Moises Alou, victim, stood in the Cubs’ clubhouse Sunday and discussed the umpire conspiracy he believes is aimed at his forehead. By the time he had stopped talking and by the time all the hurt had bled out of him, you figured the guy needed a personal-injury lawyer.
The source of Alou’s anger was a called third strike that appeared to be low and inside. The bases were loaded with two outs in the fifth inning, and the Cubs trailed the Mets 3-2, which would turn out to be the final score. It’s very possible that plate umpire Bill Miller thought Al Leiter’s pitch painted the inside corner, but it’s also possible Miller thinks Alou is a serial crybaby.
Reputations precede players, and whenever Alou steps to the plate, his has been waiting for him for about two hours. When he disagrees with a called strike, he often slams his bat to the ground, and it’s not unusual for him to share a few personal thoughts with the umpire afterward. Umpires tend to remember getting their eyebrows publicly singed.
Alou’s gripefest might have been a genuine tale of woe if not for the fact he subsequently informed the world of a baseball rap sheet 3 feet long.
“I’ve got about eight appeals [of fines] so far, so they’re going to have to listen to me,” he said. “I even got a letter that says if I get thrown out again, I’m going to get suspended. So I guess they know that, and maybe they’re baiting me for that.”
It apparently hasn’t occurred to Alou that the solution to his problem is a case of chronic laryngitis.
The umpires “are definitely after me,” he said. “I’m going to have to swing at everything, I guess. Some are after me; I’m not saying all. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but I’ve been getting a lot of bad calls. I’m going to have to do something about it.”
Here’s a suggestion: Put one foot in front of the other and walk back to the dugout after a called third strike. Don’t make eye contact with the umpire. Follow the code of sportsmanship Little Leaguers learn. Close your lips and double-bolt your mouth.
“I’ve been getting so many bad calls in the last couple of months,” he said. “I always argue for my rights. Everybody saw it. The guy had a terrible strike zone today. Terrible.”
You didn’t see Alou complaining when, during the same at-bat, he appeared to have struck out on a Leiter breaking ball. Miller graciously ruled it a checked swing. Still, says Alou: “I’m not a guy who’s going to complain or have an excuse.”
This is like Michael Phelps saying he’s not a guy who’s going to get wet.
There are seven games left in this season, all of them to be played at Wrigley Field as the Cubs try to nail down a wild-card berth. They open a four-game series against Cincinnati on Monday night.This is not the time for Alou’s complaints. This is not the time to incur the wrath of umpires, who were sick of the Cubs’ whininess by midseason. This also is not the time for the Cubs to show the toughness of soap bubbles.
One of the wonderful things about baseball is the possibility of regeneration. Lose heart one day, watch it grow back the next. Sunday was supposed to be that next day. The Cubs were devastated after a 4-3 11-inning loss Saturday, which was devastating because they had taken a 3-0 lead into the ninth inning. The official medical diagnosis was a wrenched gut.
The Mets started five rookies Sunday. A must win looked like it might be an easy win. Instead, Kerry Wood hit two batters and walked two others during a three-run first inning. The vaunted Cubs offense managed three hits. Sammy Sosa went 0-for-3 and watched his batting average slip to .249. Alou took two called third strikes and went a-grumbling.
It says something about the tightness of the wild-card race and the weight of each game that what had been an otherwise sweet road trip should end so bitterly for the Cubs. By winning the first game of the series with the Mets on Friday, they had won eight of the first 10 games of the trip.
Then they lose two straight at Shea Stadium. It makes a person want to scream.
