Gee, Moises - Thanks

ShysterBall pretty much already stated my thoughts on this story, but when I read earlier today that Moises Alou said he wouldn’t have caught the infamous foul ball that Steve Bartman presumably kept from his glove in Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS, I imagined Bartman hearing the news on the TV or radio (if he even gets reception wherever he’s apparently exiled himself), and then screaming, “Oh, sure! Now you say something!  Thanks, a-hole!”

Nothing like letting a guy twist in the wind, eh?  I’ll give Alou a pass for not saying something right after the game or even throughout the winter following the Chicago Cubs’ loss to the Florida Marlins.  Surely, he was ticked off about what happened, and I’d imagine an athlete always thinks he or she could’ve made the play.  Approximately a year later, Alou said he didn’t blame the fan, but that’s a long way from “I wouldn’t have caught the ball.”  How about admitting that then?  Or at any other time over the last four - going on five - years since that fateful night?  How about Alou acknowledging that it was his petulant, childish hissy fit - jumping up and down, throwing his glove to the ground - and post-game comments (”Hopefully, he won’t have to regret it for the rest of his life”) that fueled so much outrage over the play and toward Bartman?

After the incident occurred, and in the hours and days that followed, I wondered what I would’ve done had I been in that situation.  Would I have had the presence of mind, the awareness to get out of the way and let “my guy” make the catch and get a crucial late-inning out in a hugely important playoff game?  I’d certainly like to think so.  But maybe my desire to get the foul ball I’ve never caught at a baseball game would’ve overtaken me and compelled me to go for it.  What I do know is this: I’m glad that wasn’t me.

ESPN.com’s Rob Neyer has a different take on the admission, thinking that Alou might be having a little bit of fun with all of this.  Sure, that’s possible.  But what exactly would the point of that be?  Is he lying (Neyer’s word, not mine) because he now feels bad about how Bartman was treated?  Would he be lying because he’s sick of fans taunting him by yelling “Bartman!” at him?  That just makes him a jerk and a liar.