The Curse of Wrigley Field

Alfonso Soriano is kind of like Mariah Carey: you either love him or you hate him. I’ve done both.

But regardless of how you feel about him, you have to admit that Soriano is important to this Cubs lineup. Well, Mike Downey agrees with you. And he also tries to insult the intelligence of any competent sports fan.

A child needs to have certain things explained.

Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood said Wednesday that one of his own kids “cheers when I give up home runs,” because when the crowd reacts, the boy thinks it’s a good thing.

Quite a few grownups at Wrigley Field could use a good talking to, too.

You could start with those who feel Mark Cuban is exactly the new owner that the Cubs need, oblivious to the fact his NBA Dallas Mavericks continue to be one of the biggest packs of choking dogs in all of professional sports.

Them are fighting words Mr. Downey. Nevermind the fact that the Mavericks weren’t much until Cuban arrived or that outside of the last two years the Mavericks have been a much better playoff team than, say, the Cubs. Cuban’s only downfall may be his man-crush on Dirk Nowitzki, but most NBA owners would refuse to part with someone as talented as him, even if he shrinks away in the clutch (hello Kevin Garnett).

But I’ll give Mr. Downey a break. I mean, maybe Cubs fans don’t know much about other sports. It’s a possibility.

And then you could have a word or two with any stupendously stupid knucklehead who knocks Alfonso Soriano.

If you are a true-blue Cubs fan with half a brain under your cap, you should be overjoyed to have Soriano back in the lineup if he returns Thursday as expected.

Um, really? Hey, I agree with Downey’s point that Soriano is very important to the team. But do you have to go around insulting the fans in such a manner? I mean are they really that off base for disliking the guy? Anytime he swings at a pitch three feet over his head (which is often), especially as the leadoff guy, hairs all over Cubs Nation turn gray. He’s an all or nothing kind of guy and it’s tough for fans to embrace that kind of style.

Sure, it rocks when he has a multi-homer game or when he’s driving the ball into the gaps. But for every great game he seems to have horrendous ones where it looks like Lou Piniella found him on the street, handed him a bat and said, “Here.”

I agree with Mike Downey’s point. I’m excited for Soriano’s return. I think a dangerous lineup will be even more potent with him back. But Mike Downey has to learn that he’s not dealing with “stupid knuckleheads.” Just fans who struggle to accept a great player who swings at anything from here to next Tuesday.