Home plate collision ignites brawl in Southside showdown

The start of Interleague play hasn't rubbed off any good luck on the Cubs. Saturday afternoon at U.S. Cellular Field the Cubs got shutout 7-0 by the WhiteSox. Second basemen Tadahito Iguchi hit two homeruns, one of those a grand slam and had 6 RBIs. This seems to be reoccurring pattern. The offense remains dismal, which is downright depressing. Rich Hill (0-4) had another bad outing as well, only lasting 4 innings while giving up 7 earned runs on 5 hits and 5 walks. Today the action on the field got heated when the Sox' A.J. Pierzynski slammed into catcher Michael Barrett. There were a lot of mixed reactions about the incident.

Barrett took offense to the collision, thinking it was done intentionally. He then grabbed Pierzynski by the jersey and punched him in the jaw. Immediately both benches cleared with players and coaches getting involved to protect their respective team members. I didn't see the game live, but on the highlights and replay it definitely looked like A.J. was trying his best to run over Barrett, who at the time didn't even have the ball in his glove. The hit at the plate was totally unnecessary. Due to the turn of events both catchers were tossed from the game. Michael will serve a suspension to be determined later.

The worst part about the game for the Cubs was their continual failure to score runs. This team is going to drop towards the bottom of the division near the Pirates, trail the Cards, Reds, Astros by a wide margin if the club's management doesn't strike a few deals. They desperately NEED at least two additional productive bats in the lineup. I'm getting tired of repeating myself. Right now no one in the starting lineup is hitting exceptionally well or will be able to carry the team until Lee returns.

The way the Cubs played today and for the past 3-4 weeks they should be ashamed. The offensive performance has been piss poor, showing no signs of promise. Kerry Wood didn't impress in his first start on Thursday, that's okay if he can regain his composure and mechanics. If not it may be time to put him on the trading block for potential takers. There must be someone in this whole organization that has the desire to be a win instead of sitting back and watching the season gradually take a downward spiral until it plunges straight into the toliet. It's only May, let's play hard-nosed freaking baseball! Start learning to make adjustments at the plate and hit the stinking ball, come on guys!