Call me irrational. Call me a quitter. Call me a typical "the sky is falling" Cubs fan. I don't care. After 18 games of mostly lousy baseball, I'm done. I can't stand watching this team. Every time I turn them on, I get sick to my stomach. I should have known better too. Hendry never really gave them a shot to be successful. Gone are the veteran bats that could get the big hit in the clutch (Read: DeRosa and Edmonds). In their place are an always injured basket case who's hitting TWENTY (not 200, TWENTY) and Aaron Miles (Sucks). Good god. Throw in Soto's sophomore slump along with D-Lee's rotting corpse and I am actually shocked that they have won two games, let alone nine.
And then there is the pitching.
Ignoring the starters for a moment (who have been at least serviceable), this team's pen is filled with one mind-boggling question after another. Why does Neal Cotts even get to suit up for games? Does he have some nude photos of Lou and a 13-year-old Guatemalan boy? Why was throwing away 5 million on everyone's favorite Frenchman and Vizcaino a good idea? Why stretch out Smarj only to use him out of the pen when he gets the call? Why did anyone think giving the ball to a kid who hadn't pitched above Double-A would work? Why sign a closer with a gimp knee? Why continue to mess with the already paper-thin psyche of your closer-in-waiting by yo-yoing him between holding and saving? Why is it so impossible for this collection of stiffs to find the strike zone? I could go on and on.
Throw in the typical Cubs base running gaffes and their continued refusal to make the easy play in the outfield and this team may well be on its way to a worse under-achieving performance than...2004. That's right, I said it.
So I am done. I'm out. F this team. I've washed my hands of them...at least until around 8:40 CT tonight.
Go Cubs.
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Well said. See you on twitter at 8:40;)
ReplyDeleteNever thought I'd say this: I miss Michael Wuertz and Chad Goudin.
ReplyDeleteSad but true.
ReplyDeleteI understand the sentiment, but in 2004 the Cubs won 90 games. I'll take that in this division.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if Marmol is so fragile that he can't handle a little back-and-forth in how he is used in the bullpen, he simply doesn't have the mental toughness to be a closer ever. Period. Having your role changed a couple of times by your manager is nothing compared to the kind of pressure a closer will take on his shoulders as the games grow more important further into the season.
Finally, there have just been some decisions this year that were no-win situations. Middle relief is a crap-shoot. Middle relievers are failed closers, failed starters, or old guys holding onto the one roster spot they can still get like grim death. No little kid wants to be a great middle-reliever when they grow up.
Anybody who is any good in that role is ultimately moved into a more important role. If the Cubs had sent Patton back to the Rockies and kept Gaudin and his 10.00+ ERA, people would have wondered why we cut loose the great-looking prospect that had been getting everyone out all spring long for a big crappy veteran with intangibles.
Wuertz sucks, Gaudin sucks, Cotts sucks... almost every middle reliever in the major leagues sucks. Its the nature of the position. The Cubs' success or failure is not hinging on whether Gaudin is a part of this team or not.
Nevermind - don't know why I relied on my brain instead of a simple Google search - Cubs won 87 games in 2004. That probably won't do it this year either.
ReplyDeleteI stand by my assertion that middle relievers suck by definition.
It's about time you broke out your 'Journey's Greatest Hits' LP and take a deep breath. It's early.
ReplyDeleteScratch that...
ReplyDeleteI'm sensing 2008 Detroit Tigers all over this mess.