Alou pardons Bartman
Yes - I’m a little late on this one too, but since nobody else commented: Magnanamous Moises Pardons Bartman. What a joke!
Steve Bartman is persona non grata in Chicago, and globally in Cubs Nation, for one simple reason: Moises Alou threw a temper tantrum over a ball he wouldn’t have caught anyhow, providing the Wrigley Faithful with a convenient target for their frustration. If Alou just went back to his position instead of gyrating like Elaine Benes doing her “little-kicks dance” at a party (with a mortified George Constanza looking on), nothing would’ve happened. If Alou had come out after *the game* and pointed out that emotions were high, and got the best of him, but nobody (at least no fan) was to blame for the Cubs blowing Game Six, it likely would’ve gone away quickly. Even if Alou had waited for Bartman to become less popular than Osama bin Laden and then stepped in right away, perhaps it would’ve gone away. But he waits *five* years to say something? Yeah, reall stand-up guy.
First of all, Bartman wasn’t the *only* fan that went after that foul ball (which, as mentioned, Alou had no chance at) - he was one of about five or six. Unfortunately for him, he was just the most easily recognizable. Well, that… or the other four or five were “smart” enough to start pointing on him when they saw Alou go into his epileptic fit and realized 45,000 in the stadium and millions watching on TV were going to find *someone* to blame in the crowd. Either way, he was singled out.
The amusing thing for me is this totally took SS Alex Gonzalez off the hook. Gonzalez made roughly $5 million that year, and it was not because he was such an offensive force. He was supposed to be able to field his position. Coming into that fateful eighth inning, the Cubs led 3-0 and Prior was crusing. He gave up a run, score now 3-1 and had men on 1st and 2nd with one out, when Miguel Cabera hit a tailor-made double-play ball (to end the inning) to Alex Gonzalex, and he missed it. The guy that gets paid $5 million to catch the ball doesn’t… and we hear nothing about him. The lifelong Cubs fan who probably paid a month’s salary to get a ticket to the playoff game tries to catch a foul ball in the stands (along with several others)… and he is villified.
Um… what?!
But now - FIVE YEARS LATER - Moises Alou comes to Bartman’s defense. Way to be Johnny-on-the-spot there Moises. Alou singlehandedly ruins this guy’s life, then waits five years to try and make it right. It’s sorta like when the headlines blare that Richard Jewell was the bomber at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics… and then much later when its shown that he’s 100% innocent? Not as much press, and far too late regardless.
But hey, I’m sure Steve Bartman understands, Moises. Yeah. Right.
April 16th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
I disagree on point #2. If Alou had come out after the game and made the same statement he made today, people would still have blamed Bartman
April 18th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Perhaps some would’ve (based entirely on Alou’s in-game reaction) but I submit that (a) it would’ve been a scant minority as opposed to the vast majority it was, and (b) the whole thing would’ve died down a lot quicker.