Posts tagged ‘Corey Patterson’

When it comes to just about anything, predictions are silly. Everyone knows this, it’s common sense. And yet the companies in charge of taking polls during each election cycle are raking it in like never before. They’re like the gasoline companies of the human mind, because we act like we can’t live without knowing what (a sample of) everyone thinks, all the time. So we fill out their bubbles for them, and they go back to the candidates armed with the results and their Amazon Wish Lists.

Much the same way, I’ve become a little obsessed with asking people around me to share their prediction for each series, including this upcoming one against the Reds. Not because I’ll use your prediction to measure the success or failure of my own prediction, but because the act itself of sharing predictions with you emboldens me to say that the Cubs will win 2 of 3. I need you to understand that I don’t think the Cubs will actually win 2 of 3, and yet that’s my prediction. Sharing that prediction helps me deal with being a fan of this year’s rendition of the Cubs.

So, uh, thanks…and switching gears…

What doesn’t fan the flames of being a fan is the ridiculously overblown hype regarding Dusty Baker’s return to the North Side as manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Dude, I could care less. The Sun-Times has dedicated their entire online Cubs coverage today to Dusty’s return to Chicago. It’s ludicrous. The good political editors of the world need to be reminded that if politics are “sport” it doesn’t work the other way around. At least not for this.

Dusty did his thing for 4 years, managed class act players and toddlers dressed as men alike, got the boot after ‘06 and watched from the Bay Area as the Cubs supplied their new manager with 1/3 of a billion dollars to acquire new talent. He doesn’t deserve booing. He might not deserve clapping. What he does deserve is for the baseball fans in this town to forget about those seasons and move the hell on.

Dusty wasn’t elected and he wasn’t voted out of office. His term simply ended. Originally I predicted that those sentences would end this post, but then figured I should provide some content instead of just railing on all the papers that profit off of Mariotti these days.

The Reds won 9 games against the Cubs last year, tied for the most wins they had against any team. As the rivalry with the Brewers has gotten more intense, we may not think about the Reds as much, but we should. Also that certain outfielder with a certain name, with a certain brother that plays for the Iowa Cubs? He leads the Reds with 4 HR, 28 total bases, and a .667 slugging percentage. Felix, don’t pay any attention to the latest polls. They’re meaningless.