Man, it's exactly like Al Capone and Chicago - you go to another country and say you're from Chicago and invariably the other person will get excited and say, "Chicago! Al Capone! Tommy guns!"
2 weeks ago I was in a Tokyo cab (immaculate btw - frilly doily material on the seats and you could eat off the guy's carpet) with my Cubs hat on. People are real fans over there - baseball is a giant deal. And it's a crowded cab so I'm sitting in the front seat. The driver, he holds his tongue til we're getting out, then he says, "The Cubs lose! All the time lose!"
I had to laugh.
Then the other day in Rio (I know this travel stuff is weird, I'll tell you more sometime later) I was again wearing my Cubs hat and this Old Codger admitted to not really knowing anything about MLB except, "The Cubs are the losing team."
Not that this is anything new to anyone. It's just hilarious and strange to see first hand that the Cubs and losing are internationally linked, probably since the invention of the boat.
So I'm not all the way back yet, but here for a little and then back into this trip.
But I've seen some stuff online.
Angel Guzman, another really sad sad tale of another Cub with never-ending injuries. I thought he finally got past it, and last year he was a quality guy. Pretty sad.
I see Terrible Ted is hauling ass back to full health. Why? BECAUSE HE'S TERRIBLE TED!
I see Starlin Castro got sent down after impressing quite a bit, Ryan Theriot is tearing it up, leading the league in batting with a sick .457 average, and Tyler Colvin is right behind him with 5 more hits at .438.
Mikey Fontenot must be locked in at 2nd for the start of the season hitting about .300 and getting the majority of the starts. What if his left handed bat just hit about .275 and he knocks in a few dingers? He's no all-star but this year he'd be a real asset, a real joy. A guy to root for rather than boo.
I'd like that.
Aramis is semi-back from his first injury of '10.
And of course Milton Bradley has been ejected twice in Spring Training games. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I still haven't seen one second of a Cub game, so I'm pretty much out of the loop.
Let me know what's going on!
