Just for Sport

Note: Sorry to those of you who have commented in the past. I didn’t realize that all comments were going to moderation mode. Comments you make should show up now.

For as long as I can remember I’ve been a baseball bigamist. I claim both the Chicago Cubs and the Texas Rangers as “my team.” I’ve explained this to more people than I can count, but I’ll do it again here. When I was growing up at home, I would always watch the Cubs on WGN during the day. I loved listening to Harry Caray, especially when he did the seventh inning stretch. There were players I liked: Ryne Sandberg, because of the hard-nosed way he always played second base; and Mark Grace, because I had his rookie card and he seemed like a good player to support. Of course, there’s Wrigley Field, the greatest sports venue in the country. A lot of my friends think I believe that because I’m a Cubs fan - really, I’m a Cubs fan because I love Wrigley Field. There’s the old-time scoreboard that’s so prominent in center field, ivy grows on the fences, and people watch the games from the rooftops. That’s probably the biggest factor - the Cubs could be one of the worst teams in baseball (and in the early 90’s this was never far from the truth) and the ballpark would be packed. People would show up for the experience of the game - when they sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” they meant it. You have to understand that in the early 90’s in North Texas, I lived among a bunch of bandwagon Cowboy fans, so a team with such a strong following appealed to me.

There was also the Rangers. I learned about baseball from watching the Rangers with my Dad. We would sit on the couch and watch the game, and he would tell me what a hit-and-run was and why the pitcher had a rosin bag. We kept score, even if we were watching from home. In my scorebook many important events were immortalized, including a grand slam by Pete Incaviglia that was probably one of the most clutch hits in Rangers history (not a lot to choose from, I know). My first Major League game was at Arlington Stadium. The Rangers played the Oakland Athletics. Bobby Witt was pitching, and we lost. I remember cheering for Nolan Ryan to come in from the bullpen, believing it could actually happen.

That’s probably a little too much sidetrack. The point is supposed to be for me to point out that in the 2006 offseason, the Cubs and Rangers are going two opposite directions, starting their respective managerial hires. The Cubs organization is somehow deluded into thinking that grabbing the biggest name on the market is going to make them a winner. Getting Dusty Baker out of there was the right move - I’ll never forgive him for pitching Prior and Wood over 200 innings each in 2003 - but Lou Piniella isn’t the direction we need to be going. Maybe this team needs a little fire, but I think it needs somebody who can manage in the National League more than that. Also, we need a lead-off hitter and a bullpen.

I have some optimism for the 2007 Rangers. If we can somehow convince Matthews to come back and land one or two more pitchers (Matsuzaka, please!), we’re going to be okay. The more I hear about Ron Washington, the better. First off, I like the idea of taking people away from the Athletics. But this article makes me do backflips. You mean guys like Barry Zito, Jermaine Dye, and Torii Hunter are talking about the Texas Rangers because of our new manager?!?! Jon Daniels is even cooler than I thought! Maybe the Rangers could become the Tigers of the 04-05 offseason: all of the good free agents collectively decide to join one team because of its potential for growth. Hey, Jason Schmidt, we’ve got Barry Zito and the best infield in baseball. You want in on this?

Anyway, this offseason is a crazy one for me. I read that both of my teams put in bids for Matsuzaka, so unlike most fans, I’ve got about a 2-in-7 chance that my team will land him, rather than a 1-in-7 chance. Things are looking up for both teams (honestly, how can it get any worse than last year for the Cubs?). It would help if they would stop making useless trades with each other. Nevin for Hairston? Stop torturing me.

Okay, before I go, some input is required. I’m thinking about pulling a TMQ and nicknaming all of the sports teams I write about based on their mascot, team logo, collective persona, or other trait. My idea for the Rangers is: Texas Chuck Norrises. Perhaps the Cubs could be Windy City/B - until they win the World Series, in which they could be Windy City/A. Thoughts?