Barrett a scapegoat
NORTH AURORA — Let’s see if I have this straight. The Cubs trade their No. 1 catcher who can’t catch because he sets up inside and the pitcher throws outside. He gets charged with a passed ball when it should be a wild pitch. He can’t throw out baserunners, who really steal on the pitcher anyway.
So what is really the problem? Bad attitude? Not according to Derrek Lee.
So what did the Cubs receive in return? Nothing of value.
Why are the pitching acquisitions having so much trouble winning for the Cubs? Of all the coaches who were with Dusty Baker only Larry Rothschild remains. What coaching position does Larry hold? Oh, he’s the pitching coach.
— John McKenzine
Testing fans’ patience
BARTLETT — The Cubs have done it again! They’ve traded a quality player. Michael Barrett has made some errors lately, but he has been getting it together and has been hitting well. I blame the media for portraying him as a problem player. He was on the receiving end in the Carlos Zambrano battle and there was not an argument with Rich Hill as the reporters tried to manufacture. I am tired of the media lighting fires to create news.
Barrett is a good, solid catcher and teammate. He helped win many games for the Cubs and was a fan favorite. The Cubs should be looking to trade some of the useless players they have instead of quality ones. They’re really testing our patience and loyalty.
— Linda Douglas
Soriano shows lack of class
RIVER FOREST — After hitting his home run against the Padres last Friday, Alfonso Soriano started his trip around the bases by trotting backward up the first-base line while watching the ball sail out of the park.
Padres pitcher Jake Peavy said: “If I think a player shows me up like that, I like the next guy to take one in the stinkin’ ribs.”
Whether this had anything to do with Derrek Lee getting hit by Chris Young on Saturday, which itself led to a fight and a five-game suspension for D-Lee, is unclear, but it certainly did not help.
Soriano, however, sees nothing wrong with what he did: “I do it all the time. I enjoy my moment when I hit the ball. Why do I have to change?”
Why? Ryne Sandberg said it best when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005: “Respect.” As Ryno said, “Hit a home run, put your head down, drop the bat, run around the bases, because the name on the front is a lot more important than the name on the back. That’s respect.”
If Soriano did not see Ryno’s speech, maybe somebody on the Cubs can find him a copy.
— Patrick Allen
Annoying sounds
WHEATON — If any baseball fan anywhere in North America can name five baseball broadcasters worse than Ron Santo, Ed Farmer, Darrin Jackson, Ken Harrelson and Chris Singleton, the folks at Guinness World Records would like to hear from them.
Narcissism, banality, cliches, inaccuracy, ugly voices, poor diction, kiss-up, coarseness, grammatical and syntax errors and boring non-baseball trivia.
Surely the good people of Chicago deserve better.
— R.L. Darcy
Ridiculous to the sublime
DARIEN — Teddy Greenstein’s assessment of the Farmer/Singleton broadcast team (Tribune, Friday) was spot on, especially the discussion of Farmer’s condescending attitude toward Singleton. I found the discussion regarding the Tampa Bay uniforms, where Singleton was trying to make a point and Farmer stuffed him with “If it doesn’t matter, don’t bring it up” to be particularly interesting. Late last July, my family was stuck in traffic and we turned on the Sox game, a 2-1 game in the later innings, just in time to hear an extremely relevant discussion about players that Farmer and Singleton run into on the road at zoos, yep, zoos, in the cities they are visiting. This is a 2-1 game in a pennant race.
Unfortunately, after disgustedly flipping to the Cubs game in the middle of a play that was evidently a typical Cub circus, with Pat Hughes calling the action, when the play was over Ronnie was heard to say, “What just happened here?” Well, Ronnie, I’m doing 10 m.p.h. in 100-degree heat in a construction zone. You’re supposed to be telling me what happened. Thank heavens for Pat Hughes.
— Jim Kratky
Just say no to Dunn
PLAINFIELD — Say it isn’t so, Kenny. Reports say the Reds might shop Adam Dunn and the Sox could be interested.
We don’t need a big oaf who can’t run, throw, hit, or field, but will produce 35 dingers while hitting .240 with 170 K’s. Too many fans are enthralled with home run totals and GMs have responded by giving them bashers who can’t play the game and would better serve the NFL as defensive tackles. Bigger is not better in baseball.
— Jerry Quitter
Time to re-sign Buehrle
GENEVA — No question, so far this has been a very disappointing Sox season and I am certain the trades will start soon. I just hope [GM Ken] Williams and [Chairman Jerry] Reinsdorf differentiate between rebuilding and maintaining a core strength.
Mark Buehrle is a positive clubhouse presence, will give you 200-plus quality innings per year and has been very healthy. He may have his best years ahead of him, and he says he wants to stay. Let’s sign Buehrle and build from there.
— Andy Stavrou
O’s, prepare for L’s
CHICAGO — Evidently Joe Girardi is a much smarter man than we realized. Why would any one want to manage a team that’s being run by Andy MacPhail? Fresh off more than a decade of incompetence in Chicago, I find it hard to believe that there is actually an owner out there that wants MacPhail to run his club. Weren’t the owners of the Orioles paying attention to what MacPhail did to the Cubs? I hope Orioles fans are prepared for many seasons of finishing 20 to 30 games under .500.
— Bill Liva
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