Quiet Riot

So I'm listening to Sports Central on WGN radio after Saturday's Cubs game. You'd think I know better, because if there's anything I've learned in my 40+ years on this planet that one of the few places that you can find less insightful baseball analysis than internet message boards is sports radio.

So I shouldn't have been surprised to hear co-host Jim Memolo gush about what a great top-of-the-lineup hitter Ryan Theriot is. Because he's a grinder and "works the count" so excellently.

Here are Theriot's pitches per plate appearance for the last four years, courtesy of ESPN:

2005 -- 4.07
2006 -- 3.65
2007 -- 3.53
2008 (through Saturday) -- 2.96

If that's "working the count," The Riot has the cushiest job in Wrigley Field.

I'm sure that there are lots of Cub Fans who now accept as gospel truth that Theriot can "work the count" without a second thought. Because some guy on WGN radio said he could, and he must know what he's talking about because he's on the radio.

Gentle Readers, if there's one thing you take away from our little cow-town blog, it's this: don't ever accept anything anyone (even us) tells you at face value. Do your homework. Look up the numbers. And decide for yourself.

If there's something else I've learned during my 40+ years on this planet, it's that everybody is as full of crap as everyone else (even me (I won't speak for Jim here)). You know just as much as anyone on the radio, or in the newspapers, or with a cow-town blog. Or at least you do, if you're willing to put a little effort into it...