Chicago Cubs Baseball

“We decapitate and do business with whatever’s left.” - Phil Leotardo, The Sopranos.

Tonight fans of the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs and an ESPN national audience were given a rare glimpse into the mind of God, or as Major League Baseball likes to refer to Him, head umpire Jim Wolf.

For those of you prepping for the Sopranos final showdown with New York, you missed another kind of bad blood brewing in Atlanta’s Turner Field. In brief, Chicago’s Ted Lilly was ejected for going high, tight and hitting the Braves’ Edgar Renteria in the first inning.

Wolf promptly ejected Lilly while benches from both teams spilled onto the field. The ejection took everyone by surprise, including ESPN analyst Joe Morgan.

“I didn’t think kicking him (Lilly) out of the ballgame was fair,” Morgan said. “The umpire overstepped himself.”

Evidently, or as best as we mere mortals can guess, Wolf’s ejection of Lilly was an extension of Saturday’s plunking of Cub outfielder Alfonso Soriano by Atlanta’s Tim Hudson. Soriano had hit three homers off of Braves pitching the night before.

Oddly, Hudson’s high and tight only drew a warning from the umpire crew - to both teams. Sunday night, Wolf evidently thought it best to practice his brand of divine intervention - or as I prefer to call it, “getting jobbed.”

Wolf’s decision came with no prior warning to either team, according to ESPN’s Peter Gammons.

What possessed Wolf to toss Lilly after 10 pitches? According to Wolf himself, he “knew” Lilly was intentionally throwing at Renteria.

The proof of Wolf’s prior knowledge of intent came courtesy of ESPN who mic’ed the head ump before the game. Here’s a brief exchange between a surprised Lilly and Wolf.

Wolf: You threw at him.

Lilly: No, I didn’t.

Wolf: Yes you did. I know you did.

Or, when Chicago manager Lou Piniella questioned Wolf of his decision, the umpire stood firm in his conviction - literally. “He threw at him. I know he did. I knew it was coming,” Wolf responded.

As bizarre as Wolf’s decision was, in the same inning Renteria slid hard into second, left arm raised and clearly clipping recent Cub call-up Mike Fontenot between the eyes. As one might expect, the second base umpire was mute.

Perhaps the worst part of it all, the Cubs still had a chance to win despite using their bullpen for 7 2/3 innings. Leading 4-2 in the bottom of the eighth, Cub closer Ryan Dempster blew another one, allowing three Braves runs. Chicago is now 3-13 in one-run games.

For now, the bad blood between the Cubs and Atlanta will have to simmer till next year unless by some act of God - or Jim Wolf - both teams meet in the playoffs.

My personal hope is I never end up with Wolf on jury duty. I prefer to see the evidence first.