It’s All Bartman’s Fault Again

I feel as though I should weigh in on this issue since I’m one of the non-Cubs fans on this blog, and that gives me a little perspective as to the whole Bartman disaster in the 2003 playoffs. Especially since I did not have a vested interest in either team in that particular NLCS (the Padres were 64-98 that year). This whole thing is probably still too close for Cubs fan to talk about it rationally. Not that I will, but that’s not the point. Stop distracting me.

Apparently, Cubs fan now has permission from Moises Alou to resume blaming Steve Bartman for their 2003 NLCS loss to the Florida Marlins.

Just about two months ago, Moises Alou (the outfielder who was interfered with, in case you’ve been living in a hole for five years) said he never would have caught the infamous “Bartman Ball” in the first place, so everyone should let Steve Bartman off the hook. And I remember thinking then the same thing I think now: Bartman never should have been on the hook in the first place.

Sure he committed an egregious fan foul, and should be shunned by all Cubs fans for it, but he didn’t need to have his life ruined. Mark Prior and the rest of the team had plenty of opportunities to win game 6 and the Cubs still had to lose game 7 of the NLCS and even blew a lead in doing so. This is, and always has been, a lame Chicago version of Bill Buckner. To be fair, no one likes to admit their team cost itself a shot at a title. It’s way easier to blame a less painful target.

So we all should have been able to move on from this whole thing way back in April, even if Alou’s forgiveness was five years late. But now Moises says, “if I said that, I was probably joking to make [Bartman] feel better. But I don’t remember saying that” which is great news if you’re one of those insane fans who can’t let the 2003 season go. So that’s basically 90% of Cubs fans, and we’ve made no progress on this ridiculous issue since October of 2003.

Look, Cubs fan, you and everyone else needs to move on from this once and for all. Moises Alou can’t just appear in the press every few months and drag this crap back to the surface again. If we have to set up PTSD counselors at the gates of Wrigley Field, then so be it. Besides, you’ve got so much to live for this season. The Cubs are playing .638 ball and have won their last eight games, including last night at the Padres. Fukudome is a fantasy monster, and even Mark Prior isn’t hanging over the team like a black cloud anymore. That alone is more than enough for most fans, even the craziest and most championship-deprived.

So don’t listen to Moises Alou this time. It’s for the best. You should never trust a guy who pees on his hands in the first place.

Funny how Kerry Wood is quoted in that peeing article too. Huh. Weird.