Jacque Jones has just made himself the latest pariah in Cub Nation. He obviously hasn't learned anything from Delino Deshields, Todd Hundley, LaTroy Hawkins, or Corey Patterson? In the words of the Cutch, "Keep your mouth shut!"

By Paul Sullivan
Tribune staff reporter
Published April 25, 2006


After hitting the game-winning, three-run home run against the Florida Marlins on Monday night at Wrigley Field, Jacque Jones unleashed some pent-up anger over the rough treatment he has received in his first month as a Cub.

"I'm angry right now, you know what I mean?" Jones said. "It's almost funny. It's almost funny."

Jones wasn't laughing, though he should've been ecstatic.

In a complete reversal of Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS, the Cubs were shut out for seven innings by the Marlins before breaking through with a six-run eighth to post a thrilling 6-3 win.

Jones then ripped into Cubs fans for a perceived lack of support, pointing out he's not the first Cubs player to get harassed at Wrigley.

"I'm not confused at all," he said. "I've seen friends go through it. Sammy Sosa hit 60 home runs three years in a row, went into a little slump and ... hey, like I said earlier, they have a right to voice whatever opinion they want to voice.

"But it's not going to make me play any better. It's not going to make me play any worse. I'm just going to go play the game the way I know how."

Jones said he was "hearing all kinds of stuff" in the outfield throughout the game before hitting a three-run shot off Josh Johnson to snap a 3-3 tie in the eighth.

"I'm just getting used to it," he said. "Where I came from, they were passionate about baseball. We probably didn't draw as many [in Minnesota], but they were there through thick and thin. [The booing] is something I've got to get used to. I'm blocking it out as much as I can."

It's the beginning of the end for him on the North side. In reality, the crowd should boo Hendry for signing him in the first place.

He's no Lee Elia.

Twins Fan >>>>>> Cubs Fan

Concurred.

man, if he thought they treated him badly before...

and that is shittily

Disagree. Denizens of the Twin Cities are just more accustomed to mediocrity.

This could be (and I am not a Twins fan)--a couple notable semi-recent world titles aside. My comment was just the Sox fan in me smelling blood. I would now like it stricken from the record. As you were.

Today is Jacques Jones 31st Birthday. He's a solid, but unspectacular player (typical Cub). Although I admit to not watching any Cubs games this season, I will still criticize the fans for their mistreatment of a new player a mere couple of weeks into the season. At this point in a guys' stint with my team, I would only be booing if I saw a serious lack of effort. Lack of results at this point is meaningless. Now, it's possible that he's guilty of a lack of effort, in which case I could endorse the booing, otherwise, it's kinda stupid. As I recall Ryne Sandberg rarely entered May hitting above his weight.

Wait, I'm back on the record. I agree. "adpos", you've managed to crystallize my thoughts rather eloquently.

you're the second person to refer to my writing as eloquent this month. weird.

Wow, that was not a good idea for Double J to be quoted on that stuff. I have been in total agreement that Cubs fans always favored Sandberg over Dawson, Grace over Sosa, Wood and Prior over Zambrano. He didn't drop the R word so I won't either.

That said, the Twins' patience for Lew Ford, Doug Meintkiewicz, Michael Cuddyer, Brad Radke's 1st innings, and Corey Koskie's injuries doesn't make Twins fans any better than Cubs fans. Despite how frequently Double J came through in late inning situations for the Twins, Minnesota couldn't wait to see him go and give Michael Cuddyer his 4th fair shot at a starting role.

Wrigley should hang a few Monet paintings on the outfield wall and serve red wine in the dugout to make Pierre and Jacques feel more at home. The bleacher bums could sing "La Marseillaise" when the outfielders jog out. Referring to Murton as "Mathieu" probably wouldn't hurt, either.

(cliche alert) While it's way, way too early to tell if Jones will pan out or not I'm still not clear why Burnitz wasn't the clear option for one more year - they'll both strike out 100+ times but Burnitz offers maybe a bit more power? To date:

- Burnitz: .225 with 4 HR's & 12 RBI
- Jones: .209 with 3 HR's & 8 RBI

Pretty much the same so far but Burnitz would've come a lot cheaper than a 3-year, multi-million contract?

This makes sense. Not really following the Cubs, I didn't realize Jones was brought in in place of Burnitz. Yeah, I think I'd rather have Burnitz. Was Burnitz just let go?

I think so...I think they had Burnitz on a one-year contract & simply didn't approach him at season's end to extend? I think? One of these internet navigators can find out quicker'n I can ask around, I'm sure...

Burnitz had a $7 million option, but the Cubs didn't want to pick it up.

To paraphrase Malkmus, thanks fact checkin' cuz.

A few reasons why Jacque is a better option in RF over Burnitz.

Burnitz
Age: 36
2005 Range Factor/League Range Factor: 2.04/2.10 (below avg)
Postseason games: 0 (Burnitz is a straight up loser)

Jones
Age: 30
2005 Range Factor/League Range Factor: 2.25/2.12 (above avg)
Postseason games: 18

And Burnitz is a terrible fielder. If you haven't noticed yet, Jones is outstanding out there. He's also making $6 million this year too.

The Burnitz over Jones debate proved my point more than Sandberg v. Dawson.

I would've liked Burnitz, but I ultimately agreed with Hendry. Burnitz was contemplating retirement, and if he resigned Burnitz, he would've lasted a year, maybe two years, and you had to consider what right-fielders would be available...you look at who's available next year, who would be available next year, then think about what you want: someone for the short term, or do you want someone young, someone to build a team around for the next few years? Jones isn't great, but he may have been their best option given the market and who they could realistically get.

To be fair, I don't think Burnitz missed a single game and he put up good numbers, so getting him last year was a smart move.

The Trib did an article before 2005 on Burnitz and Dye - the angle was, here were these two guys trying to replace some really big names on the Cubs and White Sox respectively...they passed with flying colors. Ordonez would've given the Sox at best 80 games and Sosa was spent as a player (and an injury problem).

Hmmmm, now I'd rather have Jones. Good thing I'm a Sox fan.

Nickel and dime fans should go out there and find out what it's like to earn a living.

I didn't know we were allowed to go digging around the internet for ammunition - that said:

Career stats:

Burnitz's average season (13 seasons): .255 AVG 31 HRs 95 RBI .348 OBP (133 SOs)
Jones' average season (7 seasons): .279 AVG 22 HRs 79 RBI .327 OBP (122 SOs)

Pretty similar players to me, with Burnitz having a bit of a better eye in taking a few more walks to get that OBP up? And Burnitz still has a solid arm out in right plus above average pudgy WHITE BOY speed to patrol (let me put my conical white hood on, here).

And Burnitz wears his f*cking stirrups the right way...so there.

Yeah, I basically agree with this stirrup argument. Probably one of the better ones out there.

And i still think Jones is a bum. Granted, Burnitz wasn't much better, but he never got the shit that Jacque is getting. Honestly, I'm not totally sure of why because they are such similar players, but he really never got the same degree of shit. Maybe it's because Burnitz is white and not a French name?

MattW: "Wow, that was not a good idea for Double J to be quoted on that stuff. I have been in total agreement that Cubs fans always favored Sandberg over Dawson, Grace over Sosa, Wood and Prior over Zambrano. He didn't drop the R word so I won't either."

Sosa (until he was exposed by cork and the juice), Dawson, Williams and Banks were revered more than any Cubs players in history. Grace was a fan favorite, but didn't inspire passion like those guys. Sandberg never really was fully accepted by the fans while he was playing. He was respected as a good player, but he was deemed a carpet-bagger who high-tailed it to Scottsdale when the season was over, never to be heard from until the next season. The best thing he ever did was move here after his playing days. His rebranding as a Chicago guy has greatly enhanced his moneymaking opportunities. Todd Hundley was arguably booed more vociferously than any of them, and his old man's a legend in town. It is simply not about race. I will go further and guarantee that Prior and/or Wood will start hearing boos this season if they suck it up for a prolonged period after their returns. Cub fans don't have patience like they used to when the lovbale losers could count on a packed and adoring house on a daily basis. Yankee fans booed A-Rod--debatably the best player in the game--in his first year in the Bronx because the fans expected more. Why should Cub fans (or Sox fans for that matter) be any different? If your skin is thin, if you feel an adrenaline rush when you hear polite golf-clapping, maybe you should take less money and sign somewhere else.

We must be getting our ammunition from the same place... and Burnitz has dropped the high stirrup act now that he's on the Pirates...at least in the one game that I saw.

Yanno, the Cubs COULDA gone out and spent money on Johnny Damon. It's not like the fucking Trib is hurting for cash.

Post of the Day.

Look what he's done for the Yankees...not in terms of production but as a leader. The Cubs remain a collection of passive individuals players with no team identity.

I love that the baseball thread haters are swallowing their tongues right now.

"Accustomed to mediocrity?" Compared to a Cubs fan? Hell, they'd kill for mediocrity over the past, oh, 80 years or whatever its been.

I was referring more to the mediocrity of living in Minneapolis. Upon further reflection, I will retract the thought altogether because Minneapolis is a fine town and provincialism sucks. Fly high, Twin Cities.

Ahhhhh . . . gotcha. No worries.

Do we have evidence that Jones is getting any more harrassment than your typical Cubs player? Isn't there the possibility that he's simply just more sensitive, or willing to openly complain?

Or maybe there's too many assholes in the bleachers.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

I'd rank the bleachers in Wrigley as one of the worst places to watch a ballgame in the country - an awful, booze-fueled quasi-party peppered with shirtless mooks, dizzy whores and crosseyed Roller Bladers...

We never heard a peep out of him throughout his tenure in Minnesota. He's a solid clubhouse presence and was liked by the Minnesota press.

His problem is that Ron Gardenhire didn't and Dusty Baker doesn't know what to do with him. He's a great fastball hitter and has no ability to hit curveballs. I've seen 5 ABs of his this year and I haven't seen him get one fastball. It sounds crazy, but if he moved to 2nd or 3rd in the order with Juan Pierre getting on base more, he'd see more fastballs and return to his 2002 form hitting close to .300. His numbers dropped when the Twins got Shannon Stewart and moved him to 6th in the lineup where he could get more RBI opportunities. Those RBI opportunities translated to curveball opportunities. The only return to form we saw was in the 2004 playoffs when he hit well in the #2 hole.

damn, that's good.

Well said.
The view is gorgeous, but it just feels like another Wrigleyville bar out there.