Now that Latroy Hawkins has proved his point–that he can’t be a closer–the Chicago Cubs have little else to prove that they are truly choke artists in a season slated for destiny. What it’s really time for is to see if Dusty Baker is really a miracle worker. Hawkins had to be restrained by six of the Cubs’ coaches from attacking the plate umpire on Tuesday after blowing an 8-8 tie to the St. Louis Cardinals in the ninth inning, giving up two homeruns to both Albert Pujols and Reggie Sanders.
The Cards won 11-8.
Hawkins said he just wanted to talk to plate umpire Tim Tischida like a gentleman and Tischida overreacted by throwing him from the game.
It appeared as though Hawkins wanted to strangle him.
"Do I regret it? No," Hawkins said. "I’m not going to hit him."
See? He’s a gentleman.
Meanwhile Baker still gasping from restraining Hawkins said he wasn’t embarrassed by his closer’s actions–and before the game Tuesday, Baker insisted that Carlos Zambrano’s ball-beaming is just part of his routine.
This is it Cubdom, the truth of the moment: The ship is sinking and the captain doesn’t know his feet are getting wet.
Not embarrassed? How can any team let a six-point lead go like that–to a division rival? Quite possibly the Cubs have ignored telling signals of their mental weakness all season long, pinning their inconsistent offense and desperate bullpen on injuries and bad breaks.
No one doubts the talent this team has, and with the exceptions of Todd Hollandsworth and Mark Prior’s boo-boo arm, this team has no excuses.
Everyone was back on the field Tuesday–physically anyway; their poise and composure were somewhere else.
It’s a very devastating and tough loss," Baker admitted. "We’re not conceding. … we’re frustrated."
What fans want to hear is that Baker walked into the Cubs locker room after the game, barred the door, drop kicked a water cooler and said, "We’re going to be here for a while…tell your families to put the leftovers in the fridge. This season is a mess. We’re switching around the batting order. Clement you’re going to be the new closer. Rusch, you’re going to take his spot. And Farnsworth, cut your hair."
But that isn’t Baker. He is cool, methodical, understanding and deliberate. The guy sucks on toothpicks the entire game and brings his kid to every interview with him. He is likable. Likable by players because they never hear a bad thing come from him.
No criticisms, nothing.
If Corey Patterson doesn’t bunt and earn walks, it’s OK that’s just Corey. If Sammy Sosa strikes out because he thought the ball is supposed to bounce across the plate like cricket, it’s OK that’s just Sammy. If Zambrano wants to spit and curse every player that shows him up, it’s OK that’s just Carlos.
And if Hawkins wants to kick the ump in the nuts, hey, it’s OK that’s just Latroy.
Now the Cubs are 10 games behind the Cardinals and fell to third in the central standings. The goats, the Bartmans and the injuries are freakishly apropos for this season, but they don’t explain the emotional/mental breakdown.
The Cubs choked and still have an uphill battle for a wild card berth. The real test remains for Baker and his Cubbies. Will any of the bullpen prove to be worth keeping? Will Cubs find a closer in Hawkins’ absence after a likely suspension?
Will Sosa and Moises Alou take charge of a team that is desperately looking for veteran leadership? Will the team ever stay healthy? Will Chip Carrey ever shave his eyebrows?
More than ever, will Baker take control of a team that is desperately looking for its captain?
Because I don’t know if this team can swim.
9 replies on “Season sinking for Cubs”
cubs “What it’s really time for is to see if Dusty Baker is really a miracle worker.”
“Now that Latroy Hawkins has proved his point–that he can’t be a closer–the Chicago Cubs have little else to prove that they are truly choke artists in a season slated for destiny. What it’s really time for is to see if Dusty Baker is really a miracle worker. “
I would move the second to the top of the article and make each act as its own paragraph.
That first sentence is clumsy and those two sentences don’t make sense as a paragraph. At not the way they’re written right now.
Dump one “really”
“Hawkins said he just wanted to talk to plate umpire Tim Tischida like a gentleman and Tischida overreacted by throwing him from the game.
Hawkins said he wanted only to talk to Tischida like a man even though it looked like he wanted to strangle him.”
Aside from adding the bold “ed”, you just made exactly the same point in back to back sentences.
Aside from that, I loved it. You made your points effectively and with humor. I don’t even like baseball, but I still enjoyed reading this.
HA! I just screwed up the editing of an editorial comment. DOH
I’ll fix the "looked" whether he wants to remove the exact same point is up to him.
I agree For the first time I found someone who thinks that Dusty Baker is overrated, just like he was in San Franciso.
yeah making any editorial change is up to him. When did I say it wasn’t? Or do I have to say, “This is my opinion.” “I think” or “I believe” before every statement?
I’ll make things easy for the future. If I say something, you can assume that it is my opinion, I think it and I believe it. I assumed that was obvious enough that I didn’t have to make a disclaimer for each individual comment.
Tom, relax! I was just saying that he needed to make editorial changes because I only fix copy. I wasnt criticizing you.
Er What can I say, except . . . DOH.
Sorry
Cubs will go all the way in the NL The Cubs may have fallen out of the race for the NL Central, but they will still win the NL wild card and eventually reach the WS, here’s why:
The Cubs have by far the best pitching staff in baseball (when they are healthy). They are balanced from top to bottom, 1-5.
They have added some key offensive weapons such as derek Lee and Todd Walker. This adds some pop to their lineup and that paired w/ the staff should be stellar in the postseason.
Latroy Hawkins is also a key factor, yes i said it, Hawkins can be a solid closer and if he performs to his potential, he should help solidify the somewhat shaky bullpen.
The Cubs are not at all sinking, they are very much alive in the NL. Just wait until the playoffs.
Cubs sinking . . . ¿ It could be simply the early arrival of the September swoon that every Cub fan since 1945 has known and hated.
Or . . .
it could be that the team is weathering the swoon now, and will explode in August and September with couple of 10-plus game win streaks.
Or . . .
It could be that last season was only a big tease, and the Cubs are returning to the vast pool of mediocre despond (or even downright awfulness) where they have spent most of the last century.
Still, any true Cubfan knows that this is our team. Most of us were born with them. We cannot escape our grindingly tenacious loyalty to the team–a loyalty that can border on masochism. So until they deliver the elusive pennant that we greeted with delighted surprise last year, and fully expected this year, Cub fandom will always be more interesting than the team it supports.