Given the events of the previous weekend, this weekend’s tussle at Turner Field seemed calm, and successful by comparison.  The Cubs were on the business end of another ejection (one that likely cost them a game) and a couple of testy confrontations.  But at least this time, the motives for the ejection weren’t theatrical and the arguments happened between combatants, not teammates.

So that’s progress, right?

In truth, since last Sunday’s pummeling of the Braves, the Cubs have looked very much like a real baseball team.  They played well in winning two of three from the Brewers and in the first two games of the Braves’ series.  Last night’s effort, though it fell short, was particularly inspired.  A team playing with a lousy bullpen and without two of its best offensive players (E-ramis and Cliff) should have had no chance when their starting pitcher got thrown out of a game two outs into it.

But the Cubs had a 4-2 lead going into the bottom of the eighth. That is should have been more than a two run lead is just a reprise of a year long lament.

Lou Piniella did the sensible thing and left Scott Eyre chained to the bullpen bench and brought in his closer, Ryan Dempster to pitch to the ass end of the Braves batting order and to try to get a six out save.

Dempster got half of that, and the Cubs got a 5-4 loss.  Their 13th one run loss in 16 of those such games.  In case you were wondering…that’s bad.

The real problem with last night’s game wasn’t Ryan Dempster falling off the mound (he actually did) or Michael Barrett whiffing on what looked like it was going to be a nice save of that wild pitch (what’s new with that dumbass, anyway?)

The problem was that after striking out the first two batters of the night, Ted Lilly got tossed for hitting Edgar Renteria in the chest with a pitch.

Apparently, because Alfonso Soriano hit three homers on Friday, it was OK for the Braves to hit him to start Saturday’s game.  Tim Hudson didn’t get ejected.  All that happened was both benches got warned.  Home plate umpire Jim Wolf decided before last night’s game that if the Cubs hit anybody Ted was going to get tossed.  How do we know this?  Because ESPN had a mic on the dumbass and  we heard him tell Lou Piniella just that.  Lou wasn’t all that thrilled with the news.

Did Ted hit Edgar on purpose?  Probably.  He and Lou seemed to be strangely sedate about him getting tossed.  Remember, Ted once punched out his manager, and Lou once beat up his own player.  These are not guys who are likely to stand, stunned when something like that happens.

Regardless, the whole thing was ridiculous.  When Joe Morgan finds himself on the right side of an issue, you know it’s obvious.  Joe felt the Cubs were getting screwed by losing their pitcher in the first inning.  Joe was right.  Ugh.  I’m not even comfortable typing that.

To make matters worse, Renteria then stole second base and socked Mike Fontenot in the schnoz on his slide.  It was clearly on purpose and Edgar should have been tossed for it.  Also, the replays all clearly showed that he was out.  He didn’t get thrown out, or called out.  He did have to leave the game early though has his left hand was bruised.  It may have happened when he hit Fontenot, it may have happened when he got hit with the pitch, or he may have pussed out for fear that Carlos Marmol was going to end his relief stint by sticking one in Edgar’s ear.

While Sunday’s night result was disappointing, the Cubs’ play of late hasn’t been.  They  actually have looked like a real baseball team for a week.  That’s not very long, but it’s exactly one week longer than they were able to pretend last year, so that’s something.

The turnaround could be attributed to the Zambrano-Barrett fight, Lou’s dirt-kicking tantrum or the recall of Felix Pie.  I prefer to think that Pie’s return has been the catalyst behind this.  He’s a bona fide centerfielder defensively, he’s fit in very well in the second spot in the order, and Soriano just seems happier having his around.

What his presence has done is to turn  right field into a crowded mess.  It’s pretty apparent to Jock Jones that he has no spot in that outfield anymore.  Cliff Floyd figures to get most of the starts, and if he needs a day off, you figure Matt Murton will get those at bats.

The situation prompted Jock to demand a meeting with Lou and Jim Hendry.  At that meeting, Jock apparently issued the age old ultimatum.  “Play me, or trade me.”  If he had given a third option of “or hit me in the head with a shovel” you’d have heard the “ding” four counties away.

Jock asked to be traded or released.  In order to trade him, the Cubs would need to find a team who actually wants him.  That might be trouble unless somebody wants to trade the Cubs Eric Karros and Mark Grudzielanek again.

So it may very well come to pass that the Cubs will have to eat their investment in Jock with a year and a half left on it. Baseball teams are a funny bunch.  They would normally rather live with a mistake than admit it.  While the NBA has no such stigma (they release guys and buy them out for huge money in time for them to go to the playoffs with a different team–think Tim Thomas and Jalen Rose), baseball teams hang onto bad contracts like they’re planning a trip to the Antiques Roadshow.

It’s pretty clear that when Lou’s post-Zambrano fight tirade ended with him demanding that somebody get him players “who can catch the ball and run the bases” that he was singling out Jock and his Asshole Catcher.

One way or the other, Jock will soon be history.  Maybe the Mets will take him as their idea of propping up the rotting corpses of Moises Alou and Shawn Green in their outfield corners has ended predictably.  Both are hurt, oozing formaldehyde and doing little other than killing the grass in the outfield.  Maybe when the Cincinnati Reds finally find a taker for their Rob Deer impersonator of a left fielder they’ll see Jock as a relatively inexpensive and short-term solution?

More likely, the Cubs will just have to waive him.  Admit a mistake.  It’s something that the Dodgers will be facing in a year or two with Juan Pierre, too.

As for Asshole Catcher?  Let’s  just say that if they could move him, he’d be moved.  He homered twice in Atlanta which is promising, and almost made up for not only rounding third too far and embarrassingly getting picked off–again.  Or his pathetic attempt at knocking down the wild pitch that lost the game last night.

He’s just not a good catcher.  He’s dumb, his fundamentals are lousy and he’s just awful at anything that resembles being a catcher.  But you already know that.  I just wish he didn’t remind all of us so often.