Cubs manager Lou Piniella retired yesterday. He had already announced that this would be his last season, but yesterday he hung them up unexpectedly early. Haters (i.e., Cardinals and White Sox fans) will say that it's just because he couldn't take any more losing, but in reality, it's because his 90-year old mom is very ill. You've gotta admire Sweet Lou for choosing family over the game he loves and has been involved in for almost 50 years. Even though Lou didn't get to go out the way he wanted, I thought it was classy that he shared the spotlight with Bobby Cox on his last visit to Wrigley. Fans gave him a standing ovation on several occasions and chanted his name, so shame on those sportswriters who accused Lou of phoning it in the past two seasons. Pitcher Sean Marshall said it best, "You hate to see a grown man kind of tear up. It just shows his heart and his drive for baseball and his love for his family." No one should ever doubt Piniella's effort or determination even if the results didn't always turn out the way the fans wanted.
On a personal note, Sweet Lou is my favorite Cubs manager of all-time and I will miss him dearly. He tells it like it is in an entertaining way. He was firm but fair to his players. And no one can argue with an umpire quite like Lou. :) Read it and weep: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100822&content_id=13777148&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc
Good luck to interim manager Mike Quade; he will need it. Lou Piniella is a tough act to follow.
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