This is an old joke, and it's dirty so don't read it if you're easily offended.
It's also one of my favs because I can actually remember it and say out loud with confidence, like a person who knows how to tell jokes should.
Probably you've heard it, but anyway here goes:
There's a young bull and an old bull up on top of a hill.
Down in the valley below is a herd of cows.
The young bull is excited just looking at all those cows, and he says, "Hey. Lets run down there and fuck one of them cows!"
And the old bull says, "No, son. Lets walk down and fuck 'em all."
See?
Anybody can remember that one.
And the best part is it contains wisdom.
Anyway, remember way back when Tom and The Ricketts bought the Cubs, and we all thought MAN, there's gonna be a whole lotta change goin' on!
And then...nothing happened.
Well, I guess Lou quit and they put Mike Quade on the field.
Some fixing around Wrigley, some new kinda hot dogs...
But Jim Hendry was still calling the shots, and it didn't really feel like much had changed.
Ultra-depressing.
But it also kinda made sense, in a way.
These guys had never owned the Cubs before, why rush?
Why not be as sure as you can that you're doing the right stuff?
Also, it's gotta be a pretty big shock when you go from fighting over money with giant prick Sam Zell to actually walking into the dugout as the Owner and coming face to face with Ryan Dempster and Aramis Ramirez and Kerry Wood.
So my hope is that Tom is wise beyond his years.
That he's walking down the hill and trying to do it right.
That he realizes he's not a baseball genius, and needs the best kind of help.
I'm also HUGELY naive and optimistic beyond reason.
But that's what I think and it's allowed me to relax some.
There are some truly amazing things that might fall into place for the Cubs, and of course we're all super anxious, but I'matellin' you it's all gonna work out.
You see today that the Cubs have arranged an interview with Theo Epstien.
Yeah, it's weird that Tom gave the contract to Oneiri Fleita, but lotsa guys don't think it's a big deal (see Obstructed View article here).
That Crane Kenney is around is more alarming, but I have to think that once Tom gets his Guy, that Guy will be the Guy no matter who else is around now.
And here's one thing I do know for sure: Tom Ricketts is not an enormously-egoed jag like George Steinbrenner.
Many times I've seen Ricketts walking around Wrigley Field talking to every boob, every drunk, and every normal fan in the park.
So what if it was about hot dogs or the bathroom fixtures?
He's clearly engaged and different than other owners.
I do not recall ever seeing any Tribune guys walking around Wrigley (although I do remember that smug print ad they did in the Trib in '84 or '89 with a headline that joked about one of their investments finally paying off).
Okay, baseball games.
Bye bye Tampa.
The Cards and D-Backs are out with one more loss, and I gotta think that'll happen so Philadelphia and Milwaukee move forward.
Both those games are on TBS tonight starting at 7 Chi-Time.
And it's must watch tv Thursday night with the Yanks hosting the Tigers to see who goes on to the ALCS.
Wouldn't want to be a Tigers fan right now.
