Things Change

With the calendar flipped to the proverbial second half of the baseball season, it's been amusing to see how things have changed in the last few months:

** Cub Fans who were ready to run Michael Barrett out of town on a rail for his poor defense and puzzling base running choices now want to run Koyie Hill and Rob Bowen out of town for their Girardi-like lack of hitting. How could Hendry be so foolish as to trade Barrett? they cry.

** Cub Fans (and members of the baseball punditocracy) who were desperate for Felix Pie to take over in center field. It doesn't matter what he hits, they claimed. He's better than anyone else they've got.

Apparently not. After posting a .216 BA and .617 OPS, Felix is once again enjoying the sights and sounds of Des Moines. And those Friends of Felix? Now they're comparing Pie to Corey Patterson -- and blaming the Cubs for rushing the poor fellow.

Reports of irony's death seem to have been exaggerated...

** It's not just Cub Fans changing their tunes. Here's a nugget of joy from White Sox stalwart Paul Konerko:

Less than two years after winning a World Series title, the White Sox aren't even considered among the top four teams in Chicago included in an ESPN poll.

The Sox were omitted from an ESPN SportsNation poll that asked: "Which sports team do you most associate with Chicago?"

Listed were the Bears, Blackhawks, Bulls and the rival Cubs.

First baseman Paul Konerko took exception to the Sox's omission during an
interview Friday on ESPN News.

Can it really only have been two years ago Paul and his teammates proclaimed their total disinterest in what the vile media was saying about them? Things change, indeed...

By the way, who would Konerko cast his ballot for?

When asked which team he would vote for, Konerko answered "Bears."

Well, maybe not everything changes...

** ...like the latest missive from Big Mouth. Read it if you can stomach it. Here's a recap if you don't have the time or inclination:

Shorter Big Mouth: Cub Fans are stupid.

What with all the changes this month, it's good to see that we still count on something...