How to Even The Score

Yes, Alfonso Soriano was showboating on a meaningless home run (the Cubs already had a, for them, sizable lead). Yes, throwing at Derrek Lee was stupid on the part of Chris Young and the Padres. If you are PO'ed at one guy at throw at another makes as much sense as Padre fans at Wrigley hoping to see Carlos Zambrano complete the no-hitter yesterday.

But, the reason that the Padres threw at Lee was simple: They thought they could get away with it. The reputation of this team is that they are soft, lazy, and stupid. The Padres tried to goad them and it worked.

Now, the question is: How do the Cubs respond? The answer is simple, but very untastefull.

Clearly, the Cubs need to hit one of the Padres. The question is who? Chris Young won't be playing, so he's out. Marcus Giles? Nah. Khalil Greene? Perhaps.

Really, there is one guy the Cubs can throw at today and, by doing so, say that we aren't taking crap from anyone. Who is that guy?

Greg Maddux.

Now, this page is not endorsing such a move. Greg Maddux is one of the top 5 favorite Cubs of all time. He's also one of the classiest players in the game.

It's because of all this that plunking Maddux would make sense. It would be the right gy to go after and send a message to the rest of the league that the 2007 Cubs won't take crap from anyone, regardless who you are.

Does this team have the gut to do this? We'll see in about 30 minutes.