Unleash the Vitriol

If I were running a Brewers blog or a Mets blog or a Phillies blog or even a Reds blog, I would be pretty fucken happy right now. After all, all of those teams have profited greatly from the spiralling, gunpowder-and-soap joke that is currently the Chicago Cubs. While three of those teams have no doubt received a boost in the Wild Card battle, Cincinnati just has something to smile about. After all, it's not every day that yr 3rd starter, a man with a CAREER 5.50-ish ERA will throw 7 scoreless innings despite walking 5 batters.

So where do I begin? This team is fucking awful. Awful. It's part of that post-All Star Break pattern that sometimes befalls us but always dismays us. We're 1-6 in the month of August, and we're showing no evidence of a turnaround. Everyone, I repeat EVERYONE, on the roster is to blame for this, and I'll get to them later. There are more pressing matters on hand.

Dusty Baker.

I was screaming and frothing at my television set on Sunday night when the nationally-televised Cubs-Mets game kicked off. First, our lineup. A starting Outfield consisting of TWO LEFT-FIELDERS AND A UTILITY INFIELDER. They allowed a run to score FROM FIRST on a SINGLE TO RIGHT-CENTER FIELD. Macias stumbled slowly to field the ball like Johnny Five on a scotch-fuelled rampage. Hollandsworth did his best Weekend at Bernie's impression, managing to be beaten to the ball by Jose, and the runner kept on running. That is fucking inexcusable. Inexcusable. There is no proof on Earth that such a play should be possible. But that's the coaching wisdom of Dusty - go with your beloved ones and fuck the rest.

I don't know what he sees in Macias and Hollandsworth that allows them to find their way into the Cubs starting lineup on a regular basis. Macias, a supposed IF option with speed, never beats out double plays. EVER. Hollandsworth grounded into at least one that I could count on Sunday night, while Matt "I am hitting .400 in the major leagues so far" Murton and Jeromy "I'm the guy you got to replace Sosa" Burnitz were busy getting manicures from Jerry Hairston Jr. It's pathetic, and I honestly don't care what bullshit Dusty has to say in interviews, but the lack of instincts and effort should push a great deal of our 25-man roster into minor league oblivion. It's all words, Dusty, because no matter what justification comes out of yr mouth, it never ever gets backed up on the field. The sum does not equal the hot air of its parts.

Our team is playing with less passion that I thought possible. Even in my wildest nightmares, I'd imagine the team trying somewhat to right their 1-6 wrongs, but frequently the highlights consist of powerless groundouts and aloof, indifferent fielding.

Barrett's gaffe last week was just a small part of that. Three times in that game, including some of our most "veteran" and "seasoned" pitchers, failed to back up at first on ground balls in that zone. 3 outs became 3 infield singles, and runs were scored from there.

So now it comes to the individuals themselves. No hiding here, boys, no hiding.