No risk.  No value.I’ll let you all in on a little secret. You’d probably value it more if you didn’t already really know it, but we’ll find out. Do you know why the White Sox collapse would make Cubs fans so happy?

I don’t just mean for the obvious reasons. Like the 400 pound woman in your office who squeezes into her Konerko jersey on Friday, or the guys who change the oil in your car and appear, by their general lack of ambition, brains and hygiene to be Sox fans. No, it’s more than just keeping them from having anything in their lives worth being happy about even for a day.

Misery loves company. It’s true. The Cubs have a better team, a bigger payroll and a better farm system and they’ve completely crashed and burned, despite having a first baseman who put up MVP numbers for most of the season (though Doug Davis sure made him look awful last night), and yet, the Cubs’ season has turned into one of the most frustrating in the long history of frustrating Cubs’ seasons.

It’s just like in 2003 when the Sox were in first place for most of the season only to flop in the end (which, if you notice has been their trend in every season since Kenny Williams took over) and see the Cubs get every lucky bounce, every big hit and cash in ever opponents’ mistake into late October.

See, it’s not about the Sox, it’s about the Cubs. The Sox are used to that, though. It’s never about them. Nothing is ever really about them.

What their win last night probably assured is that the apocalyptic collapse that they needed to pull off won’t happen. They’ll stumble into the playoffs somehow, be gone before the first weekend and spend the winter pissed that everybody’s talking about the Cubs again.

Which, is exactly what we’re going to do right now.

Some genius at the Tribune decided to give Billy Corgan an unpunctuated forum to express his thoughts about the Cubs. It’s not unlike when XRT gave him a forum for his normally uninteresting Cubs’ commentaries.

So today you can read not only Billy Corgan’s insight, but those of Scott Turow, too. Great minds… Turow hasn’t written an actually readable book since 1987 and everybody knows that the Pumpkins were all about James Iha. Or something.

Turow had this to say about Cubs’ fans rooting against the Sox.

“My nephew told me he wanted the Sox to lose [the division] and I said, ‘Don’t say that,'” Turow said. “As a matter of principle, I don’t enjoy other people’s misfortune.”

No, that’s why you were a lawyer, so while not “enjoying” other people’s misfortune, you could, instead profit off of it. Now go write another book where you don’t enjoy another person’s misfortune.

Corgan also defends the Sox saying that Cubs’ fans shouldn’t openly root against them because they’re a Chicago team. I don’t root against the Sox. I root against the happiness of my friends who are Sox fans. There’s a difference. Schadenfreude is a powerful thing there, you little bald androgynist.

Here’s the part of Corgan’s “column” that had me throwing things at the computer monitor.

when I think of corey patterson, the name that keeps ringing in my head is that of lou brock, the legendary lead-off man and base stealer that the cubs gave up on once upon a time … if you are old enough to remember, he tortured the cubs (and a few other teams!) for many, many years … obviously, corey patterson has the God-given talent, I don’t believe that is the question that needs to be answered … what I want to know is if there is anybody on the planet who can get through to this young man and explain to him the opportunity he is throwing away? If I ran the cubs, I would go out of my way to hire someone that could personally work with corey to develop ALL his skills in a balanced manner … someone with the credentials of a lou brock or a rickey henderson … if that didn’t work, then I would ship him off … as of right now, he is worth so little in a trade that I think it still is worth taking the risk to try to turn the corner, because corey patterson playing to his full potential is a very dangerous man … but, umm, don’t hold your breath!

This whole thing starts off with a very strong opinion (that Corey is a tremendous talent who can not be given up on) and then ends with Corgan saying he doesn’t think Corey will ever actually reach his potential. Brilliant. It’s this kind of insight that inspires us all.

It also presupposes some pretty strange things.

1. That Corey really is a “talented” baseball player. I used to think he was. Now I’m 100 percent certain that he is not. He’s a great athlete. But give Maurice Green a baseball bat and he’s not going to get on base either. Corey has never been able to find a swing that will allow him to make consistent contact and he’s never found a way to figure out which pitches to swing at and which ones not to. Those are the two essential parts of being a good hitter. He’s flunking both.

2. That Rickey Henderson and/or Lou Brock could teach Corey anything. First off, Rickey doesn’t strike me as the “teaching” type. Secondly, Lou is busy with his lounge act, touring 200 nights a year.
Wrong Lou?  Whatever.

3. That Corey has no trade value. Here’s what I can guarantee you. If you’re ever going to get anything for him, you have to do it right now. This offseason. Right now he’s still a guy who “might” turn into something. One more season, or even a part of a season is just going to prove that he’s never going to really be good. He’s been an excellent major leaguer for two months of his entire career. For most of the other months he hasn’t been average, he’s been bad. Odds are that he’ll be bad again next year. But you only need to find one dope to trade with. Jim Hendry has to find that dope.

Does anybody seriously still worry that Corey would come back to haunt the Cubs? Does anybody really think he’s going to be a star anymore? What has he shown you that makes you think he’s ever going to get it?

There is one way he could haunt the Cubs next year. Say they’re in a pennant race with the Cardinals down to the wire. Corey could be playing for a team the Cubs need to beat the Cardinals. Then, he’d haunt their ass. Otherwise? No.

Dusty Baker says something stupid and insulting to the intelligence of Cubs’ fans every day. Every day. The worst part is that he believes everything he says. He’s too dumb not to know that he’s being dumb.

Here’s today’s same song, different verse.

Dusty says he can’t play young players because he wants to finish .500 (like that means anything) and…

“I also owe it to baseball and owe it to the Phillies and the Florida Marlins and the Washington Nationals to play my best lineup because those teams are competing with Houston in the wild-card race.”

First off, who are the young players he’s got that he could be playing?

Matt Murton is one.

Then…well, there’s…uh…Ryan Theriot? Geovany Soto? Nobody wants to see them anyway.

I don’t think Scott McLain or Ben Grieve count.

So it comes down to Murton. Right now, Dusty almost has to play Murton every day because Jerry Hairston is hurt. And, the fact that Murton and Nomar are the only guys actually hitting.

Here’s what Dusty doesn’t understand, though. When Hairston’s healthy enough to play, any time he plays Jerry in left and Corey in center he’s doing exactly what he says he morally can’t do. He’s putting a lesser product on the field. He is, by his own criteria “cheating” the Marlins, Phillies, Astros and whoever. Because Matt Murton is good and Corey Patterson is awful. Every game that starts with Patterson in it and Murton not should be followed by Bud Selig accusing Dusty of trying to fix the pennant race and banning him for life. (Hey, a guy can dream.)

Any game that starts with Neifi Perez leading off, Corey Patterson in the lineup and Matt Murton on the bench should result in the entire Cubs’ field staff and front office being sent to Galveston to try and tackle Hurricane Rita and wrestle it to submission, or die trying.

Dusty apparently compared Corey’s struggles to Mark McGwire, saying that just like Corey, Mark had early success and then bottomed out, only to come back and be a Hall of Famer.

Uh…well, there’s a difference. Mark had success. Corey? Not so much. One hot month in 2003 doesn’t cut it.

And it’s true that Tony LaRussa had to bench McGwire at the end of 1991 so that Mark’s average would stay at .201 and not go under the humiliating Mendoza line. It’s also true that McGwire would come back freakishly larger in 1992 and have a good year, then be hurt for most of 1993 and 1994 before coming back even more garganutan in 1995. I guess it’s Dusty’s “code” telling Corey to start sucking down the Andro.

It took both KC Johnson and John Mullin to write this fascinating column about how Kyle Orton likes to throw passes to Muhsin Muhammad. Tomorrow, it’ll take six Tribune writers to pen an effort detailing baseball players’ love of sunflower seeds.

The Wizard of Roz sings the praises of Cliff Politte. Apparently, Rozner’s been sniffing glue again. Politte came in with the bases loaded and the Indians up by two runs. Ronnie Belliard hammered his first pitch but right at Joe Crede for a double play. One foot either way and it’s a double and the games’ effectively over. Then, the next inning, with the Sox now holding a lead, Politte gives up a hit to Casey Blake and Ozzie Guillen comes out to remove him in favor of lefty Damaso Marte. This is the right move, because Grady Sizemore had looked awful against both Mark Buehrle and Neil Cotts in his first four at bats. The fans started booing, so Ozzie, incredibly listens to them and leaves Politte in. He gives up a single to Sizemore, then if not for a great play by Juan Uribe he gives up another single to Coco Crisp. Not only did Ozzie ignore Bobby Knight’s advice about the crowd, “If you listen to the guys in the stands, pretty soon you’ll be sitting with them,” but Rozner starts his column by glorifying what was in reality a pretty shaky effort by Politte. Otherwise, just great stuff. Call the Pulitzer people! Kudos.

Wanny is failing miserably, spectacularly and epically at Pitt. And I love every damn minute of it. I said that I can’t think of a Chicago coach in any sport who I hate as much as Wanny. Well, somebody’s closing in pretty quick.
What, me worry?

Michael Smith says the Bears are the best team in the North. Well, duh.

Here’s a shock, Dusty’s old San Francisco boss says that there are more important things to be focusing on than steroids.

What a shock. Guy Ritchie and Madonna made another bad movie.

The Office returned last night with an excellent episode that involved Pam being banned for life from Chili’s and Michael accidentally giving out an award for Bushiest Beaver, when actually it was for Busiest Beaver. He advised Lorraine to not “display that one in the office.”

My Name is Earl did not disappoint, either. I especially enjoyed the cameo by Jamie Pressly as Earl’s now reluctant ex-wife, and Earl’s brother is tremendous.

Fine white trash

Coming up next Monday on Arrested Development we not only get Charlize Theron, but Henry Winkler’s character Barry Zuckercorn is replaced by a man literally raised to follow the Fonz, Scott Baio.

America’s finest news source says Oprah’s giving away free men.