Dusty is an Idiot!!!

*****Cubs Rant Alert, Cubs Rant Alert*****

OK.. before I begin to rant I realize that it is only early May and that there is ALOT of baseball to still be played. That being said...
The Chicago Cubs are playing awful, dreadful baseball. It's not that they're losing...it's the way they are losing. Today ended a three game sweep to the Milwaukee Brewers....yes, the Brewers, who are basically a Double-A team. (side note: the Brewers have maybe the two WORST tv announcers in the game...I spent an entire week wishing I could piss on their scorecards.) The Cubs have been playing with no heart, no hustle, no anything. If its not the offense failing to take advantage of opportunities then its the joke of a bullpen blowing leads. And the starting pitching is has been the worst I've seen in 5 years...so much for the best rotation in the NL. I'm not sure it would be the best rotation in the Pacific Coast League. (not even mentioning Kerry Wood and his 5 cent arm)
The Boys in Blue lost last night in a particularly horrifying and embarrassing manner. The Brewers top hitters led off the bottom of the 9th with the score tied at 2. Over the course of a very long inning Dusty Baker, in his infinite wisdom, decided to walk 2 men intentionally...thus loading the bases. Then the Cubs expected their pitcher, who should really be pitching in Double-A ball, immediately find the strike zone to Damian Miller (an ex-Cub). Of course he didn't, he went to 3-2 on Miller and then walked him home for the winning run. Ouch.
Bad move, Dusty. Why the hell are you walking to guys in the bottom of the 9th on the road? Now I'm not (yet) on the Fire Dusty bandwagon that has been growing around the Friendly Confines these days. But I do think that he is already mailing in this season. There is no heart, hustle or fight to these Cubs. They are simply going through the motions. Now the NL Central has been decided by the Cards already again...but is Baker aware that an extra team beyond the three division winners gets to go to the playoffs? Apparently not. He has mismanaged everything this year. He has handled the rotation badly from the start, his lineups have been a joke all year, and he's already worn out a pathetic-from-the-start bullpen.
Now I'm not writing the season of yet like alot of other Cub fans (though it goes against our very nature not to). But they need to do something. It's up to Dusty Baker to get this team playing again...if not for the NL Wild Card (which they can and should win) then atleast for a little goddamn pride. So put down the germ-infested toothpick and get something going! Or Steve Bartman won't be the only one run out of town from the fans in the Not-So-Friendly Confines.



On a more positive side note...I've been watching alot of Dodger games late at night lately (loving this MLB Extra Innings so far!) and I just want to say what is pretty obvious to knowledgeable baseball fans....Vin Scully is an incredible broadcaster. Great voice....unbelievable job. He doesn't have a broadcast partner...which is weird for oh..maybe a minute until you listen to him. He really needs nothing. Does an incredible job calling the game. And he has great stories from seasons past that he throws in for real baseball fans. I knew Scully from some national games and for maybe the best performance in Kevin Costner's For Love of the Game. If you ever get the chance you should definitely listen in. He is one of the few old school broadcasters that makes baseball more of an experience than just a game. It's like listening to your beloved grandfather calling a Dodgers game. And he's really (along with Harry Calais) the only one left in the game, now that Harry Caray, Jack Buck and the legendary Ernie Harwell are gone from the game.