zambrano to the bullpen, I think he can play Colvin as much as he wants. Anyway, this miserable first half doesn’t all come down to Colvin/Soriano.