Midwestern Banter

NEW YORK – Hank Steinbrenner might have some competition. And Joba, don’t worry. As long as the east coast temperatures stay high, Yankees fans might not care how bad your outings are or how long it takes to stretch out your starts.

Yankees fans made news outside of baseball when their attention shifted from the game to the weather. Disgusted from the ridiculous heat given off by the sun, fans from the Bronx made a new friend in the rather curious cloud that decided to cover up the baseball fans’ newest rival. Just when the sun went into hiding, Yankee Stadium erupted in a chorus of cheers.

But moments later, in true New York fashion, fans began booing the very cloud they made friends with when it decided to give the sun a better view of the stadium.

While the sun might have ruined the game experience by casting not only a bright light on the field, but also contributing to scorching temperatures, it was the cloud that received the most severe negative reaction. Just when it decided to help out the fans by giving them a break – albeit brief – from the bright blasts of light, Yankees fans grew impatient and were quickly dissatisfied by its eventual lack of production. The fans might hate that particular cloud, but one can only imagine it gained a new friend in Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod no doubt knew exactly how the cloud felt when the fans that so briefly praised it, soon turned their backs on their temporary savior by greeting it with ominous boos.

One can only picture the scene of A-Rod and Mr. Cloud huddled over a counter covered with empty pint-sized glasses at the local brewery while sharing stories of hatred and heckling from the hometown fans.

CHICAGO – it’s finally over. We can now move on to more pressing issues like the quarterback controversy, the Brian Urlacher saga, the receiving core that lacks star power….name the position, there’s an issue.

But one has slightly been resolved. Cedric Benson was waived by the Bears Monday after being arrested on his boat in Austin, Texas, getting pulled over for speeding through a construction zone in Chicago and most recently, being arrested for suspicion of DUI over the weekend in Austin. Benson was an easy target for Austin’s finest when they caught him speeding through a red light in an area known for its nightlife between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. Note that all of these incidents happened in the same offseason within a five-week span.

While it should be a gloomy day in Chicago, there will no doubt be parties throughout the Windy City. Jerry Angelo finally admitted his 2005 first-round pick was a bust and solved the competition at running back.

“Cedric displayed a pattern of behavior we will not tolerate,” Angelo told reporters Monday at Halas Hall. “As I said this past weekend, you have to protect your job. Everyone in this organization is held accountable for their actions. When individual priorities overshadow team goals, we suffer the consequences as a team. Those who fail to understand the importance of ‘team’ will not play for the Chicago Bears.”

Not surprisingly, Benson showed up for work Monday and was promptly sent home. About two hours later, the statement was released announcing the news that the Benson was no longer a Bear.

Now, you have to believe that the job is that of Matt Forte’s to lose. Forte, who like Benson, was drafted with the expectations of bolstering the Bears running game that has been less than impressive for years – much like the quarterback position. As long as Forte proves that he can stay out of trouble off the field and do a decent job at running back this season, Bears fans should take the situation as a tremendous upgrade. Signing a veteran to add leadership might not be a bad idea, either, but with the way the Bears like to throw around money, you can be assured they won’t exactly go on a spending spree.

Benson has stolen the headlines the entire time he has been in Chicago. From exciting Bears fans with high expectations when he was drafted, to literally flopping on the field, No. 32 has been the talk of the town. He hasn’t exactly produced on the field, but the unfortunate thing is that he showed promising signs of improvement at the end of last season. Sure, leg injuries have plagued his short career, but just before his most recent season-ending injury, he made some plays that got at least a small contingent of Bears fans optimistic heading into the 2008 season.

His offseason diet of organic foods got him healthy and brought a lighter, faster, and more focused Benson to mini-camp. But still not being able to prove himself on the field and constantly creating controversy off the field, his release has to come as a relief. It’s almost like that girlfriend that you know you should break up with, but don’t want to because you see future potential…then you finally break up with her and realize you are a different person without her…yeah, it’s that kind of relief. The future is all in front of the Bears. Angelo can only hope that Forte isn’t as big of a bust as Benson. Perhaps he can join Ricky Williams. What a “smoking” tandem that would be.

BELMONT – It was everything it had been built up to be. From the media hype to Kent Desormeaux’s guarantee of a Triple Crown win, all eyes were on Desormeaux and Big Brown as they entered the gates at Belmont to make history.

It was everything it had been built up to be. That is, until the gates were opened and the famous words of track announcer Tom Durkin were uttered…

“And they’re off!”

But when the nine horses and their jockeys bolted out of the gates, something else felt off. With Casino Drive, Big Brown’s biggest threat, a scratch, Desormeaux and his freak of a racehorse should have been a sure winner. Maybe it was all the pressure of being expected to be the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years, or just a tired horse that ran out of gas after giving it all he had in his previous two races, blowing away the competition.

Big Brown never looked like he had what it took, Saturday, to pull out the win. When Desormeaux steered his horse to the outside, seemingly comfortable in third place, it was inevitable that he would make his move like he had in so many other races and leave the rest of the field in the dust.

That never happened.

Instead, Big Brown failed to pull away, and his once overly confident jockey decided that it wouldn’t happen.

He did, however make history. Rather than risk further injury to what he called the “best horse he had ever been on top of,” Desormeaux wisely pulled up and Big Brown became the first Triple Crown hopeful to finish Belmont in dead last.

Ian McKinlay, the foot specialist who had worked on Big Brown’s quarter crack that was suffered following his win at the Preakness, denied that the injury is what held him back.

If that’s the case, maybe it was karma slapping trainer Rick Dutrow in the face for his arrogance. Or, maybe it was the lack of steroids.

While not illegal in the sport, numerous racehorses are given steroids. It was well documented that Big Brown had been given the drugs prior to each of his previous races. Dutrow, however, wanted to show off his work and prove just how strong his horse was by winning the final race of the Triple Crown without the extra help. Boy did that backfire. Not only was it a devastating loss that might have drastically reduced the value of his prize horse, it was Big Brown’s first ever loss. And a big one.

The horses and trainers shouldn’t be faulted for using the performance enhancers. It’s virtually an even playing field given that all horses use them. But by not winning the Triple Crown without the extra help, does that mean that Big Brown’s legacy, specifically the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, should carry an asterisk? There are probably some skeptics that will say there is no question. But if he happened to pull out the win, he would have had his own place in history, possibly ahead of the previous 11 Triple Crown winners. By not using the steroids, Dutrow was trying to prove a point. Like him or not as a person, he was playing on an unlevel field. Sure, he might have been a little cocky by allowing his horse to race against others that were enhanced. But being overly disappointed for Big Brown not winning on Saturday is almost like getting bummed that an unjuiced baseball player doesn’t hit as many home runs as one that shoots up regularly.

Big Brown will no doubt have his name permanently etched in the history books of horseracing. Whether or not his legacy is tarnished by the actions and decisions of his trainer is a different question. Perhaps Dutrow had what was coming to him. Big Brown should be appreciated for the beast that he is and receive nothing but congratulations. Hopefully, for the sake of the fans, he will have more opportunities to race in the future and can answer questions that are in the minds of many critics and casual fans.

Dutrow, on the other hand, will have to come up with a worthy answer to the question that is being begged from the lasting image that was captured at the conclusion of the 140th running of the Belmont Stakes – “Why the long face?”

SAN DIEGO – Greg Maddux looked like the ace of old, and Bob Brenly was spared of shaving the facial hair he has kept the majority of his adult life.

 After being pounded for 11 hits and 4 runs in just 4.1 innings in his May 15 outing at Wrigley Field, Maddux started Wednesday’s game with stuff good enough for a no-hitter. And rather than giving up 11 hits in four innings, the former Chicago Cub didn’t allow a base runner until the top of the fourth when Alfonso Soriano singled to left field.

 “Doggie threw the ball good and we never could get anything going, and that made a lot of quick outs,” Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee said. “He kept his pitch count down, and that’s the last thing you want when he’s on the mound. He’s not going to beat himself. He’s going to make you beat him. He threw strikes tonight, and we hit a ton of ground balls and that’s what he tries to do.”

 Maddux and the Padres limited the Cubs to just one run on four hits after the Northsiders plated 16 runs in the first two games of the series, proving once again that despite a powerful offense, the Cubs are going to need to find more consistency if they want to make a serious run at a 2008 World Series title. All it takes is a couple bad innings in the playoffs to disrupt an otherwise explosive offense.

The 2003 playoffs is a perfect example of how one unfortunate play can turn the tide of a game. Just imagine if Moises Alou had caught the foul ball instead of being distracted by a certain Cubs fan. Or, if he had not even come close at all. The Cubs wouldn’t have had a reason to complain or get down on themselves. Maybe Prior would have finished out the inning and Chicago, rather than Florida, would have gone onto the World Series to face the Yankees.

It’s all about confidence and consistency. And while the Cubs might have that swagger deserving of a trip deep into the playoffs, if they continue to score 15 runs one game only to follow it up with one or two the next night, it is going to eventually catch up with them. They will need to either find a way to remedy their inconsistencies, or hope that Sprint launches a new Major League Baseball plan that allows teams to rollover their runs from game to game.

The Cubs loss ended a 9-game winning streak and kept Bob Brenly from shaving his mustache and Len Kasper from attempting to grow one of his own. Cubs fan or not, it would have been interesting to see Chicago win its 10th straight for the mere amusement of seeing Brenly without his upper lip locks.