The boo-birds at Wrigley Field this year are out of hand. It used to be that a Cub player could do no wrong. Now, Cub legend Ron Santo would be booed out of the building for not walking fast enough on his two prosthetic legs. Any fan base within five outs of the World Series two years ago is going to have higher expectations than before, especially after a century of losing. I can understand the occasional boos. However, this used to be amongst the most congenial crowds in sports, everybody drunk on beer, chatting on cell phones, and maybe even watching the game. The Cubs have spent the money, have the talent (although injured most of the year), and should be competing every game. With Prior, Zambrano, Maddux, young lefty Rich Hill, and the occasional Kerry Wood start and now relief appearance, we are right to expect wins. But boos are now as common as cheers at Wrigley. Crowds are chomping at the bit for either manager to put in a player they can jeer with the two most common players this year being LaTroy Hawkins and Corey “Trade Bait” Patterson. On Tuesday, the crowd at Wrigley led an inning long “Hawkins sucks” chant after he came in for the Giants in the eighth. An inning long! Even current Cubs players such as Derrek Lee and Ryan Dempster told the media it crossed the line. I can understand booing an opposing pitcher on his way to and from the mound, but a whole inning? Hawkins is lucky Cubs fans didn’t take a cue from Phillies fans and start throwing batteries. But, then their cell phones wouldn’t work. If you have to boo, boo someone deserving, like all of the St. Louis Cardinals.
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One response to “Cubs fans show their support”
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I think I know why the Cubs fans have suddenly become so testy, after being docile drunks all these years: they finally got a taste for winning.
Cubs fans have been told for years that Corey Patterson was the Golden Child, the can’t-miss prospect. He isn’t. In fact, he’s doing even worse in AAA than he did in the Show. Zutroy Hawkins blew a ton of games when the Cubs folded like cheap card tables last year. When he started doing it again this year, the fans, frankly, had had enough. I will say, though, that the “Hawkins sucks” chant was embarrassing.
The Cubs were THISCLOSE to the World Series. This kind of sorry play, the inability to get a runner over, their tendency to live and die by the long ball, and the unfulfilled promise of both Mark Prior and Kerry Wood, has fans even more frustrated than they were when the team simply stunk. It doesn’t help that the team on the South Side has the best record in baseball. For the first time in a long time, losing simply will not be tolerated.
God love Jim Hendry. He stole Matt Lawton from the Pirates for a bag of peanuts and two tickets to a local comedy club. But it isn’t enough. Their pitching is far thinner than anyone will care to admit, and their hitters strike out way, way too much. I’d like to believe that the Cubs players are as sick of losing as we are of watching them lose. But I don’t see any proof of that. Indeed, last year, when they choked, they started blaming people like Chip Caray and Steve Stone. What nonsense, never mind cowardice.
I’ve spent enough time rooting for the bad Cubs. This team is too good to play this poorly, and I’m going to let them know it.