CubsChic

They’re supposed to be grown men playing a child’s game, but Big Z gets confused every now and then. Throwing a temper tantrum, especially directed at his fellow players, is unacceptable. I’m glad Hendry thought the same. Now the big decision will be to sit Z, try to trade him, or just put him on waivers. As poorly as the Cubs have been playing, it hardly seems fair that they now have to play a man short (you can’t replace a man on the roster if he’s suspended). It would be different if MLB had issued the suspension, but the Cubs did it to themselves.

There are those who say Zambrano is the only one on the Cubs who seems to care enough to get mad about how poorly the Cubs are playing. I don’t think they’ve stopped caring, but throwing a hissy fit is not the way to show you care. Big Z has some big anger management issues to deal with and I think they’re better resolved off the field than on. He’s not at a Milton Bradley stage yet, but I still think the Cubs would be better off without him, either on the mound or in the clubhouse.

Did anyone notice how I didn’t even write about the game? I’m just hoping we don’t get swept at the Cell. Things have to turn around eventually, right? It’s not like it gets any easier for the Cubs. We have the mighty Pirates, who the Cubs can’t seem to beat this year, headed to Wrigley next.

I wish I were just talking about the play of the Cubs on the field. As if that isn’t bad enough, the Ricketts are managing to dismantle the Wrigley experience faster than the Cubs can mount losses.

Their latest ‘improvement’ is to play recorded music instead of organ music when each Cubs player goes to bat. The result is an assault on the ears. Wrigley’s sound system isn’t clear enough to allow the fans to even make sense of the short burst of sound/noise, and the mostly heavy-metal choices just don’t match what used to be the easy-going, fun at the old ballpark atmosphere of Wrigley. I heard it for the first time at the Cubs/Sox series, which is when it was introduced. Maybe that’s why the Sox played so well; they felt like they were back at the Cell.

Supposedly, the marketing department is currently making the musical selections, but soon the players will get to pick their own intro songs. I vote for switching back to the organ, and letting the players pick their songs when the team gets back to .500. Maybe that will be the incentive they need to start playing like major leaguers. Certainly nothing else has helped so far.

The second new gift from the Ricketts is a giant noodle outside of the park, right next to the Ernie Banks statue. Ernie must be so honored. It’s a huge yellow noodle, a not-so-subtle advertisement for Kraft. Wally Hayward, Executive VP of Marketing for the Cubs, says it will be there for the rest of the season and he hopes it will become as iconic as the Bean at Millenium Park. I thought I missed McDonough before, but now I’m wondering if they kept anyone from his marketing staff. Did they allow McDonough to take all of his talent to the Blackhawks with him?

If I wasn’t already dreading the Cubs/Sox series enough this weekend, now I’ve got to go to Wrigley on Saturday and look at the monstrosity that is the new Toyota sign. I hate that it’s red and not the dark green that would be more harmoneous with the bleachers, but to make matters worse it’s also electric. I don’t care how many millions it will bring in the next few years, the Ricketts have just lost all standing with the fans who don’t want to see Wrigley become just another ballpark. If you’re going to start advertising in the outfield like all other parks, it’s no longer the Wrigley people come from around the world to see. We put up with the crumbling facilities and lack-luster food, not to mention the team itself, because of the charm of Wrigley. The charm factor has just taken a major hit.

Don’t the Ricketts wonder why attendance has taken a major hit this season? The weather has been nicer than normal, but the ticket prices have been jacked up to where even die-hards can’t afford to attend on a regular basis. I don’t even try to sell my tickets on the secondary market for a profit. I’m happy if I can find friends to buy them at face value. Another price increase and more advertising might just make me throw in the towel. Then again, that could make everyone happy, since I know as soon as I give up my tickets, the Cubs will go to the World Series and I won’t be able to get tickets.

Although I’ve never been a huge fan of hockey, it was hard not to like this year’s Blackhawk team and the way they played. I’m happy not only for the players, but for the owner Rocky Wirtz, who went against everything his father believed in by putting the Hawks games on TV. He managed to make the city fall in love with hockey all over again and couldn’t shoe-horn another fan into the United Center to watch a game live. Long-time fans deserve to celebrate this championship, as there have been some lean years for hockey in this town. Of course, the Hawks never would have been able to draft Patrick Kane if they hadn’t been so bad just a few years ago.

Now let’s hope the Cubs can end the last champion drought left in Chicago sports some time soon. It’s not looking like it will be this year.

Ron Santo is resting comfortably in a Pittsburgh hospital after becoming ill after Monday’s game. He’s not the only one sick after seeing the Cubs lose to the Pirates for the sixth time in seven games this season. Seems that, with their current offense, the only way the Cubs can get a victory is for their pitchers to throw a shut-out. It’s time to put Ramirez on the DL and let his thumb recover. Maybe rest Lee for a few days, too. The Cubs are suffering from heart failure, as in the heart of their order. We need someone in the middle of our order to at least get hits, if not RBIs.

The Cubs are out of town for what seems like forever. This is their longest road trip so far this season, nine games in eleven days. All three series are against the bottom of our division, so if we don’t pick up games these next few weeks the season will start looking pretty bleak, with yet a month to go before the All-Star break.