By Marty Gangler

I guess the biggest question you have to ask yourself this week is:
What kind of baseball do you play?
No, really, what kind of baseball do you play?
If you were under a rock this week, this is what good ol’ Uncle Lou asked a reporter who had the audacity to ask Lou why he didn’t bunt in a tight ballgame. I’ve been trying to wrap my head around what possible answer someone could come up with ever since.
Do you play small ball? Long ball? Bean ball? Moneyball? A cross between small and long ball – let’s call it medium to long ball, or maybe if you sway the other way it would be small to medium ball. What about small moneyball? Do the Royals play small moneyball, or just bad ball? Because the answer for most people would be, no ball. Because who actually plays baseball anymore? I know I haven’t played a game of real baseball since I was like 13 and I wasn’t very good. So my answer would be none to horrible baseball. And wouldn’t that be like most other reporters also? So I guess the answer would be: That is kind of a stupid question, Lou.

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Posted on May 4, 2010

By Jim Coffman

And they all stood and applauded. Alfonso Soriano had homered, doubled and then homered again, giving him four home runs in three days as he almost single-handedly led the Cubs to three straight wins over the Diamondbacks. As he strode to the plate for his fourth at-bat of the day Sunday, the Cub fans all jumped to their feet and gave him an extended ovation. And wasn’t that nice – slightly disconcerting, but nice.

Beachwood Baseball The Cub Factor will appear on Tuesday. The White Sox Report returns next week. Agony & Ivy: A way of life.

For three days in a row, Soriano’s non-solo round-trippers were pivotal, giving the Cubs the lead for good Friday, tying the game at five on Saturday on the way to a 7-5 Cubs win and then capping off the four-run first and the 10-run total in the series-winner. Even when the man made an out it was impressive. The Diamondbacks finally retired him his final time up on a rocket-shot to third.
And so he clearly deserved the applause. But hopefully no one expected him to take it to heart in a “You like me. You really like me” kind of way. Fans have every right to shred a guy who they think is an overpaid underperformer but they have to know that when they turn around and they shower him with good cheer when he turns things back around, it rings more than a little hollow.

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Posted on May 3, 2010