A fighting chance: Cubs start getting angry — then start winning
Lou Piniella, the volatile manager of the Chicago Cubs, acknowledged that his team was floundering but declared that there was no reason to pitch a fit. The Cubs, he explained, had to look inward for answers.
Later that day, the Cubs' ace, Carlos Zambrano, brawled with catcher Michael Barrett in the dugout and the clubhouse. The next day, Piniella went on a dirt-kicking, hat-throwing rampage after he was ejected by the umpire Mark Wegner.
The next week, starter Ted Lilly was ejected in the first inning for throwing at Atlanta's Edgar Renteria. And the week after, the slugger Derrek Lee was ejected for throwing a punch at San Diego's Chris Young.
"I guess you could say we've got an attitude now," said Cliff Floyd, the Cubs' right fielder. "We've got an edge."
Generally speaking, when a team is fighting with opponents, umpires and each other, it is a sure sign that things are falling apart. But for the 2007 Cubs, it was a sign that things were finally coming together.
On June 2, the date of Piniella's explosion, the Cubs were on a six-game losing streak, in fourth place in the National League Central Division, with a 21-31 record. After spending about $300 million on free agents in the winter, they were baseball's biggest flop.
"We've been playing like champions," said Zambrano, well aware that the Cubs have not been World Series champions in 99 years.
When Cubs players are asked to identify a single turning point for this season, the answers vary, but they unfailingly cite one tantrum or another. They credit Piniella, Zambrano, Lilly and Lee for demonstrating the rage all of them were feeling.
"Everybody was fed up at the same time," Floyd said. "We were tired of losing. The city was tired of losing. We had to let it out."
Born and raised in Chicago, Floyd is familiar with the old Cubs stereotype — lovable losers who never really get angry, so long as they throw the best rooftop parties.
But the tone at Wrigley Field has intensified in recent years. The Cubs just missed the World Series in 2003. They watched their cursed cousins, the Boston Red Sox, win it in 2004. They watched their neighbors, the Chicago White Sox, win it in 2005.
And they hired Piniella in October 2006. From the day Piniella took the job, he talked about changing the Cubs' culture, which meant making it more serious. If a base had to be thrown to get the team's attention, he was the man to throw it.
You can be the first to comment on this story.