Recently I wrote, in another publication, that there are two basic theories of evil in horror movies: either evil is an external force that can attack any unwary individual (epitomized by Michael Myers in the Halloween movies or by the more ethereal spirit of Bob in the TV series Twin Peaks) or evil comes from within (as in Psycho). As I watched the Cubs’ horrific April unfold, I began to wonder: is there some external force of Cubness that attaches itself to players when they join the Cubs, or are the players who play for the Cubs simply awful?
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And the most irritating thing about it all was that the Cubs clearly weren’t this bad. They were strong up the middle defensively, with Scott Servais catching, Ryne Sandberg and Shawon Dunston at second and short, and Brian McRae in center; the starting pitchers generally pitched better than expected, especially new ace Terry Mulholland; the middle relief was beefed up with the addition of Mel Rojas as closer, pushing Turk Wendell down in the pecking order; they still had Mark Grace, an excellent hitter and defensive first baseman; and rookie third baseman Kevin Orie quickly established himself as a major leaguer. Sure, there were injuries to Grace, who had to watch most of that opening losing streak with a bad hamstring; to Sandberg, nailed with a foul ball in the dugout (“a snakebitten Cub ball team”) that caused a concussion and opened a cut requiring 14 stitches; to pitcher Kevin Tapani, still out following surgery on his hand; and to right fielder Sammy Sosa, sore-armed and suffering through a miserable slump to start the season. But even lumped together, they didn’t explain the Cubs’ 6-20 April. (Actually, they played .500 ball after those 14 opening losses.) Most disturbing was that although Jim Riggleman is widely acknowledged as a fine manager, the Cubs kept making the mental mistakes that typically plague a mismanaged team, one in which the manager has lost control of the players.
A couple of decisions Riggleman has made, with the apparent help of general manager Ed Lynch, have been highly questionable. For one, they decided during the off-season to stick with Brian McRae as center fielder and leadoff man. McRae is a fine defensive outfielder, but he had a barely respectable on-base percentage a year ago, and his slow start this year crippled the offense. If the Cubs were determined to keep McRae and compete this year, they’d have been better off obtaining Rickey Henderson from the San Diego Padres, who would’ve accepted a Harry Caray rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” for him during the off-season, and inserting him into left field and the leadoff spot. Now the Cubs, already out of competition, are more likely looking to trade McRae to a contender and insert the promising Doug Glanville into center. Equally dubious was the Lynch-Riggleman decision to keep Brant Brown on the roster coming out of spring training and send Brooks Kieschnick to the minors. First of all, Brown is a first baseman converting to the outfield; second, he’s a line-drive hitter with little speed–along the lines of Mark Grace. Kieschnick may be a lummox in the outfield, but he is the sort of power hitter the Cubs need at the corners–first base, third base, left, and right–so long as they play half their games at Wrigley Field. And as a left-handed hitter, he offers much better protection for Sosa than Shawon Dunston does hitting fifth. Maybe Riggleman and Lynch believed that Kieschnick would be summoned when the weather warmed, that Brown was only the better choice for April, when the wind tends to blow in off the lake, knocking down potential home runs. Still, it was a highly questionable judgment of talent.
Shortly before the Cubs’ home opener, when they were a mere 0-5, I got a chance to ask Lynch if it was difficult keeping fans loyal to the development of players they couldn’t see. “Sure, it’s tough to sell people on players who aren’t here,” he said. “We feel like we have some good young pitchers in the minor leagues. We feel that in Kerry Wood and Jeremi Gonzalez we’ve got good young pitchers coming. We’re incorporating two young players into our starting lineup, in Brant Brown and Kevin Orie, and I think the fans see that. They see that seven of our nine players on the field today are in their mid-20s. We’re a young club, and we’ve got veterans who know how to win. We just have to turn it around.”
