The Rant: Cubs, Quit Your *****in!

Apparently this Rant thing is going to be used more than I thought. Anyway, I need to first point out that I hate the Cubs. I despise them. If after reading this you think I'm just a biased idiot, you may very well be right. However, I think my reasoning is sound on this one and surpasses my extreme hatred for the most inept franchise in the history of sports.

Ted Lilly and all the rest of the Chicago Cubs organization, for the love of everything holy quit your ********! You obviously intentionally beaned a player. That's against the rules. You got thrown out. Take your punishment like a man instead of crying and whining like a little girl.

MLB's Official Rulebook has this to say about the subject:

(d) Intentionally Pitch at the Batter.
If, in the umpire’s judgment, such a violation occurs, the umpire may elect either to:
1. Expel the pitcher, or the manager and the pitcher, from the game, or
2. may warn the pitcher and the manager of both teams that another such pitch will result in the immediate expulsion of that pitcher (or a replacement) and the manager.
If, in the umpire’s judgment, circumstances warrant, both teams may be officially “warned” prior to the game or at any time during the game.

Anyone who's saying the umpire shouldn't have thrown out Lilly, go back and read number 1 again please. Look, everyone in that stadium knew Lilly was going to hit someone in the first inning. The fact that Tim Hudson had beaned Soriano the game before and got away with it, has nothing to do with how Lilly should have been punished. The fact of the matter is that Lilly intentionally threw at the batter and was therefore thrown out of the game, just like the rules state.

Now, should Tim Hudson been thrown out the day before? Probably. Soriano had gone yard three times the previous game and it didn't exactly surprise anyone, however, that's not what the Cubs are arguing. They are saying that Lilly shouldn't have been thrown out. Not only that, but that the umpire should be punished for the way he handled the situation. Excuse me?!? Your boy intentionally hits a batter, get's thrown out, and somehow the ump is to blame?

I understand he said he "knew it was coming" and that he was "waiting for it". Because of that statement, all little bear fans are clamoring about how both teams should have been warned. Really? You mean to tell me that professional ball players need to be warned not to break the rules? Come on. Warning the teams is at the umpires discretion and I'd also like to point out that HAD the teams been warned, the same people would have complained that they weren't allowed to retaliate.

So, what should the umpires have done in this situation? Exactly what they did. Lilly blatantly broke the rules and was punished accordingly. Don't give me this two wrongs make everything right ****. The "he made me do it" excuse didn't work when I was 6 and it sure as **** shouldn't be your excuse now.

If the Cubs and their fans want the league to look into Hudson's beaning, that's fine. The umpires at the time didn't feel it was intentional (as evidenced by the fact that they didn't toss him and didn't warn the teams) and the league isn't going to do anything about that one. If Cubs want the league to look into Renteria's slide into second, that's fine by me. I've seen worse go unpunished but given the tense situation and the fact that Lilly had just been tossed, Edgar probably should have gotten canned as well. However, let me say emphatically, that NONE of that changes how the umpires should have reacted to Lilly's bean ball.

To be honest, I think there should be more intentional beaning of batters. We've got batters like Barry Bonds walking up there in SWAT gear and covering the plate like John Daly eating a pork chop. You have players watching their home runs like it's a Lord of the Rings movie and they react like you've shot them the first time someone dares to pitch inside on them. But, as I said before, if you're going to do the crime (and I think you should), you've got to do the time. Disguise it a bit, don't make it so obvious, bean a guy on a 3-0 count rather than the first pitch of the at bat, something, but if you get caught, for crying out loud, don't ***** when you get tossed.