I know, most are sick of hearing about him. I just thought this was very well written and worth a few minutes to read.

http://deadspin.com/5530141/excerpt-fro ... ve-bartman

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Team Cutler.

Leave the thinking up to us higher powers. I never get sick of it.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

It's been said before I'm sure, but the guy should just embrace his unfortunate legacy. Own it!

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-"God is great. Beer is good. And People are crazy!"

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Just chillin' like Garret Quillin.

A million dollar shortstop...ALEX FUCKING GONZALEZ !!! Leave the goddamn fans out of it.

On a 1-2 pitch, Ivan Rodriguez smashes a hanging curveball into left field for a base hit. On the next pitch, skinny Miguel Cabrera hits an easy groundball to shortstop Alex Gonzalez, who, distracted by Dread, bobbles it.

That is the play that should be discussed. IMO...that is the play that lost the game. A fucking PLAYER. Not a fan.

Every time I see or hear Bartmans name I reply as loud as I can with these three words...

ALEX FUCKING GONZALEZ

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Proud to be UNVERIFIED.

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but this particular Alex Gonzalez is out of baseball, not the fellow currently manning the position for the Toronto Blue Jays?

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1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

I hope you have a boss one day named Alex Bartman.

Otherwise, I agree with you. I thought the article was fair to Bartman in that he shouldn't be villified the way he was.

But, still, I take issue with the notion often floated that ANYBODY would have tried for that ball. I don't buy that when you are counting down the outs (as true Cub fans were), that you'd just stick your arm out on the playing field during a fly ball or even close. I'd be checking if Alou is coming and would he get there to make it 4 to go. But, it was a mistake and I won't roast the guy for it. No guarantee that Alou would have caught it anyway.

All that said, I was pretty pissed at the time.

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You know me like that.

I'm pretty sure Baker, and his wont for gassing all his starters down the stretch, had to be somewhere in the equation.

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1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

Dr. Ken posting in this thread justifies my thoughts. Even a blind squirrel...

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Team Cutler.

Of course you're right. Alfonso Soriano wouldn't have tried for it.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

It is true that Bartman should not be harassed, and it is true that Gonzales flubbed an easy play.

However, it is also true that you cannot dispute that Bartman affected the outcome. If he doesn't mess up the play, the Cubs might go to the World Series.

If I blow through a stop sign and smash into your car, but it was possible for you to swerve out of the way, does the accident become your fault?

BOILED GOOSE...

I don't understand what you are saying here. Bartman did nothing wrong. As long as you don't reach over the fence you have the right to attempt to catch the ball and/or protect yourself. If it was the other side of the inning, he'd be viewed as a hero for saving an out.

In hindsight, you obviously would have been better served not attempting to catch the ball but he didn't do anything wrong.

A better analogy would be this.

If you are walking in an intersection, and step into the street with the "Walk" sign telling you to go, and some car is out of control and swerves to miss you and gets in an accident is it your fault?

You may have been able to help avoid that accident if you did something else in hindsight but how did you know that a perfectly legal action would contribute to a car wreck?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Bartman may have screwed things up in Game 6.

The Cub held a lead in Game 7 and they lost. Bartman has nothing to do with that.

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Dusty lost that series in Game 2 when he let Prior throw 120 pitches into the 8th inning when he had an 11-0 lead after 5.

Guess who wore themselves out by the 8th inning of Game 6?

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You know me like that.

If you cant hold an 11 run lead youre not winning anything anyway!!!
is what I drunkenly yelled at my dad after that game.

You're right, my analogy isn't perfect. Yours might be closer to the truth, but although I wouldn't say what he did was "wrong", you really aren't supposed to interfere with game-play, which he did. How about, he sprinted into the crosswalk just as the light changed to Don't-Walk.

But my larger point is more against the idea that "the Cubs should have won anyway" or "it's all Alex Gonzales' fault". Bartman made himself a factor, even though there were other factors as well. If he didn't interfere, the Cubs might have gone to the Series. He is part of the reason they didn't go.

Though I do completely disagree with any kind of harassment or ill-will being acted out towards him.

That's true. He definitely made a mistake.

I just found a reason to hate him though. He inspired this in my search for the play on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROlUDAMvFuE&feature=related
Do not click the above link if you are having a good day because it will ruin it.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Oh my...

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This is my signature...

I think that this is the only time that I've ever laughed (chuckled, actually) while watching this show.

Edit: I think that this is the first time that I've ever watched more than :30 of this show.

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-"God is great. Beer is good. And People are crazy!"

What happened with Bartman is somewhat similar to a manager getting thrown out of a game to change the momentum of a game or even a series...or even a season ( Lou Piniella getting thrown out and suspended his 1st (?) season managing the Cubs). Or, more tenuously, a hockey player deliberately starting a fight to rile up his teammates/throw the other team off their game.

Sure, it's an unintentional (at least in terms of impacting the game's momentum) event outside the other team's control that caused the Bartman disruption, but the Marlins saw an opening and hit their way through it right into the World Series.

Maybe somewhat similar to Buckner booting that grounder vs the Mets in '86? Tho that led directly to the loss in that game; it also shifted the momentum in the series to the Mets.

A more recent and similar situation happened at last night's Phillies game:

"As much as Philly fans like dumbasses being dumbasses, they like baseball more. So he couldn't have picked a worse time to run on the field than in the ninth inning of a 1-0 game. The crowd wasn't having any of it, booing, throwing beer at Betz, and chanting for the Taser (it was not used this time). Cole Hamels, clearly shaken, gave up back-to-back doubles, losing the shutout and the complete game."


http://deadspin.com/5531577/last-nights ... -bloodlust

fan disrupts the game and the starting pitcher falls apart. Phillies still managed to win the game in extra innings.

So this guy's a Cardinals fan and he wrote a book about the Cubs, set in Chicago @ Wrigley Field? Good marketing move. Apparently the Cubs were playing the Cardinals for the specific game in the book, but judging by the amount of words devoted to the Bartman thing, this book is more about the Cubs than the Cardinals.

I don't think I will ever recover from the highs and lows I felt during that series. I remember driving home and listening to Steve Stone talk about what numbers would change on the building. I had to stop to witness something I had been waiting 21 years to see and when I do all hell breaks loose. Then in game 7 Kid K goes deep and I think we are going to win. I still remember the call from Joe Buck. Back...at the track...at the wall...we are tied! Didn't happen though. Fortunately for me the Sox provided comfort in 2005.

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I remember watching Game 6 at Honest John's with a Cub fan friend. When that play happened he said they were going to lose and then lose the next game too. When the Marlins took the lead, one of the two guys at the table next to us threw an ashtray at the big screen and they walked out right after the waitress had delivered two fresh beers to them. I got up and ground scored the two Michelobs.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

i was living on the east coast at the time. i threw a book at the TV. it wasn't the bible. maybe it should've been.

What exactly did it have to do with the White Sox?

This is why the majority of Sox fans are fucking imbecils.

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JohnKirk wrote: I dont get it...

That was a great little recap.. compelling and rich.

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1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

I would like to think that in the same situation, I would have backed off to let Alou catch the ball. Perhaps even extended my arms on each side to push fans on each side back too. Then again, a ball used in a game that I thought might be launching the Cubs to their first World Series since 1945....that would be a nice keepsake. Gonzalez made the bigger gaff and I blame him and the pitchers that couldn't close it out far more for the loss. He was unfairly maligned.

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Go Cubs!!!!