Where are my manners?

Please allow myself to introduce... myself. You've probably been wondering exactly who this guy who has been prattling on about bullpens for the last two weeks is.

Like Tom, I'm a 29-year-old lawyer. Unlike Tom, I'm a Cubs fan. In fact, I'm the son of two Cubs fans, and grandson of 4 Cubs fans. I grew up in Iowa, and honestly, WGN probably played about as big a role in forming my Cubs allegiance as my parents did. I currently live in Chicago, and I'm holding out almost no hope that this is the Cubs' year. (Well, what do you expect, after they raise up a young boy's hopes... and then just crush 'em, like so many paper beer cups. Year after year after year....) Maybe if I lower my expectations I won't be so disconsolate when the team collapses like every Dusty Baker team ever, and my marriage will survive another baseball season.

Like most Cubs fans, I have no real problem with the White Sox. (That hatred seems to be a one-way street.) I do, however, cheer for the Minnesota Twins, which tends to enrage Sox fans. I was almost killed in a Wrigleyville bar after the Alou/Bartman/Gonzalez inning after a young lady told me that I was being "too negative" as the Marlins circled the bases, and I told her to "cram it". I pull for the Iowa Hawkeyes and especially, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, my two alma maters.

One of the main reasons for the existence of this blog is that I'm still not sure whether the "closer" position is worth it. I'm seriously conflicted. On the one hand, my Cubs once gave $6 million to Mel Rojas, because he'd managed to accumulate a decent amount of "saves" in Montreal's Stade Olympique in front of 700 fans. I've seen major league GMs assume that Antonio Alfonseca should be given the ball in pressure situations, and a massive salary, for no apparent reason other than the saves he accumulated in Florida in 2000. Can saves possibly be worth that much?

On the other hand, repeated ninth-inning meltdowns can destroy a baseball team like nothing else. Look at last year's Indians, or A's, or Cubs. Even noted closer-skeptic Billy Beane became a convert after watching Arthur Rhodes and Jim Mecir throw batting practice for two months.

Only 5 days left before Opening Day - and it's a great day for baseball here in Chicago.