Cubs win? I don’t see it
PARK RIDGE — As a frazzled Cubs fan for more than 65 years, I offer these observations and predictions.
*How has Jason Kendall stayed in the majors so long with the worst catching techniques I’ve ever seen? Hitting less than .200 in September makes him a double liability. Don’t sign him next year; the answer is Geovany Soto and Henry Blanco.
*Three times in a week with men in scoring position, Derrek Lee has swung at 2-0 pitches, each time popping up to short right field. Sad to say, something is wrong with him physically or he’s gotten old quickly.
*Alfonso Soriano is a very likely candidate to become a victim of Wrigley boo-birds because of his ongoing struggle with the strike zone and his inability to play left field in his home ballpark. A leadoff man he’s not. Why does any pitcher ever throw him a fastball? Curveball down and away and he’s toast.
*Steve Trachsel is easily the most unwatchable pitcher in the majors. He doesn’t get batters out, he lulls them to sleep.
*The right field platoon system of Matt Murton, Cliff Floyd and Daryle Ward still doesn’t produce one complete ballplayer.
*Prediction: The Brewers will win the horrible Central Division by two games because they have players at the corner positions who hit for power and hit with men on base. Simply, the Cubs don’t.
I hope I’ll be wrong but don’t think so.
— Bud Jones
Lineup switch needed
CHICAGO — I wholeheartedly agree that Ryan Theriot should lead off for the Cubs and Alfonso Soriano, with his power, should bat after Aramis Ramirez. That’s a much more formidable lineup. Why can’t Lou Piniella see it? His stubbornness is costing the Cubs a run or two a game.
The Cubs have the talent to win the Central, but if things stay this way, I’m afraid we’ll be eating brats and watching the Brewers in October.
— Nicholas Joseph
Bears need to take notes
RIVER FOREST — The Bears should have been watching the New England Patriots on Sunday night so they would know how far they really have to go before they can even think about winning the Super Bowl. That “tough” San Diego Chargers defense that the Bears couldn’t score a single touchdown on got lit up for 14 points by the Pats in the first quarter. Meanwhile, the Bears struggled to score one offensive touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Looks like it’s going to be a long season.
— Emerson Bolen
Good, or lucky?
LOS ANGELES — All this happy talk about the Bears ignores the obvious. Despite a marvelous performance by one of their best defenses ever, they are two plays away from being 0-2: a Devin Hester return and an illegal-formation penalty denying the lowly Kansas City Chiefs a score.
All teams have to do to beat the Bears is kick punts out of bounds and kick grounders on kickoffs. Jeff Garcia wanted to play for the Bears last year and just wanted a chance to start. How stupid does it look not to have brought him in?
— Steve Orton
Overrated center
PALATINE — Olin Kreutz must have the greatest PR firm. Every week I hear radio commentators and TV analysts proclaim him the best center in football and hear endless mentions of his perennial Pro-Bowl appearances. I must be watching a different game than the experts. All I see is a center who commits needless penalties and is routinely overmatched by opponents.
The Bears’ running game is based on successful runs up the middle and not outside speed. As the Super Bowl and the San Diego game have demonstrated, Kruetz is overmatched when the opponent puts a large nose tackle in front of him, meaning the Bears have no running game.
And every week the Bears seem to have at least one fumble on a snap from center. Are they all Rex Grossman’s fault or does the center share responsibility?
Maybe the Bears can trade Kreutz for another top-30 center in the league, improve their offensive line and use the savings to sign a player who actually helps the team, such as Lance Briggs.
— Ron Ellis
Stick to the games
CHICAGO — Teddy Greenstein used good space in Saturday’s Trib sports section (Sept. 15) to launch a lame, whiny complaint about a subject that is meaningless in college sports. If he seriously thinks a team’s play can suffer because the coach or the school will not allow the players to speak openly with the media, he is delirious or flat-out grasping at straws.
It’s tough to understand why such valuable space was given to this article when there were so many great college games to discuss that day. As an avid Tribune subscriber I’m disappointed … Most college football fans could not care less what the players have to say in a news conference, win or lose — they’re kids. I cannot recall the last time I heard a college player supply an answer in an interview that was meaningful or intelligent.
That’s not to knock any college athlete’s ability to speak intelligently. But they don’t attend school to learn how to answer reporters’ questions that most players, coaches and fans could not care less about.
Blame the coaches and players all you want, but please, don’t waste space in the sports section to complain about your job.
— Pete Halligan
Not Hall worthy
PLAINFIELD — Who put the loco weed in the water of the Tribune Sports staff? How else to explain five of seven supposedly unbiased and informed writers promoting Jim Thome for the Hall of Fame (Tribune, Sept. 17)?
“Nice guy,” “great work ethic,” 500 home runs (not as meaningful as 20 years ago), and a career extended as a DH do not qualify a player for enshrinement. Thome was at best an adequate third baseman, has a good journeyman’s lifetime .281 batting average, and has 2,032 strikeouts.
The Hall was meant to be exclusive. It’s not there to have each fan’s favorite player elected.
— Jerry Quitter
Thumbs-up column
CHICAGO — Mike Downey writes too many columns about out-of-town teams, but he came up with a magnificent bit on O.J. Simpson’s latest (Tribune, Sept. 20) — absolutely hilarious.
I guess those years Downey spent in Hollywood were not as wasted as some of us thought.
Carl Zenca
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