Stranger in a Strange Land

I am by nature a sincere person, a smart-ass, but always sincere. Cynicism is a poison best left untouched. Too bad the cynics rule over professional sports in Chicago. Over on the North Side, management pretends that a ten-game losing streak isn’t proof positive of a rebuild in its early “wins only hurt draft position” stage. On the South Side, management pretends that Tony La Russa was a consensus choice to replace Rick Renteria as manager and that La Russa is doing bang-up job. And all over Chicagoland, sports’ “journalists” act as if these Bears are different than any other Bears’ team of the past quarter-century and fans should want to know about it yesterday, if not sooner. TV and papers are filled with stories on how the new regime is reshaping a proud, history-rich franchise. Right, and I am the walrus. I listen to the banalities that come out of the mouth of new head coach Matt Eberflus and wonder why no one else hears them. No, better to pretend the emperor is clothed, then expose him as a fool when the inevitable losing streak ensues. Yesterday, Sun-Times’ columnist Rick Morrissey all but admitted doing just that. Morrissey loves it when a La Russa or Marc Trestman comes on the scene and stinks it up. Why? Because “if we’re talking about entertainment value, and I am, are you kidding? You don’t throw away gold.” I guess that means Morrissey would be miserable covering the likes of Mike Trout or Courtney Vandersloot. Some cynics go through the motions of pretending they care about winning. Morrissey and his ilk can’t be bothered. It’s honest, if nothing else. And crappy journalism, by the way.