Ozzie tries to save baseball from itself

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The Bald Truth

Just when I didn't think Ozzie Guillen could be any wackier, the White Sox skipper pulled off a stunt I never had seen before: 

He complained about a strike called by the umpire ... with his own pitcher on the mound.

Just minutes after Jermaine Dye was ejected for arguing a bases-loaded Strike 3 call Wednesday, Guillen could be seen jawing with ump Mike DiMuro. Reading Ozzie's lips, I thought I saw him complaining that Mark Buehrle's pitch to Cleveland's Jhonny Peralta was low - and Ozzie later confirmed it.

"I asked Peralta if that pitch was low and in, and he said yes," Guillen told reporters after his team's 4-0 loss. "They thought I was crazy because I wasn't protecting J.D., I was protecting the opposition. I was gonna send the message that ... I was here to protect baseball."

Actually, I think "crazy" just about covers it, Ozzie.

As usual.

The Balder Truth

Yahoo Sports is reporting that USC hoops coach Tim Floyd paid off the guy who delivered O.J. Mayo to the school.

If true, failing to adequately cover up these shenanigans will be Floyd's stupidest move since he had Kornel "The Hungarian Jordan" David playing at crunch time of Bulls games.

THE BALDEST TRUTH

Here in Chicago, we've have the Unholy Trinity: A corrupt governor's office, a corrupt mayor's office and a corrupt county government. While everybody likes to talk about Blago and Hizzoner Daley The Younger, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger might be the unfairest of 'em all.

After running for election on a reform platform - don't they all? - Stroger has proceeded to spend like a drunk Illinois politician. Expanding the county government to immense proportions - think a Bartolo Colon-Roseanne Barr love child - he has spent and spent and spent and spent.

He spent so much that he realized the only way he could pay for all the spending was by raising the county's portion of the sales tax, giving Chicago the highest such tariff in the nation: a laughable-if-it-wasn't-so-sad 10.25 percent. 

With elections approaching, several county board commissioners regretted what they did and tried to repeal the tax, but Stroger vetoed the repeal. 

Mr. Reformer isn't in the reforming mood.

But that's not the best part. This is: Stronger owes the United States nearly $12,000 in unpaid income taxes.

So, even as he demands that poor people (and others) fund his bloated government with a regressive tax that ranks No. 1 in the nation, he opts to ignore his own taxes until the feds catch him.

Beautiful.

Talk about high aspirations: Stroger must be angling for a spot in President Obama's cabinet.

This is what we Chicagoans face every day, folks. Two consecutive crooked governors (both "reformers," don't you know), a mayor who values taking care of his cronies above all else and Todd "Tax Me? Tax You!" Stroger.

Of course, nobody is holding a gun to our heads to stay here, right? And the majority of our citizens keep re-electing these clowns. 

Fool us once, shame on you. Fool us a gajillion times ... and we'll line up for a gajillion more opportunities to prove what fools we are.

How humiliating.

If getting '16 Olympics means fixing potholes, bring on The Games!

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The Bald Truth

I was having a great day Tuesday: Got my taxes paid, had a fantastic workout at the gym, saw an entertaining finish to the White Sox opener on TV (with all-time good guy Jim Thome hitting the winning 3-run homer) and enjoyed dinner with my good Marquette buddy John Lamich.

Then, driving home after dinner, I hit one of Chicago's 8,449,066 potholes. Flat bleeping tire! 

By all means, Mayor Daley, show those Olympic honchos how wonderful you're taking care of "The City That Works."

Arrrrgh!

The Balder Truth

First Comcast Sports Net complaint of the young baseball season: 

They were able to show the mph on the 80-something slop Mark Buehrle was slinging, but when Kyle Farnsworth was throwing heat later on ... nothing.

I wanted to see the speed of Farnsie's strikeout pitch to Carlos Quentin - as well as the speed of the Farnsie fastball that Thome launched into orbit.

Good Point

While everybody was gushing over Thome's homer - and justifiably so - Ozzie Guillen went out of his way to praise an excellent defensive play by new third baseman Josh Fields and a pretty piece of hit-and-run hitting by new second baseman Chris Getz.

THE BALDEST TRUTH

Back in spring training 2005, Nomar Garciaparra, ready to start his first full season with the Cubs, batted something like .900 with a jillion home runs. (Not quite, but you get the drift.)

Many prognosticators - though not this one, thankfully - were picking the Cubbie Savior for NL MVP and his team for the pennant.

The No. 5 jersey was all the rage at Wrigley, and Cubbie Love was at a fever pitch.

Unfortunately for Nomar and his believers, the season started.

Garciaparra wasn't just bad, he was brutal. And a few weeks in, after batting .157 with only one extra-base hit, he tore his groin to smithereens. He was done. So were the Cubs.

Flash forward to 2009. New Cubbie Savior Milton Bradley had a monster spring training. Yes, he was The Answer to the believers' prayers.

Then the season started.

Through two games, he's 0-for-7 and hasn't gotten the ball out of the infield. He has hit four grounders, including one for a DP, popped out twice, struck out once, walked and botched a flyball in right.

One big difference between 2009 and 2005 is that Bradley has a lot better players around him than Garciaparra did. Another big difference is that the division is not as strong.

So please, I'm not predicting that Bradley will bat .157, get hurt and take the Cubs down with him.

I really do expect him to hit. Then again, I expected Nomar to hit, too.