Tuesday September 4

Carlos is mad.  I don't blame him, but it is not going to change.  I addressed this topic a while back, but here is my opinion on booing the home team again:

Every fan has the right to boo.  They pay the high prices for the tickets, parking, and food.  They have every right to boo.  But should they?  I believe fans should only boo for lack of effort.  To boo players for a bad performances only makes it more difficult for the player to do better next time.  It does not help him perform better.  It creates more doubt and more pressure.  It does not help.  (The heavy booing hasn't helped Rex Grossman.  He has become even more inconsistent.  He is even more indecisive.  And like I said before, booing hasn't helped Philadelphia teams.)

Steve Phillips echoed the same thoughts on ESPN Radio this morning.  He said, "fans have the right to boo, but they have to understand that there are consequences for their actions.  Because they booed ARod so consistently in New York, they will probably lose one of the best hitters of all-time this off-season.  Also, baseball is a sport where trying harder is actually counter-productive.  Players are human; they will try harder to turn those boos around.  But if you try harder to hit, then you will pull off the ball and open up and even do worse.  Pitchers will overthrow and even do worse."

I understand that booing is just a reflection of the frustration fans have.  I was very frustrated in Big Z yesterday too.  But to boo him as lustily as many Cub fans did is only going to hurt, not help.  The consistent booing didn't help JJ turn his season around.  It extended his slump.  It wasn't until Lou gave Jacque two weeks off, and away from the booing, did JJ regain his career form. 

That being said, the reality is that fans are going to boo.  (Although it does seem to be getting a lot worse in Chicago lately.)  So Carlos and every player has to learn to deal with it.  It is not going to change.  They have to deal with the reality of the situation; whether they like it or not.  It is not going to change.  But fans should then understand it when players lose their affinity and loyalty to the fans as time goes on.  Players are human too.

Just my opinion...

Yesterday's Results:

Dodgers 11, Cubs 3     Box:  http://mlb.mlb.com/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2007_09_03_lanmlb_chnmlb_1

Astros 9, Brewers 7

Pirates 11, Cardinals 0

Standings:

Cubs         70-66         --

Brewers     69-68         1.5

Cardinals    67-67          2