Why the Cubs Were Booed Out of the Ballpark
The “boo-birds” made an early appearance at Wrigley Field on Wednesday when Soriano struck out to begin the bottom of the first inning. The booing continued throughout the evening. Here’s why:
- Cubs fans are passionate, much like Carlos Zambrano. When things don’t go well, they tend to get fired up. Especially when they spent an average of $300 per ticket.
- Ryan Dempster hadn’t walked seven batters in one game since 1999. Why now? And speaking of walks, the Cubs walked the opposing pitcher, Derek Lowe, twice. That’s two times. Count ’em.
- The 2008 Cubs were invincible at home, winning almost 2/3rds of their games at Wrigley Field. The fans simply aren’t accustomed to losing…at least not this year.
- This is the Cubs’ seventh straight postseason loss.
- Alfonso Soriano went 0-for-5, swinging at pitches so far out of the strike zone that it was almost comical.
- The rest of the lineup didn’t fare much better. The Cubs were 2-for-15 with runners on base.
- National League teams that have lost the first game of the NLDS since 1995 have only gone on to win the series three times. Out of 26 series.
…But all is not lost, Cubs fans. Here are some reasons not to boo:
- Mark DeRosa’s injured calf didn’t affect his power swing. If the Cubs come back in the next four games, expect his performance to boost talk of a team MVP. His calf is no stitched ankle (see Curt Schilling, 2004 NLCS), but DeRo’ is a hard worker.
- Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood are still fresh for game two. Nobody was expecting miracles from the middle relief, and the three runs in four-plus innings on Wednesday weren’t as ugly as things could have been. There’s no shame in giving up a home run to Man-Ram on a ridiculously good pitch.
- The defense, anchored by an amazing catch by Fukudome, was solid.
- The Dodgers are hot right now. They surged to make the playoffs, and they’re still locked in. It wasn’t like the Cubs lost to the Reds or the Pirates.
- It’s just one game. The Cubs will put it behind them and strike back at the Dodgers on Thursday. And if they don’t come out swinging? Then there’s always next year…
- …and I can say that because this team is built to last. This is their second straight division title. Most of the team, including Sweet Lou, will be back next year. As long as Jim Hendry is GM, don’t expect the team to lack talent year-after-year.
1060 West Addison: Cubs Blog 
Zambrano either matures into seasoned veteran tonight or he forever stays the young bully who implodes when things go wrong. If I am the opposing team, I am going to wait till things get rough and see if he self-destructs. I might even try to do things to get under his skin. Like Reyes of the Mets inching too far off third base and Carlos going over to him and waving his finger at him to get back. Carlos probably thought that he was asserting his domain and saying ‘You are not going to do that to me.’ But it was a distraction to get Carlos off of his game even further. And it worked because Delgado deposited a grand slam in the seats. Carlos needs to gain the emotional maturity and savvy not to fall into immature distractive traps that lead to implosions, whether that is a two-walk trap of his own doing, a bad call by an umpire, or an intentional distraction from another player like what Reyes did. Carlos, please have the emotional strength and cool to play the game pitch-by-pitch and not be distracted by events (walks/hits), umpire calls or player antics. Geo, Calm him down when you see this and correct him. The Cub Nation is counting on you.
Exactly, Tarkman–Zambrano needs to keep his cool. Ignore the walks, the players, and the umpire. Well, don’t IGNORE the walks (see: Dempster, Game One).
Andrew
How ’bout we MAKE SOME NOISE! It was embarrassing to watch last night. Who were those people in the stands? COME ON! The Sox had a black out, How about a blue explosion, or ANYTHING! I felt like I was watching professional golf.
Check your “Boo’s” at the gate. TRUE Cub fans should not Boo this team. This is NOT Philadelphia or The Bronx. This is Wrigley Field! I can understand a fan booing someone like Barry Bonds who is incredibly self-centered and spoiled, but these guys have played their hearts out for us all year and now you go and BOO them. I don’t care what your reason is – this team does not deserve that kind of behavior. Sure we are all disappointed, but none more so than Lou and ALL the players. They know what’s at stake here. I have sat through my share of losing seasons over the past 45 years and I have never been more excited about a cub team ever, and I no longer live in Chicago. Cub fans are passionate and knowledgable and do not need amusement parks to entice the next generation of fans to come out and watch a game. We sit our kids down and teach them how to keep score and learn every nuance of baseball and what it means to sit in Wrigley cheering on the Cubs while sitting right next to a Cardinals fan. It is wrong to teach the next generation to “BOO” simply because they lose. Let’s look at the effort these guys are putting in. Let’s support these guys. Let’s let them hear it in LA!!!!