The Chicago Cubs have lost nine of their last 13 games. That is a fact that has gone largely unreported undiscussed in the last few days.The Cubs were off yesterday and that is usually when the media harps on a teams shortcomings that is struggling. Not in Chicago.
I admit I am a Yankees fan so I can be neutral in the War of Chicago. But I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore.
All week long every media outlet has been bashing the White Sox for the sex dolls and Ozzie going Ozzie in Toronto. If anyone actually listened to him, he was telling the truth about how the Sox are treated second class here. No one listened to his words. All they did was pick out the expletives and Make fun of his accent.
The two Chicago newspapers have taken to potshoting eachother over one calling the White Sox Organization "classless" and "sexist" and calling for Guillen and GM Kenny Williams jobs. While the other paper calls that paper out for being hypocrites. Noting that they object to sex dolls in a locker room but run strip club ads for the kids to see on their pages.
All very amusing but the fact remains that the Cubs are struggling and noone is talking about it. They have already won the World Series if you listen to most of the callers on local talk radio and even Sports Illustrated says "It's going to happen" Based on what track record? What have the Cubs done to warrant such a sense of entitlement?
Does anyone even notice that the Cubs bullpen is underperforming? Main setup man Bob Howry has a 6.61 E.R.A. and Kerry Wood has been anything but lights out as a closer so far.Then there are the starters. Jason Marquis and Ted Lilly both have ERAs over 5. Sports Illustrated cover boy Kosuke Fukudome is in a four-for-23 (.174) slump and has not homered since opening day. All these are facts.
The White Sox have their own problem and are looking more and more like a .500 team but the anointed ones on the North side are hitting a rough stretch and someone needs to notice.and call them out for it. They will not win it all with out a bullpen or consistent rotation.Chicago has two teams in turmoil.The only Cub to take any of the heat is Alfonso Soriano it can't be all his fault.
Maybe it's all Ozzies Fault.
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from 7 days ago
Cub fans and the Chicago press react to the Cubs as a doting mother does to her underachieving only child - only seeing the best even when it is illusionary, and ignoring all the obvious flaws.
Perhaps the newspaper editors will start taking notice of all the cell phone ads in their papers and respect the White Sox just to keep the advertising revenue coming. The Sox are fun to watch, loony, and play hard. They are everything that a sports writer would hope to see. They even win 50% or more of their games most years, and have more upside potential this year than the heralded 2008 Cubs do.
"Wait until next year" is the most pathetic phrase in sports. Yet it has been the unofficial Cubs slogan for the past fifty years, the post WWII modern era of baseball.
If Chicago is too small a town for one major league team ( a rediculous assumption ), then keep the Sox and demote the Cubs to a Triple A League.
from 7 days ago
It all starts with Top Sox Basher Jay Mariotti. The man despises the White Sox, and avoids the Cell like it will give him the plague. Yet, he has no problem heaping praise on the Lovable Losers. This mindset has permeated both major newspapers in Chicago, and not even a World Series title in 2005 helped the Sox cause. It makes sense for the Cubs to get better treatment in the Tribune, but for the Sun-Times' Mariotti to bash the Sox shows that he learned nothing in journalism school when it comes to unbiased reporting. Then again, I don't know if what he does can be considered reporting.
Mariotti will continue to see what he wants to see in both the Cubs and Sox, and report only that. It's sad that he dragged down the rest of the Chicago media with him.
from 7 days ago
Could not agree more Mariotti is a disgrace to Italians everywhere.
from 7 days ago
Chicago is a Cubs town for baseball, always has been and always will be. But don't blame the media, they base their writign on what sells. And, naturally, if there are more Cubs fans then more articles will be aimed at those fans. It's just good business. And Ozzie can't blame anyone but himself for his big mouth. He says stupid things that get him in trouble. He likes it, it takes pressure off the team he thinks. I just think he's always looking for reassurance, like he doesn't really believe in himself.
from 5 days ago
The point was not the amount of press the Cubs get vs. the Sox it's the context. Everything is so positve for the Cubs and the Sox are always a bunch of a##holes.Lou Pinella went off on Jesse Rogers and it got very little attention if that was Ozzie it would have been hell.
I think Ozzie has plenty of self confidence.and does not need reassurance from anyone he knows how to do his job.
from 4 days ago
Yes, it is a Cubs town, which is unfortunate for some. Whether it be politics, sports, business, and others we expect for all things to be reported fairly by the media with those outside of that area being found in an editorial type column, but we would be naive to believe that is true now. Everything is filtered for us 'common folk' so we get what we have here. Who we are to like, who is a great person and what is the best thing we should overspend on is all there for you in your .
As for the radio comment, I have a hard time listening to anything other than Boers and Bernstein due to what you indicated in your column.
I do think Fukudome is the real deal though.
from 4 days ago
Boers and Bernstein are gods I missed them when i was away from the area.
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