Everybody has a right to their opinion. Right? You hear that all the time. It is normally being said by someone who is, however, choosing to completely ignore the opinion of the person he is talking to.
I’m a little surprised, though certainly not shocked, that you need a reason to punch AJ Pierzynski in the head. I thought that any time you punched either AJ or Hawk Harrelson, for that matter, it was a lifetime achievement award. I didn’t even know that Michael Barrett would have to answer questions about it.
For nine years (probably at least two, too many at this point) I’ve just written what I think. I’m constantly astonished that anybody cares.
I think that what Michael Barrett did on Saturday was a punk move. I also enjoyed it quite a bit. My hypocrisy knows some bounds.
I remember distinctly, and fondly, when things were spiralling out of control for the 1989 Bears that Dick Butkus would reach a point in about the third quarter of every game when he’d blurt out, “What we need right now is a fight!” I’m sure that Wayne Larivee was relieved to find out the WE he meant were the Bears and not him and Wayne. I thought that exact thing as the Cubs were getting pantsed repeatedly from May 2 on.
Well, they had one on Saturday. It was a pretty good one, too. Not as good as the one in the early ’80s with the Mets (any time you see Ed Lynch being beaten up, it’s a good time), but pretty good.
What does it prove? Nothing. Other than that you’ve finally reached the end of your rope.
What does it accomplish? Not much.
AJ Eyechart wasn’t out of line barrelling over Barrett at home plate. I wish he’d have taken Rich Hill with him. Michael wasn’t out of line being in front of home plate, either. Honestly, it’s one of the few times I’ve seen him hold his ground that much. So that part of the play was fine, both ways.
I didn’t much care for AJ–his mullet flowing in the breeze–retagging home plate with a theatrically gay slap. That’s when the fun started. AJ got up, he says to go get his helmet, and Michael grabbed him.
See, this is why I don’t think it was a sucker punch. Michael and AJ are standing toe-to-toe. Michael’s pissed and is yelling at AJ, apparently telling him, “I didn’t have the ball, bitch!” (On the old Moranboard it would have automatically come out “I didn’t have the ball, female dog!” Which would have probably diffused the whole thing.)
At this point, what exactly is the right way to punch AJ? Is Michael supposed to yell, “OK, I’m going to punch you now! Are you ready? Get ready! Here it comes! Ready? Are you sure?”
So Michael punches him, then the umpire grabs Michael and Scotty Fabulous uses awful technique and “tackles” him. In the melee, Brian Anderson decides to take out his .170 batting average on anybody near him and starts swinging as wildly as he normally does at home plate.
Look, Michael Barrett is a red ass. We knew that in 2004 when he wouldn’t let the Roy Oswalt thing go, and he proved it again early this month when he picked on 140 pound Dave Roberts. This time he at least started something with somebody bigger than him.
Am I disappointed that the weekend crew on the Desipio Message Board seemed to so universally loathe the fight? Yes, as a matter of fact I am.
This isn’t a drunken father and son charging a first base coach or an umpire. It isn’t cheap-shotting a Hall of Fame running back by throwing him over the bench 10 yards out of bounds, or tackling a fullback while he’s standing in the huddle.
This was a face-to-face fight. The only person who ended the day with a broken anything wasn’t a person at all, it was the Kentucky Derby winning horse.
This was further proof at just how ineffective Dusty Baker is. Ozzie Guillen did a better job of defending Michael Barrett after the fight than his own manager did.
But on the big board of embarrassing days for Cubs fans, I’ve got to be honest with you here, gang. It’s not in the top 100. This franchise has seen the depth of embarrassment so many times that short of Barrett pulling out a gun and going all “Last Boy Scout” on AJ, it wasn’t going to make the list.
The Cubs have been playing so badly, (badly’s not even the word…more like abysmally) that any sign of life, no matter how misguided it might have been was nice to see.
I honestly can’t say I’d have felt the same if he had punched any of other White Sox. I’m also not sure that it would have happened had anybody but AJ run into him.
AJ’s a guy who kneed his own trainer in the nuts during a game with the Giants, and this was supposed to be worse than that? I don’t think so.
I read Jeff Pearlman’s book on the 1986 Mets and they had quite a few scraps like the one the Cubs and Sox had last week. Ray Knight got into a fight with Eric Davis when Davis slid into third base. (Knight dropped Eric like a sack of potatoes, too.)
Look at our pals down the highway in St. Louis. That’s the chippiest bunch of pricks in the game. You think they’re embarrassed by it?
Last week, Felipe Alou was talking about the way the Giants have been playing and he said, “One of these days we’re going to have to run out onto the field.” I’ve got a news flash for you, he didn’t mean hustle out to their defensive positions. Even 108 year old Felipe knows that once and a while you have to slug it out.
After the game, the Sox were talking about how they would use the fight to get “even closer.” The Cubs all sat around wringing their hands and apologizing.
Fuck that.
You want to dump the lovable loser rep for good? Stop crawling into a shell every time something happens to you. You don’t think that maybe this team is going on 100 years of patheticness because they’ve been happy to sit there and take it? It’s easier to drop the lovable part than the loser one. Baby steps.
As Veronica Corningstone once said, “Now, I am gonna go on, and if you want to try and stop me, bring it on. Because I am good at three things: Fighting, screwing, and reading the news. I’ve already done one of those today, so what’s the other one gonna be? ”
Screwing?
Don’t let mamby pamby jerkoffs like Doughnuts Mariotti make you ashamed to be a Cubs fan because your catcher decided he’d had enough of getting run over and decided to…in a completely rash and unthinking moment punch a guy in the head. Enjoy it. Luxuriate in it. At least one of the Cubs has a little pride. As ill-concieved as the fight was, at least somebody gave a shit. The only thing better would have been if the catcher was Steve Lake and either the collision or the punch had given Pierzynski hepatitis.
Oh, who are we kidding, he’s probably got it already.
You want to feel bad about something? Feel bad about the Cubs going from 14-9 to 18-25 in a blink of an eye. Feel bad about Neifi bunting to end the game with the tying runs on base. Feel bad about the fact that none of the Cubs’ pitchers took advantage of the confused melee to take a cheap shot at Larry Rothschild. Don’t feel bad about Michael Barrett punching another man in the head.
I know I don’t.
Sox fans gave AJ a standing ovation when he batted in the second inning. Apparently it was in appreciation of him smashing his face into Barrett’s hand the day before.
Jim Hendry says he’ll wait to give Dusty his extension. I’m hoping Jim waits until he gets fired.
Kerry Wood has a sore shoulder. Here’s the difference. Kerry will try to pitch with his. Mark Prior would be on a plane to California.
For one day, Jock did not deserve to be booed.
Sounds like AJ might have been a little concussed. I doubt it. You have to have a brain to bruise one.
The Wizard of Roz says Barrett might have saved Dusty’s job, and that Dusty proved what a preening jackass he is by not backing his own catcher.
 The Seahawks are still complaining about the Super Bowl officiating. Maybe Michael Barrett should go punch Mike Holmgren?
If you need a reason to root for the Mavs tonight. This might just be it.
I was hoping Carlos would accidentally hit a Sox yesterday, preferably early on to see if they’d charge the mound. I don’t think they would have. Nobody ever will.
At least somebody on the Cubs hit something Saturday
Rich Hill is going to MAKE Dusty fired.
Don’t ask me how you MAKE someone fired, mang.
I might be the biggest lowlife on this team…and that’s saying something with that no brain Carlos on the team.
Female Doges was better
Andy, what kind of reaction did you expect from our reactionary, sensationalist comrades?
I’m #3, and I suck.
I read like I was written by a fourth-grader. Also, God aka Bandwagon Jumper misspelled “surprising” as “suprising” no fewer than twelve times in one thread. Oh, to be in your thirties and not know how to spell basic English words.
What’s this about spelling?
I might be the only person with a set on this team……although Carlos may have a set too since we all knew he would be the only Cubs pitcher that is willing to plunk the jerkoff that hit 2 homers for 6 RBIs the day before.
Wait, not everyone agrees with Andy? You mean you’re not just blindly following him? And there are no hard feelings? WTF kind of a 21st century enterprise is this shit? You assholes have stolen my main trick! NOOOOOOO!!!!
Did Barrett show some life or did he just snap? Was he pissed that the Cubs were getting beat or that he got run over?
This was a top embarrassing day in Cub lore. Funny you bring up Ed Lynch. At least he plunked Moreland in retaliation for a dinger hit off of him. That’s showing life.
Barrett decked a guy in a 1-0 game. Now, if AJ bowls him over if the score in 7-0? That’s showing some life. Saturday only showed only that Barrett’s an idiot.
The punch was more like Parish hitting Laimbeer in the face during the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals not Rodman shoving Pippen into the ground. However, couldn’t the Cubs have played like they cared on Friday and maybe the rest of the day on Saturday?
And how about retaliation in the form of a hard double-play slide or a Cubs baserunner flattening Pierzynski?
I stand by the Forrest Gregg statement. When you’re a winning team and you do this, you’re intimidating, you’re tough, you’re assholes, but you’re winners. When you’re a losing team and you do this, you’re hacks and thugs. And you’re still a bunch of losers. It would have been a lot nicer to see the Cubs actually play with fire after that fight.
What no love for me?
Quiet you! Keep it on the DL. We don’t want to end up like poor Vito.
Vito got his ass kicked last night. He got “Pierzynski-ed.”
Carlos isn’t smart enough to find the mound let alone thrown at someone on prupose.
Plus I have no stones. Vito bit them off.
Carlos isn’t smart enough to find the mound let alone thrown at someone on purpose.
Plus I have no stones. Vito bit them off.
I don’t care who doesn’t like the fact that Michael Barrett socked A. J. Fuckoff in the head Saturday. Screw those wussy dunderheads. I’m glad somebody from the Cubs punched somebody…anybody. I don’t really care if the bullpen catcher would have punched himself in the head…at least we know the Cubs have a pulse. That pulse, allbeit extremetly weak and meeger to this point, got a little bit stronger when A. J.’s face got up close and personal with Barrett’s right meathook. Good for him and good for the Cubs. Now, the only thing that might keep me entertained during a Cubs telecast are hot chicks dancing on the dugouts in low-cut, revealing Cubs uniforms and more TKO’s.
Oh, something tells me that if A. J. Douchebag would have antagonized Carlos any more, A. J. might have found himself on the 60-day DL.
That pulse, allbeit extremetly weak and meeger to this point, got a little bit stronger when A. J.’s face got up close and personal with Barrett’s right meathook
Yeah. Lasted all of two batters. Once Iguchi-san went yard, the cubs turtled more than George Costanza after getting out of the pool.
There was no pulse. It was impulse. Idiotic impulse. The rest of the team flatlined.
Everybody but the mullet-headed bandwagoners on the South Side know that AJP is the biggest a**h*** in baseball. Barrett rocks. I can’t wait for his first game back at Wrigley. My new favorite Cub.
How can I say this? If I was watching my son in a little league game (ok, grandson) and he did what Barrett did, I would be very embarrased and disappointed. I would discipline him. I would apologize and make him apologize. I would not think it was cool, and that it showed a spark.
#20, I’m not saying the Cubs are gonna come back in Houston Astros fashion, but that shit was fun to watch. It was fun to watch Brian Andersen girl fight with John Mabry. It was really fun to see A. J. get rocked. I know we tanked the game that day, but yesterday was a shot in the arm…we’ll have to see how it goes. Like I said, I want to see more people get clubbed.
Fun? Yes. Only a kick to AJ’s cupless groin would have been more fun.
But Barrett’s punch showed life in the Cubs comparable to canals on Mars.
Geezer…don’t be a p*ssy. That was freakin’ awesome. I just might watch more Cubs games because there is the outside chance that Maniac Barrett (we’ll call him “The Miz” because he looks like that guy Mike from the Real World…the one who claimed he had an alternate wrestler ego with the same name) will bop somebody for running him over.
Chuck, you’re a wiseass…I like that.
FYC
You got knocked the f**k out!!
Who are we?
21, ditto.
22, true that — if you’re playing Little league. This is major league, grown men, professionals. And AJ had it coming. The punk a$$ move is every time AJ takes the field. And what’s up with him prancing around while his boys are catching his back? If THEY are fighting for him, HE needs to be fighting too. He’s all mouth, no stones. He needs his a$$ beat just for THAT. (No wonder Sux fans gave him a standing O, they can identify with him — getting his a$$ beat and backing down and all — another proud South Side tradition.)
You can’t let no little bitch AJ play you like that.
Barrett’s just keepin’ the pimp hand strong.
I stand by what I said, Andy, but I’m sorry I disappointed you (head sheepishly tilted downward).
Do I still get to read the Doses?
It is kind of funny. A majority of us are defending AJ Pierzynski, the universally acknowledged Baseball’s Biggest Asshole (although we all admit that we still enjoyed him getting punched), and Andy has had to defend Michael Barrett.
As Ron Santo has said at least a thousand times in his career “WHAT is going ON?”
“Feel bad about the fact that none of the Cubs’ pitchers took advantage of the confused melee to take a cheap shot at Larry Rothschild.”
Now THAT’S reason to feel bad. Although, the bullpen is too far away from home plate for any of our slothful pitchers to have made good use of the confusion. Judging from this picture, I think Ryan Theriot is to blame for missing the opportunity to get one in for his pitching brethren, although Fast Freddie could have sucker punched him in the gut, too.
http://msn.foxsports.com/id/5625612_7_2.jpg
Actually I thought I was rather supportive of Barrett. I even proved that I wasn’t at the game–again–by insisting that Pierzynski nudged Barrett.
“Did he have to nudge his shoulder into Barrett, ever so slightly, as he was walking toward the helmet? ”
Never mind that Pierzynski NEVER ACTUALLY MADE CONTACT with Barrett. How the hell can I write my crap if you guys insist on the facts? Next thing you know, I’m going to have to be going to these games.
At the beginning of our show today, I have been making thinly-veiled insinuations that Michael Barrett’s aggressive behavior may be the result of steroid use.
It just means more PT for Hank White. And Hank’s been saving up all his hits for just this occasion.
Barrett’s punch won’t wake the team up, and it’s not like he intended it to. This is a bad team, getting worse. Yesterday’s comeback was fun to see, but it only happened because Juan Uribe and Paul Konerko can’t play catch from 90 feet away.
What I was disappointed by was that Cubs’ fans are so whipped into submission by this talentless bunch of hacks that they couldn’t find any humor in Saturday’s absurd scene. I hate to break it to you, but that’s about as close to fun as you’re going to be able to have with this group this season. They’re not just bad, they’re boring. If you’re going to take even this seriously, it’s time to get ready for Bears training camp.
If I’m on steroids, I’m using the wrong ones.
Jay,
Mateen Cleaves and I thought that the fight was pretty neat. We saw the whole thing from our front row seats at the Cell.
Bears training camp? Wow…I kno exactly what you mean. Down here in Baton Rouge, I’m so ready for football season that I’m reading about how Dante’ Stallworth tried to get Drew Brees to stay. That’s great…Mr. Driving-without-a-license himself luring a franchise QB to the Big Easy. But, it will be fun to watch the Saints and LSU this year.
What I was disappointed by was that Cubs’ fans are so whipped into submission by this talentless bunch of hacks that they couldn’t find any humor in Saturday’s absurd scene. I hate to break it to you, but that’s about as close to fun as you’re going to be able to have with this group this season. They’re not just bad, they’re boring. If you’re going to take even this seriously, it’s time to get ready for Bears training camp.
*clap*clap*clap*clap*
Point taken.
Berut did what everyone wants to do. Who says that ass didn’t say something when he was at the plate before and this was the last straw? Also, it’ll be interesting to note if anyone runs through him again after that display. Also of note, a slide would have been just as effective and would not have caused a melee. AJP should have thought about that after he used his face to break Berut’s hand.
I, also, am anxiously awaiting LSU football. I hope we can find one quarterback and settle on him. Geaux Tigers (and Ryan Theriot)!
No, shit #41. I think that it will be a real fight between Matt Flynn and Jumarcus Russell. Jumarcus kind of lost it at the end of the year, then got hurt. I hope that Ally Broussard can come back as well. I wish Theriot got a chance to play a little second base over Neifi. I swear, Dustbag has such a man crush on useless vets.
Who knew that Michael Barrett would punch us into LSU football?
I have no guts. I start a fight by throwing a sucker punch because I know I can’t ever handle a fair fight with anyone, then I can’t even shake his hand after I admit I was wrong.
No wonder I’m on the Cubs……no stones.
When you are in Baton Rouge, anything can get you on LSU football. Not to mention we have a LOT of Cubs fans in Louisiana. We don’t have a team so we adopted the Cubbies. You’d think if we had a choice we wouldn’t pick a team that takes each season as a new opportunity to go to the nutsack on its fans. I am eagerly awaiting the walk-off bunt three base error as this season’s low point.
44-How in the hell was that a sucker punch, and why would you want to shake a guys hand after he hit you anyway. This reminds me again that whitesox fans are even dumber than cardianls fans
“You have MacPhail and Hendry, who are picking on a Tribune beat writer when they should be focusing on…”
What’s this all about, anyone?
WE ARE SO FIRED UP!!!
Screw you Kenny Williams. That HR was for you female dog
Dontrelle sends his regards. We’re going out for a steak. Later female doges!
Hey, Jay,
It’s in regards to a piece in Michael (isn’t he a woman) Sneed’s column in which Sneed wrote that MacPhail and Hendry were bitching about Paul Sullivan’s negative writing.
I like Sullivan, to be heretical. He seems to have fun doing what he’s doing, and he isn’t always a boot-licker. I guess the Cubs brass want cleaner boots.
What a great game by Ricky plus his 1st major league home run. Just another shining example of the quality of our minor league system.
I now have as many RBIs and more HRs than Juan Pierre.
The Jeff Pearlman Met book is called ‘the bad guys won.’ It is a fantastic book with classic charactors. The best part of that brawl with Knight and Davis was how it happened. Knight did a pop up slide into thrid and before he was all the way up, he clocked Davis with an overhand right.
Yeah, I still hate Pearlman for coming out with his book the same week I came out with my book on the 1989 Cubs.
Your epidermis and your contempt for your readers are showing.
Yes, #45 is right. Louisiana has a ton of baseball fans, and that’s largely in part to the LSU Dynasty of the 90’s. However, we don’t have an MLB team (we do have the Zephyrs, the AAA affiliate of the Natties) but since we are in the Central Time Zone, I guess, we catch WGN all those Cubs telecasts. So, we were blessed/damned with falling in love with the Cubs. At least, I fell for it. So, when you get roundhoused in the scrotum every summer by the Cubs and LSU baseball is flailing in the wind, football comes up very, very early. Football should be year round.
Why aren’t the Cubs looking to trade for me?
Jesus Christ, Dontrelle. Look what the Marlins fleeced me for on the Pierre deal. They’ll want Pie, Guzman, and two other prospects at least.
They only fleeced you because you have no idea of what you have in the minors. The Marlins did their homework, you didn’t.
Give them Guzman, Rich Hill and whomever. They will never be anything with the Cubs
The Cubs lead the Marlins in 2 whole offensive categories, triples and they have less strike outs. Thats it!! The only reason they are a few games better is because their pitching stats lead Florida’s…barely. The reason I bring this up is the Cubs payroll is 94.8 million to Florida’s 14.3. They finally spent alot of money, but they spent it on crap. Miller, Prior, and Lee coming back is not enough to suddenly make them a contender. If they overpaid for older ex all stars ( like LA) and wasnt that good we could say they tried. They overspent on the likes of Neifi, Jones, Hairston, Mabry, Bynum, Blanco, Rusch, and Barrett. Im sorry but that doesnt feel like they even tried to field a good team. Why dont the good players fit into the Cubs system (Nomar, Lofton, Alou, Grudirl??, Clement) when the above mentioned overpaid players do?? or how about the players that wanted to come (Thome, P. Wilson, Beltran) but the Cubs ignored. Other teams seem to pull this kind of stuff of, why cant the Cubs.
I can’t believe you mentioned the names “Lofton, Alou, Clement, and P. Wilson” in the same thought as “good players.” We would probably be worse off than we are now, and I don’t care what those hacks’ stats are today. The fact of the matter is that the team is just a pile of monkey shit right now. Our most prized pitcher is the Cy Young…of simulated games. Our cornerstone pitcher’s arm falls off as soon as he smells the Old Style air at Wrigley. Wade Miller…we don’t know yet. But, Nomar would look great playing 2nd right now for us. You are right, however. The Cubs front office has faultered big time when it comes to the likes of Beltran, Thome (would you take him over Lee?), and Furcal (I can’t complain about Ronny, I really like him). But, the Matt Murton Project in LF is starting to sour, even though I really have a man crush on him, too. So, what do we do? Jock (gasp) is hitting now. So is E-Ramis. We can’t pitch to save our lives right now, and our leadoff man has an OBP of under 0.300. That’s utterly atrocious. The one gripe (boy, do I have gripes) is that Hendry did not make a deal for another 1B/OF to help curb Derrek’s absence. Craig Wilson would have been good, so would Erik Hinske. WTF?
I’ve been playing great this past week! Who’s next???
Feels like me
Most teams who spent 95 million on a team that was the 6th worst team in baseball, would fire their managers. But you wait and see, the Cubs will somehow manage to extend Dustbag, whether its now or in the offseason. They will blame injuries, when it is really a lack of fundamentals from the players that they have. Which is a direct reflection on the manager. If we can see this, why cant the so called baseball experts at the Trib see it.
Do you think the Tribune cares? They don’t. They rake in the money because the good ole reliable fans keep strolling through the turnstiles. It’s not a big deal to them. They’re not baseball-minded. I’d like to run the Cubs for a week or so. I bet I’d get more done in a week than they’ve done in the whole season so far.
By the way, haven’t y’all noticed that Andy’s Daily Doses have become way less “daily” and a lot more…well, “whenever?”
We’re not at all whipped into submission by this talentless bunch of hacks.
I just like my doses. I miss you, doses. I miss your scent…I miss your musk. Hell, I’m a mess without you. I think the doses and I should get an apartment together.