A few comments on an Opening Day that almost was.
Because this is the 100th anniversary of the last time the Cubs … made it to the playoffs two years in a row (and the last time the Cubs won the World Series), there have been lots of articles on the Cubs and their fans. The whole long-suffering thing and all that. I have already said what I think of that (see here), so I am not going to do it again.
Ernie Banks was honored by the unveiling of a long-overdue statue. It’s a great statue. It really looks like him. Ernie also threw out the first pitch. On first pitches they usually have the newest rookie doing the catching, but when Ernie Banks threw out the first pitch yesterday, Kerry Wood was the catcher. He gave Ernie a hug after the throw. Kerry Wood is a class act.
I liked Wayne Messmer singing the National Anthem. He’s the best.
Sometimes it seems the fans in the stands are getting cruder and coarser each year. I don’t know if it is because recent near misses have gotten hopes up, because higher salaries for the players mean the fans demand perfection every time, or because increased ticket prices are attracting the wrong kind of people, but there is a different feeling at Wrigley Field at times, a negativeness or even meanness. I don’t like it. It’s not my Wrigley Field. And those aren’t my kind of Cubs fans.
Finally, with the 100th anniversary and all, there have been lots of articles about some of those near misses in the past. 2003 has featured prominently in those discussions, especially the eighth inning of the sixth game of the series against the Marlins. Many of the articles talk about how a fan reached over the outfield wall to knock a foul ball away from Moises Alou and how that cost us a pennant. Wrong.
First, the fan did not reach over the outfield wall to try to catch the foul ball. Moises Alou was trying to reach into the stands to catch the ball. Also, the problem was not the fan. Alou did not have to have to throw a fit about what happened. If he had just gone back to his position and played baseball, maybe he could have calmed everybody down instead of getting them more upset.
(Actually, if you want to see what Alou should have done, look at your tape or DVD of the Sandberg game. {You do have a DVD or tape of the Sandberg game, don’t you?} In about the seventh inning a ball was hit down the left field line in almost the same place as the ball in 2003. A fan knocked the ball away from the Gary Matthews. But instead of throwing a hissy fit like Alou, the Sarge acted like it was not big deal, and therefore it was no big deal.)
Back to 2003. Second, Alex Gonzales should have fielded the double play ball that the next batter hit, instead of booting it.
But most importantly, the Cubs’ manager should have gotten out of the dugout and gone to the pitcher’s mound to either calm down or replace a young Mark Prior before it was too late.
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Update (4/3/08 1:10 p.m.): Moises Alou has told a reporter for the Associated Press that he could not have caught the ball in question anyway. (See here.) As I asked above, then why did he have to throw a fit? Why didn't he just go back to his position and play baseball? Things might have turned out better; they couldn't have turned out worse.
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