Cubs Hometown Bums
ESPN had a great feature today that's sort of the antithesis to MLB's Hometown Heros promotion: the Hometown Bums. Since it's been that type of season for the Northsiders, I looked at the ballot and was wondering if they picked the five biggest bums this year or all time. Turns out it's all-time. I really don't agree with some of their choices.
Ernie Broglio? Yeah, he was traded for Lou Brock but did he personally deserve scorn? It wasn't his fault his arm broke down and Brock went to the Hall of Fame. Did fans hate Broglio or the guy that traded Brock?
Steve Bartman? No way. A spectator's poor split-second decision shouldn't be within a thousand miles of this list. I really wish people would stop talking about him. Paging Alex Gonzalez.....
Leon Durham? Eh. Yeah, a ground ball went through his legs and all, but Sutcliffe is the one who should really be blamed for blowing that lead. Durham was a solid player for a long time and I don't recall him ever getting booed for his gaffe.
The rest of the decisions I agree 100% with:
Corey Patterson: Former top prospect that didn't live up to potential and he struck out to pitches over his head. Yes, that description probably applies to Shawon Dunston as well, but what earns Patterson a place on this list is his unwillingness to put forth the effort to improve his game. He ignored coaching and rejected the opportunity for winter ball. Very lackadaisical.
Todd Hundley: A bum through and through. Big contract, zero production, flipped off fans. It just didn't work out for Todd. Pretty surprising, considering how beloved his old man was.
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Now it's time to fill out the list. So many choices, so few spots. To make this easier on myself, I'm going to limit my three choices to players since 1984. I'm not going to start digging through almanacs or look at stats; I'm purely going to go on memory. Which guys deserved the most boos.
Latroy Hawkins: This guy was a lights out setup man in Minnesota. Came here and stunk up the joint. Repeatedly blew save after save (though I must admit Dusty misused him -- he was NOT a closer). No contrition at all as he belittled the press. A bum.
Kyle Farnsworth: A no brainer. Literally. Meet the real-life Nuke Laloosh. Million dollar arm, ten-cent head. Slept in the trainers room. Kicked an electric fan and went on the DL. Oh yeah, and just to tease us he alternated horrific years with outstanding ones. A bum.
Wow. I only have one slot left. Mel Rojas? Wendell Kim? Neifi Perez? Don Baylor? Antonio Alfonseca? Larry Himes? After much consideration, I'm going to go with...drumroll...
Dusty Baker: Dusty's a jovial sort, and he really did his best to build a winner in this town. So he really doesn't belong on a list with a bunch of assholes. However, this is the man that repeatedly misused Latroy Hawkins. He repeatedly hit Corey Patterson leadoff. He continued to use Glendon Rusch, Lenny F. Harris, Shawn Estes, Jose Macias, Freddie Bynum, etc, even though their lack of talent suggested they should be released. He has his worthless fishing-buddy cronies as his coaching staff, despite their lack of actually accomplishing anything with the players. He let comments by Steve Stone disrupt the clubhouse. He lets potentially talented rookies sit behind no-hit career scrubs. He goes even further in throwing said rookies under the bus every chance he gets. He doesn't feel he needs to teach fundamentals, and he's allergic to base-clogging walks. He got completely outmanaged in the 2003 playoffs, what now appears to be the closest the Cubs will ever get to a World Series in my lifetime. For all that, I salute you, Mr. Overrated Manager. King of the Bums.