My current position on the Cubs

My current position on the Cubs

Alright. I've had enough of this Dusty Baker bullshit. I've been slow to come to this conclusion, but seeing Big Z wander out of Saturday's game needing an MRI on an elbow was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Fire him. Send him and his toddler packing.

The last couple of years, we've coming into the season with what should have been the most impressive and dominating pitching arsenal that baseball's seen for years. Used and guided correctly and responsibly, the names Prior, Wood and Zambrano could have combined with the Mad Dog (who we'll address in a second) for 70 wins. 7-0.

The problem is twofold, as I see it.

We have that talent, right? That raw power. A smart manager would look at these youngsters and say "with the right guidance, these guys will be great." But Dusty's wielded them like a kid who's found his Dad's gun. He's sat on the bench chewing on a toothpick, calling himself a player's manager until he's blue in the face, all the while running his three hosses into the ground. Because talent is apparently all you need to win. Because he wants a gamer out there.

This warrior mentality? It's outdated and its bullshit. I don't care how we used to do things. I want pitchers who win. That means we have pitchers who are sound mechanically, who have a pitching coach they can communicate with, who can in return give them guidance on what it means to be a pitcher on the Major League Level.

I haven't seen that from Dusty, and and I haven't seen it from the coaching staff.

What I've seen is a bunch of raw talent pushed out there every fifth day, the manager mumbling around his toothpick "yer muh boy," secure in his belief that all you need to pitch on this level is talent.

Here's the thing. I know that we've been understaffed in the bullpen, and that we've needed maximum production from the starters. I understand that a Carlos Zambrano after 115 pitches is preferable to a fresh Will Ohman or a Michael Wuertz. What I'm talking about is having the right person on the staff guiding the pitching staff, leading and teaching these young guys, teaching them how to pitch on this level. Getting them conditioned for the long haul, but also teaching them little things like the psychology of standing on that mound, or the fact that the umpire is not out there to take food out of your family's mouth, or (this is a favorite) the fact that you don't have to throw the ball as hard as you can every time.

Let's play Jeopardy! for a second.

The answer is Greg Maddux.

The question: Who would I rather see trotting out there to the mound than Larry Rothschild to talk to these guys during a game?

Can we have a player/pitching coach position?

You know, Mad Dog's getting older, and he doesn't have the skills that he may have had three years ago. But I'll bet my left nut and my 83 Donruss Ryne Sandberg card that you'll not find a guy who's still managed to maximize the returns on his talent, who knows how to work the mound and a game like Greg Maddux.

He doesn't have the ability that a Prior or a Zambrano or even a Mrs. Wood. Yet somehow, he managed to wander out there and win 16 games last year, and he kept the Cubs in quite a few more than that.

How does that work, Dusty? He doesn't go out there with a cannon, yet he manages to win and not get hurt. How the hell does that work?

We've had the talent on that pitching staff. For a couple and three years, even.

Injuries happen, yeah.

But when looking at the injuries to Messrs. Prior, Zambrano and Wood, I see guys whose injuries are related to both stress and mechanics.

These are hard throwers. That puts stress, yeah. For the first part, if we can drill the Leo Mazzone message into these guys' heads that you don't have to throw as hard as you can, I think we're three quarters of the way there.

But if we have a watchful eye on that staff, who can spot and correct any delivery issues before they become a real issue.

And by real issue, I mean things like M.R.I.s, missed starts and several week stints on the disabled list.

Like I said, I realize that injuries happen.

But the similar injuries shouldn't come up on the same pitching staff.

There's one more thing I want in a pitching coach. I want a guy who will kick their asses if his pitching staff doesn't do what he says. I want a guy who's gonna keep a couple of egos in check. I want a guy who's gonna knock Jesus Christ down a peg. I want somebody to get in Zambrano's face to remind him that tantrums against umpires aren't part of a grownup's game. I want somebody to get Kerry Wood to step up, and stop riding that 7-year-old 20 strikeout game, and take control of what could be a Hall of Fame career.

So. My perfect pitching coach seems to be a combination of Mad Dog and R. Lee Ermey.

Let me change the subject for a minute.

The problem is also related to the amount of support these guys get from the offense.

I have never seen an offense that is more unwilling to adjust, more bullheaded in its belief that it is doing the right and correct thing than this Chicago Cubs offense under Dusty's watch.

It's the same problems over and over. We are told that aggression is the key, but every time I turn around, we see the opposing starter working into the seventh and eighth innings because we aren't working the count and making the opposing pitcher work for his paycheck.

It's the belief that certain players belong in certain roles, yet they aren't guided in how to perform there, and they aren't moved out when they don't perform there. We learn by making mistakes? Well, we've had two and a half years to learn from them.

We don't hit. We don't manufacture runs. We don't move runners along. Players aren't taken in hand when they make mistakes on the basepaths.

It's the same thing, over and over.

We don't score runs. The pitching staff has to work harder.

You know, if you're up by 5 in the eighth, it hurts a lot less when Will Ohman or Roberto Novoa give up a couple.

I've been rambling.

I've grown tired of the Dusty Baker Experience.

Let's all move on, please.