Waaaaahmbulance: Cubs Whining About Astros' Lineup

Baseball's most self-pitying franchise is at it again. The Chicago Cubs are pissed at the Astros for the players that the Astros sent out to play against the Brewers this week. The Cubs and Brewers are locked in a struggle for the NL Central title, with the Brewers currently on top; baseball courtesy dictates that the Astros field their best team against the Brewers, so as not to hand them "cheap" wins. It's a supposed violation of this gentleman's agreement that has some Cubs fans crying into their Old Style.

At issue is the starting pitcher that the 'stros sent out against the Brewers, as well as the decision to sit stud rookie Hunter Pence last night. Instead of the regularly scheduled Roy Oswalt and Woody Williams, interim manager Cecil Cooper sent rookies Felipe Paulino and Juan Gutierrez to the mound. There are some pretty solid reasons why Cooper made this decision, as described by the Chronicle's Brian McTaggart:

On Tuesday, the Astros were supposed to start Roy Oswalt, but started rookie Felipe Paulino instead. Oswalt was back in Mississippi for his child's birth, so starting Paulino shouldn't raise any red flags. And it's not like Paulino is a hack. The kid throws 98 mph and could be terrific. He certainly wasn't on Tuesday, though.

On Wednesday, the Astros are going to start Juan Gutierrez instead of Woody Williams, who was moved to the bullpen. The Astros put Williams in the bullpen because they want to get a look at a young pitcher, and they should. Besides, Williams has 15 losses this year and isn't exactly a sure bet to go out and shut down the Brewers.

So there you go. But for some Cubbies fans, that argument doesn't hold water. There are even suggestions that Cooper, a former member of the Brewers organization himself, is trying to aid his old team. Which makes about as much sense as the Jason Jennings trade.

Cooper and team president Tal Smith offered an explanation to both Chicago GM Jim Hendry and MLB commish Bud Selig. The Cubs organization was supposedly mollified, but their fans are another story. Naturally, if the Cubs miss the playoffs (again) this year, it'll be Cecil Cooper's fault, not the shaky pitching of "ace" Carlos Zambrano (whose free agent stock couldn't be plummeting more if he was fighting pitbulls) or the offensive outages that have failed to provide run support when the pitching was good. Cry us a river, Chicago.