I blame Wrigleyville23

We already know how bizarre Cubs fans are. We talk about it more than we should, but it’s hard not to discuss it. I’d never come across A Cub Fan’s Obsession until this morning and, well, I kind of wish I never had. I blamed Wrigleyville23 earlier this week for coming across a terrible Cubs blog so I’ve decided to just blame him every time I find one. It seems fair and if WV23 would like to appeal this decision he’s welcome to do so, but until further decision all bad Cubs blogs I find are his fault. Until further notice, it’s ACB’s policy that coming across bad Cubs blogs is Wrigleyville23‘s fault. A Cub Fan’s Obsession tells us Happy New Year in the middle of February, which seemed odd to me, but it wasn’t as odd as the content itself. Last year, I thought we had a better team than we did in 2007, and thought it was simply impossible that the Cubs would go 3 and out in the playoffs two consecutive years. Obviously, I was wrong, and it DID happen again. He seems to imply that by getting swept by the Dodgers the 2008 team was no better than the 2007 one. I’m not sure in which world we evaluate the talent on a team based on 3 games, but apparently the 2008 Cubs were not better than the 2007 version. ACFO was wrong in thinking they were. So were we, I guess. Going into 2009 as pitchers and catchers report today, while I still have high expectations of what the Cubs can and should be able to do in 2009, I have more question marks about the direction Jim Hendry has led us this offseason, and have an uncomfortable feeling about several areas of this team. I don’t know why I’m surprised by comments like this, but for some reason I still am. To be quite honest, it’s not very difficult to look at the 2009 team and see that it’s better than the 2008 team that took the field on Opening Day. You don’t need to be a genius to figure that one out. Why Milton Bradley? Answered here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. Also here, here and here. Here and here. And here, here, here, here, here and here. Milton Bradley, simply put, is a basket case. As I have said in response to this before: But he’s really good at hitting baseballs, which is kind of more important since he’s being signed to, you know, play baseball. He did, however, have a very productive season last year for the Rangers, and actually has been fairly consist when he is healthy. That doesn’t matter. He’s a headcase. I will say though, that I will one of the first to change my tune if Bradley does well at the plate. This is an absurd comment. First of all, it’s highly doubtful that he’ll be the first to change his mind. Secondly, who fucking cares? However, I have this strange feeling in the pit of my stomach that one of two things are going to happen…either a) Bradley gets injured, again, and misses a quarter to a half of the season, or b) Bradley and Zambrano get into a fight, whether its in the clubhouse or in the dugout (see Barrett vs Zambrano) and the team chemistry is ruined for the rest of the year because no other team will accept a trade for Bradley at that point. This is an exceptionally long sentence and this comes from someone who writes long sentences himself, but let’s try to break this down into a few parts so we can better understand where he’s coming from when he says that he has a strange feeling that only one of two things will happen and nothing else because there is no third option, but this sentence is now longer than I thought I could do so I’ll stop. Bradley could get injured. It happens. Bradley and Zambrano could get into a fight. It happens. You know what else what Bradley could do? Hit the shit out of the baseball, stay healthy, and not get into a fight with Zambrano. Letting Kerry Wood Go Will be a HUGE MISTAKE That’s what he says. Bold, italics and capital letters. He’s deadly serious about this one. It’s not just going to be a mistake. It’s going to be a HUGE MISTAKE. I have been a Kerry Wood fan since day 1, and I will continue to be for his entire career. What is day 1 and when did it occur? My day 1 was when I was born. Has this guy been a fan of Wood’s since the day he was born? Since the very first pitch he ever threw as a child? First time he ever threw a big league pitch? All due respect, but I highly doubt this guy remembers Kerry Wood’s first pitch. I’m pretty sure that very, very few remember that moment. So naturally, when the Cubs announced that they would not be giving Kerry Wood a new contract, I was visibly upset. I would like to have seen a grown man be “visibly upset” about some transaction the Cubs made. That would be entertaining. By no means was Kerry Wood untouchable last year, and did have his share of rough outings. Since he was just average or above average (I’m assuming that’s what this guy thinks based on this comment) why is it a HUGE MISTAKE to let him go? But for the most part, he was very effective, and the Cubs as a team had a very good setup in the bullpen with Samardzija and Marmol in setup roles, and Wood closing out games. It was a very good setup except for the Samardzija part who threw less than 30 innings and was only a part of the team for 3 months. Maybe he only watched the last 3 months? Couldn’t have been. After all, in September Samardzija posted an ERA of 5.40 and allowed batters to hit nearly .300 against him. In all, he allowed 1.4 walks and hits per 9 innings. Now don’t get me wrong, Marmol is the real deal, and is more than capable of closing out games. Then why is it a HUGE MISTAKE to let Wood go? The problem is that the Cubs no longer have a solid 1-2-3 punch at the end of games, its only a 1-2. That’s not bad since the Cubs didn’t have a solid 1-2-3 punch at the end of games in 2008. The 1-2 is the same as 2008. He then addresses the leadoff issue that lots of Cubs fans like to discuss, but he was pretty much right on with what he said about the lineup. Unfortunately he moves onto the bench. Offensively, the loss of Mark DeRosa is going to hurt, I’ll be right up front with that. I always appreciate someone being up front with me. Thanks. Our most consistent hitter last year, DeRosa’s 21 HRs and 87 RBIs will more than likely not be made up by newly signed Aaron Miles, who is more of a contact hitter anyways. What’s worse: that he thinks DeRosa was the most consistent hitter on the team or that he’s implying there is a possibility that his numbers (home runs and RBI) could be matched Aaron Miles? He says it’s not likely, which means it is possible. Let’s be honest here, it is not possible than Aaron Miles hits 21 home runs. I’ll be right up front with that. This in turn puts even MORE pressure on Fukudome in my opinion, who is out to prove that his 2nd half was just a fluke. Odd. Aaron Miles inability to hit 20 homers puts additional pressure on Fukudome? Exactly how is that true? That’s all I got. I’ve wasted too much of your Saturday as it already is.