Who Would Have Thought?

Lou Pinella, the Cubs manager, is famous for his temper. He has no problem telling umps EXACTLY what he thinks and seems to not have the benefit of the filter that most people have that keep their inappropriate thoughts inside their heads.

Frequently, this gets Lou kicked out of baseball games.

But tonight, against the White Sox, in the second half of the Crosstown Classic, Lou blew his top in bottom of the second inning. Not convinced of a call on Joe Crede, Lou rushed out of the dugout and got in the face of home plate ump Rob Drake. Drake, appropriately, tossed Pinella out. Lou knows you can't argue balls and strikes.

I share this with you because this is the first game all season Lou has been thrown out. And I think that may be a record.

So congratulations Lou on holding your temper in for almost 3 months! But just cuz you're annoyed that the Cubs have gone 0-2 in this half of the Crosstown Classic, after sweeping the Sox last weekend, doesn't mean you get to act like a 2-year-old. My apologies to 2-year-olds.

UPDATE: The Cubs lost last night. They were swept this weekend by the Sox, after sweeping the Sox last weekend. So for this year, the Crosstown Classic ends in a tie. But it's ok because this is only the second time in 44 years the White Sox have swept the Cubs. But I think to decide the winner of the 2008 Crosstown Classic, we might have to play maybe another 7 games in late October. What do you think?

This loss represents the Cubs 6th straight loss while playing on the road (yes, playing at the Cell counts as on the road). Clearly the Cubs are unstoppable at home, but to hold onto their 1st place status, they must improve on the road. It also puts added pressure on the All-Star Game, which decides home-field advantage for the World Series.