I Am a Neifi on the Wind – Watch Me Soar!

It’s Christmas in August for Cub Fans. We ditch Neifi, get a warm body in return, and con the Tigers into paying his contract next year. Everybody wins! Well, except the Tigers, because they’re stuck with Neifi. Chumps.

Anyway, the Tribune’s Mark Gonzalez was quick to stick his microphone in Neifi’s face to get the inside scoop on what was ailing the Cubs this year:

“When you go with three rookies [in the rotation], it’s tough,” Perez said in the Tigers’ clubhouse after arriving Monday from Chicago. “Like the other day (Aug. 15) we were facing Roger Clemens with [Juan] Mateo from Double A. [Mateo] pitched great that day. I don’t take anything away from him, but the respect wasn’t the same.

“Only one out of five starters, [Carlos] Zambrano, was healthy the whole year. They traded Maddux and a lot of good players in the organization. They have good guys, a good manager and a good general manager. But the thing was wrong this year.”

As the GROTA guys point out, Perez had ample opportunity to pick a game where those overmatched rookies got lit up. Instead, he picks the game where the kid comes through. Oy…

Oh, and if Perez’ take sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve heard it before. From Dusty Baker.

When Dusty said it, the pundits beat him up for making excuses. When Neifi said it, Gonzalez accepted it as gospel, nodding in agreement to the sage’s wisdom. Go figure.