Catch and Release

I’m sitting here waiting, like a lot of Cub fans, to see if the North Siders actually sign Jim Edmonds today and send Pie down to Iowa. Obviously there’s been a big backlash, on our show and many other places, but in some ways it’s like a fake backlash. You know what I mean? The kind of knee-jerk reaction that is involuntary when you see a dog going #2. Disgusting and always out of place, but then you stare at the dog’s owner until you’re satisfied that the owner is going to clean up the mess. And the owner does and life moves on.

We have to admit that Edmonds could help this team in a big way. If he flashes some glove and hits .270 or above, the move would be lauded as the deal that helped the Cubs reach the playoffs, or even the Series for the first time in bazillion years. It’s a shame that Felix Pie hasn’t had more of a chance to get right at the plate this season, but when a young player starts slow out of the gate it should be expected. What Pie doesn’t have is a working knowledge of the Cardinals organization.

That part of the deal is the most intriguing to me. The rumor is that Edmonds has an axe to grind against the team that is starting a former pitcher in his position. I don’t know if that holds water or not, it could be that Edmonds simply enjoys playing at Wrigley Field. His career numbers support that theory (18 HRs at the confines). Any advantage he can give us over the Cardinals, though, is at least as valuable as his pro-rated salary would be. So those are the plusses.

The only minus I can see is that if Edmonds doesn’t play well, his Cubs career shouldn’t linger. Put him back on waivers, bring Pie back into the fold after he does a Soto and figures out how to clobber major league pitching, and watch helplessly as Edmonds returns to the Cardinals and divulges all of our team secrets. It’ll be great. Back to you, metaphor…

In the end we all realize that it’s necessary and a good thing that the dog does its business, as long as the owner is hovering over the situation with plastic gloves and a scooper.