GREAT AMERICAN BALLPARK
One of my favorite things about going to Cubs games is how suddenly every single person sitting around you is your new best friend and person to debate sports with. Last week I was at the game and ended up chatting the entire game with a guy who is from Chicago, but is now a Cincinnati bankruptcy lawyer. He was telling me all about how the Reds have such a nice stadium in Great American Ballpark, but that they really struggle to fill it since the team is so bad. He was saying how with Dusty Baker there now that there is a renewed sense of hope. We joked about remembering the same case for the Cubs when he first came to Chicago, and how disenchanted the city became with him. I told him I liked Dusty for the fact that he was a great motivator and was able to get the most out of his players, but that he was a terrible game day manager and that he could not manage a pitching staff to save his life. He agreed with me and added that he also did not like how he never got angry. We both agreed that sometimes a team needs a Lou Piniella type freak out.