This is something I can see happening.
If the Chicago Cubs continue playing lousy baseball -- and there's no reason to think they won't -- it wouldn't surprise me to see manager Lou Piniella say something like this during the All-Star game break, which will be here very soon:
"This team has not played up my expectations, or up to the players' expectations. Consequently, after devoting most of my adult life to baseball, I have decided to retire as manager, effective immediately. I plan to return to Florida and spend more time with my family."
Then the Cubs can turn the manager's job over to TV commentator Bob Brenly, who has been critical of the team much of the season, on an interim basis. At this stage, the Cubs are still capable of making a run at the National League Central championship, and Brenly -- who has already won a World Series when he managed the Arizona Diamondbacks -- can possibly turn around a horribly underachieving team in the second half of the season.
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If Brenly can't motivate the players to win, I think general manager Jim Hendry [pictured at the right with outfielder Kosuke Fukudome] should be fired. After all, Hendry is the guy who traded Mark DeRosa to Cleveland, signed Milton Bradley and overpaid Fukudome and Alfonso Soriano.
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No team in baseball needs a fresh start more than the Cubs. Any franchise that has a capacity home crowd every day and every night deserves much better than what Piniella and Hendry have given the fans.
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Anyone who suggests that Carlos Zambrano should be traded needs to see a doctor. Zambrano needs a new pitching coach and a new manager. There's nothing wrong with the guy's pitching ability. His arm is fine; his head is what needs help.
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I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Steve Stone's commentary during the Cubs-White Sox series. Stone [pictured at the left], a former Cubs announcer who now works for the White Sox, is the best in the business. He's another guy the Cubs should have never let get away.
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I'm sure glad the Cubs have brought up Sam Fuld from No-Name Ballteam. He'll really straighten out that outfield situation.
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Mark DeRosa is not the savior Cardinal fans think he is. He was just as mystified by good pitching as the rest of the Cubs in big games the past couple of seasons -- especially when they were swept in the playoffs by Arizona and the Dodgers.
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An e-mail to me from Don Clasen of Chicago:
Hi, Ron:
Although two losses in a row aren't a disaster, the Cubs aren't playing up to their potential. And and feel that Lou and the team are waiting for Ramirez to come back feeling they'll become an instant winner.
Went to the game Sunday and saw the Cubs perform lackadaisically. They have gaps at third, second and rightfileld. And Soriano isn't exactlly a gold-glover in left. But the real shortcoming may be on the mound. Z wasn't too impressive today and although the relievers did fairly well, the firemen have been too prone to give up walks.
After seeing DeRosa make a great grab in his first game with the Cardinals today, I agree with you when you point out that he should never have been traded. The Cubs might be different with him plugging holes in several positions.
Oh, well, like Sweet Lou says, there are plenty of games left this season and the North Siders should snap out of it. Since I'm an American League fan too, the Sox also need to be consistent and play up to their potential. They been been far too error prone lately. And although they pressed Beckham into service in the majors too quickly, he is starting to pay off.
It would be nice if Chicago could have both teams advance again after the regular season. Let's hope they can both get straightened out after the Fourth of July.
Don Clasen
Chicago
[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Don, I don't think either the Cubs or Sox are good enough at this stage to win their divisions. The Cubs need a personality transplant, and could finish last in the National League Central -- even behind Pittsburgh and Houston. The Sox aren't nearly as good as Detroit and Minnesota].
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By the looks of things, those Johnson girls like that California cookin'. No wonder the youngest one is saying goodbye to Iowa.
