As evidenced by a T-shirt with the slogan “97 years of Losing. Why Stop Now?” Sox fans Friday weren’t in any mood for sensitivity training. Just as Tigers fans took over Wrigley Field a couple of weeks ago, the Sox counterparts poured it on their North Side brethren, making Cubs fans cry in their overpriced beers on another perfect day at the ballpark.
3 UP
UP
Juan Uribe: Move over, Paul Konerko. Take a seat, Jim Thome. The Uber-Man of the moment is Mr. Uribe, who’s hitting .375 with five home runs and 19 RBIs in his last 14 games. It takes the entire Cubs lineup a week or two to post those kinds of totals.
UP
Ozzie Guillen: Whether he was screaming at the TV booth to get Andre Dawson’s attention during the seventh-inning stretch or angrily throwing down his towel when he had a hard time getting Brian Anderson to move in before Juan Pierre’s ninth-inning at-bat, the Sox manager was as animated as ever. But why is he always looking into the stands?
UP
Michael Barrett/A.J. Pierzynski: Barrett’s soul-searching led to a pregame apology to Pierzynski, who handled the move with class. Now that the brouhaha is over, what will the media talk about for the next two days?
3 DOWN
DOWN
Dusty Baker: Guillen defended Baker (above) for not arguing the seventh-inning play in which Juan Pierre was called out: “I can’t see home plate from there and I bet Dusty can’t see it either.” But Baker’s defensive postgame response probably won’t go over well with already irritated Cubs fans.
DOWN
Neifi Perez: Oh no, not another ill-advised bunt attempt from Perez before striking out in the ninth inning of a four-run game? If there’s anything that gets the crowd up in arms at Wrigley, it’s the sight of Perez squaring around instead of hitting away in the final inning. Swing the bat or sit down.
DOWN
Scott Podsednik: If Carlos Lee is the ultimate Cubs-killer, Pods is C-Lee’s antithesis. After replacing the injured Pablo Ozuna, Podsednik popped up to second in the fourth, made an off-balance, side-armed throw to second in the fifth to let Pierre stretch a single into a double and made an ill-advised diving attempt in the seventh that turned Pierre’s double into a triple.
