Steve Bartman may have gone underground since Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, but the story of the foul ball he tried to catch refuses to fade away.
Asked about the incident during a question-and-answer session Sunday at baseball’s general managers winter meetings, manager Dusty Baker said he hopes to include Bartman in the Cubs’ victory celebration next October.
“Personally, I’d like to put him in the parade with us and exonerate him for life for what happened,” Baker said. “I mean, you’ve got to put yourself in this guy’s place sometime. . . . You go there to be entertained, and something happens that changes your entire life, your identity and everything. That’s rough.
“Could [Moises Alou] have caught the ball? I don’t know. Would I have liked to have seen him have the opportunity? Yeah. That’s not what lost it for us. We had an opportunity to score more runs. That’s what stood out at the time, but [Alex Gonzalez] made an error, and Gonzo never makes an error. Sometimes that shows you maybe it was not meant to be.”
Of course, there will be no parade unless the Cubs win the World Series. These meetings are a time for teams to make moves in that direction, but the Cubs made their significant moves beforehand and may go home Monday with no deals consummated.
General manager Jim Hendry continued talks with representatives for free-agent infielders and outfielders for the bench, but players of interest like Scott Spiezio and Todd Hollandsworth are seeking starting jobs.
Catcher Ivan Rodriguez appears headed to Baltimore, which would end the speculation he would wind up with a cut-rate deal with the Cubs. Hendry did speak to agent Scott Boras on Sunday but said they did not discuss any deal that would bring Greg Maddux back to the Cubs to finish his career. Baker sounded interested in Maddux but conceded he’s probably out of their price range.
“Maddux is one of the best of all time,” Baker said. “It all boils down to how much money you have to spend. [Tribune Co.] used to have a reputation for not spending money. In the last year since we’ve been there, they have spent quite a bit more money than they have in the past. You can’t just come in here and spend all the money either.”
Pitcher Roger Clemens appears ready to end his two-month retirement and sign a one-year deal with Houston, which could be a detriment to the Cubs’ ambitions.
“We certainly have the door propped open for him,” Houston general manager Gerry Hunsicker said. “It’s his decision.”
When Clemens faced Kerry Wood last June 7 at Wrigley Field, it was the highest-rated “Game of the Week” telecast on Fox since 1998. The prospect of Clemens and Wood matching up three or four times a season would be great for baseball, though Baker would just as soon Clemens stay retired.
“It wouldn’t bother me if he started running some cattle the next couple of years,” he said.
