If you all think that you had it bad... I had to sit through the same nine innings of crappy baseball as the rest of you.  Only I had to sit there as idiot Dodger fans batted around beach balls, taunted me for wearing my Cubs gear, chanted "Sweep! Sweep! Sweep!" the whole game, and chanted "Cubbies suck" at least once an inning.  

When Fontenot was down with what looked to be a serious leg injury, a Dodger fan in the row behind me was booing the entire time.  When I confronted him about it, his reply was, "I don't care, man.  I'm here to win."

I had a Dodger fan tap me on the shoulder in the fifth inning and ask me, "You happy you get to watch your team lose?"

I heard the two Dodger fans sitting behind me debate toward the end of the 6th inning whether they should leave to beat the traffic.  They left after the 6th inning.  I shit you not... they left a potentially-clinching playoff game for their team at the end of six innings of play.

As I exited the stadium immediately after the last pitch, a celebratory Dodger fan got in my face and yelled, "Fuck you Cubbie fan!"  As I walked on the concourse towards the exit, I heard a woman remark to her friend (as they were also leaving), "If it was the World Series, I would stick around."  As I walked in the parking lot, a car pulled along side me with three grinning idiots, who yelled out in unison, "Fuck you Cubs fan!  Cubs suck!"

I guess this all goes to drive home the point, which you all know already... that there is no justice in this game.  Fuck this fucking game.

Earlier in the season, there was a great deal of debate concerning one Ryan Theriot and his abilities as a member of the 2008 Cubs.  I think that many people on this board (and elsewhere... my cousin and brother, out here in the world) have come to the opinion that Theriot is a good major league baseball player.

He's not.

I want to make clear that I am not a "Theriot basher."  I don't think he's the worst player ever.  I don't even think he's a "bad" baseball player.  I just want everyone to know that he's extremely, remarkably mediocre.  He's almost the definition of replaceable.  Here's the breakdown, as I see it.

The Good!

1) He's got a cool nickname.   2) He seems like a really good teammate.   3) He's photogenic.   4) He handles the press well.   5) He gets on base at a  very good clip, setting the table for D-Lee, A-Ram, Sori, and Geo.

The Bad...

1) He's a below average fielder for his position.   2) He is the worst baserunner on the team this year, with 13 CS in 31 attempts.    3) He's 28 years old, which means he's not likely to be getting better (I'd be more encouraged if he were a 22-year-old rookie).   4a) His OPS+ this year is 100... which means he's EXACTLY league average with respect to OBP+SLG.   4b) Speaking of SLG... he's slugging .371 this year.  That's epically terrible.  For comparison... Neifi! slugged .375 over his career.  That's right.  Neifi @#!)(@&$! Perez.

Theriot is merely holding down the fort at SS this year and letting the other guys pick up the slack.  Which is fine, as it doesn't appear to be hurting the Cubs any with respect to their wins and losses.  But can we please recognize the fact that he's not a good ballplayer?  Can we please stop elevating him beyond what his skill level dictates he be elevated?