5/26/2004 08:59:00 AM by Rob

Conspiracy Theory, part XVII

The latest in a series of posts describing the true purpose of Chicago Cub Ownership

Prior, Wood, and Sosa are being handled like veal. And who could blame Cubs management for being over-cautious?

In the meantime, the Club is treading water, barely. I'm going to give Dusty CREDIT for the fact that this team is above .500. There are losses, like last night's, where I just abandon all hope that we are going to win ANYTHING, because we suck so God Damn bad. Then, they manage to go out and win one, to avoid the Dreaded Long Losing Streak, the historical Grim Reaper of all past Cub teams.

Well, I for one blame Cub management. Prior has a sore calf, Wood a sore arm, Sosa a sore back. COME ON!! Lou Gehrig, Cal Ripken, and Pete Rose are spinning in their baseball graves. I get up every day in some sort of pain...but I suck it up. When I was in some sort of physical shape, and my town or school baseball or basketball team was counting on me, and I woke up with a killer leg cramp, or a stiff neck...I sucked it up and played.

OH, you say, BUT YOU AREN'T A MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR ELITE ATHLETE.

Precisely.

In the eyes of the Tribune, Prior and Wood and Sosa aren't "players". They aren't even "prospects". They are "property", assets if you will. More precisely, they are "expenditures", and their guaranteed contracts represent a RISK to the beancounters in Trib Tower. What's more important to them: whether we win a pennant, or whether the asset is kept in good shape over the life of the contract, and that if necessary, be in top tradeable shape.

A curious thing happens in our local media: the non-Tribune side of it has been the more optimistic when it came to Cub injuries, while the Tribune-controlled portion has always been pessimistic. WGN and the Tribune CAN'T WAIT to announce how badly Sosa's back hurts, and Wood's arm, etc.

The Trib has taken great pains to play UP the injuries, to justify the extended trips to the DL, to protect the asset, to lessen the risk that the asset will not be able to perform for the life of its contract. Notice how purposefully I have de-humanized the assets? It rubs the lotion on itself.....

Meanwhile, we have to look at Ramon Martinez and Sergio Mitre wail away, and watch Todd Hollandsworth let ANOTHER line drive fall in front of him.

So, for all you lemmings lining up to pat Hendry and McFail on the back for "stepping up" and "spending the money"...what good is it to have a stocked pitching staff if you put them on the shelf at the first hint of a sniffle?

OH, SLOTH! I SUPPOSE YOU'D RATHER SEE THESE GUYS THROW UNTIL THEIR LIMBS FALL OFF!

Bullshit....ain't gonna happen. Get your ass out there, and earn your money.

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