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This is not about a billy goat, a Bartman, or some new Century Club Curse hanging over the Chicago Cubs. Yes, the Cubs haven’t won a World Series in over 100 years now, but it’s no longer about a lack of talent or a propensity to choke.
Everybody wants to bury the Mets this week for their underachieving ways, but at least their struggles can be largely related to their lineup that has been decimated by injuries, a bullpen that lost its power set up man, and one misguided contract given to Oliver Perez.
In Chicago, it’s less about injuries and more about attitude. The Cubs need a culture shock, one that comes with a swift broom and a dustpan, sweeping out all of the destructible personas in this woebegone franchise.
It’s amazing that the Cubs currently sit 3.5 games out of first place in the National League Central. If you only looked at the standings, you would think life is pretty good on the North side. But if there is ever a franchise in need of detoxification, this is it.
The selling of the Cubs from the Tribune Co. to the Ricketts family has been held up over financial issues regarding the $900-million price tag, but as soon as that transaction is complete, Tom Ricketts needs to walk through the clubhouse with a Dustbuster.
If Ricketts wants to see a winning franchise with his name on it, an identity change is the first thing he needs to do.
The face of the Cubs, certainly for the worst, is ace Carlos Zambrano. If Zambrano didn’t live life as a ticking detonator, his enormous talent would be universally lauded. Zambrano would normally be one of the Top 15 pitchers in all of baseball on my list, but enough is enough.
His tantrums do more harm for the Cubs than his pitching does good. When are we ever going to see the Zambrano who doesn’t let his emotions get the best of him and simply sticks to dominating the competition, you ask? Well, never, because there isn’t such a thing. I’m convinced.
Vintage Zambrano was on display Sunday as the Cubs wrapped up a weekend series with the White Sox.
In the bottom of the sixth inning with the White Sox up 3-0, Christ Getz was on third base with DeWayne wise at the plate. The White Sox put on a suicide squeeze but it was recorded as a stolen base for Getz when Zambrano threw wide of catcher Geovany Soto and the ball went to the backstop, making it 4-0 White Sox.
On the next pitch, Zambrano hit Wise, and the two immediately started exchanging words. Zambrano said it was a “cutter that cut too much,” but then waved Wise to meet him out at the mound.
Regardless of Zambrano’s alibi, he lost his focus, put fake machismo above competing, and didn’t make it out of the inning. That’s not exactly the leadership the Cubs need from their ace when they are looking up at three other teams in their division.
Oh, but Big Z isn’t alone when it comes to the powder kegs. Milton Bradley routinely joins the party, and his latest water cooler-smashing incident came on Friday, resulting in a shouting match in the dugout tunnel with manager Lou Pinella and Pinella allegedly calling him a “piece of [bleep].”
But Bradley being in the middle of some sort of emotional drama is no surprise, though. When a guy has played for seven teams in the last nine seasons, why in the world would he ever be able to survive in one of the rowdiest sports venues in America playing in front of some of the hostile and blood-boiling fans?
There’s Ted Lilly who is always good for a few outbursts a season. My favorite Lilly moment came in the 2007 NLDS against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Lilly gave up a home run to Arizona’s Chris Young – one bad pitch in a horrible outing – and spiked his glove on the mound in a big Little League huff. That was the lasting image of those Cubs.
To top it all off, Geovany Soto tested positive for marijuana while playing for Puerto Rico in this spring’s World Baseball Classic. Soto, the 2008 NL Rookie of the Year, was banned from international competition for two years (big deal), and promptly made all of the cliché apologies that he didn’t write.
To be fair, the Cubs have been crushed by the absence of Aramis Ramirez and the invisibility of Alfonso Soriano. Ramirez is expected back soon after dislocating his left shoulder on May 9, but Soriano is still lost at the plate.
In a perfect world, Ramirez would be healthy and he would share the leadership role with Derek Lee. Both are stand up guys and both are productive players. Of course, there is nothing such as a perfect world in Cubdom.
Who knows when Ricketts will end up taking over the ownership of the Cubs, and even if it did happen soon, it is extremely tough to make big changes in the middle of a season. Fine. The Cubs current roster has the rest of this season to make the best of it.
But as soon as the World Series is over, jerseys must be burned and this club needs to start over. With Soriano’s massive contract, you aren’t moving him.
Soriano is part of the problem on the field, but he isn’t part of the problem in the clubhouse and the tabloids. I would just drop him to sixth in the order where his power will play up and his .300 OBP will play down. He certainly doesn’t belong in the leadoff spot.
Zambrano should be on the market and the Cubs should be open to all offers. Trust me, there would be plenty. They could get a haul of young players for him.
The Cubs would have to eat most of Bradley’s salary, but it would be worth it to get him into another uniform and out of Chicago’s nightmares.
Lilly? See ya.
Soto stays, but only because the marijuana incident is the only blotch on his resume with the Cubs. So the kid gets a second chance. But any more hiccups and he is out.
And while I’m at it, I would give Pinella a long, hard look. It’s not his fault that he was given a roster with this many buffoons, but then again, he hasn’t done anything to suggest that at 65-years-old he can manage any batch of egos. Pinella is a great manager, but the end comes at some point for everyone.
Give me Lee, Ramirez, Soriano, Ryan Dempster, and Rich Harden. That’s where I start. Those are my leaders. Complementary pieces like shortstop Ryan Theriot and Reed Johnson are great if the leadership is in place.
The Cubs will always have an inside track to talent, because Wrigley Field is one of the most desirable places to play and Chicago is a great place to live.
But every winner has a foundation of productive players with high character. That’s a fact, and the Cubs will never win anything as long as they are known more for blow-ups than true ballplayers.
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I want to enjoy the Cubs and the Wrigley Field atmosphere, which is second to none during October. But until the vision is changed from the top down, we are only going to get more dented water coolers.
You can reach Teddy Mitrosilis at tm4000@yahoo.com.
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