Everybody has a bad day. Patrick Roy once let in over six goals in a game. Greg Maddux has gotten blasted on several occasions. Michael Jordan has missed multiple buzzer-beating shots. Heck, even Jesus once chased moneychangers away from the temple with a whip.
The fact of the matter, however, is that the great overcome their adversity to succeed. The Cubs' Kyle Farnsworth proved last Friday that he is not great.
I don't expect Kyle Farnsworth to be the savior of the world, the best athlete in the history of sports, or even one of baseball's all-time bests. But I did expect more from him. The month of August has not been kind to Kyle, as he rebounded from his 1.93 ERA for the month of July with an impressive 19.29 ERA this month.
The Cubs, who are trying desperately to hold onto the National League wildcard, needed Farnsworth to fight through his slump for the good of the team. Instead, after Kyle gave up six runs on six hits Friday, he left the game by throwing his glove in the stands, overturning a large Gatorade jug, and then kicking a metal fan in the clubhouse. The fan got the better of Farnsworth, leaving him with a severe contusion and sprain of his right knee. Metal Fan 1, Farnsworth 0.
"I talked to him about it," Cubs Manager Dusty Baker said. "Everybody's done something similar at some time in their career. It's a valuable lesson, an expensive lesson."
A lesson I'm convinced Kyle Farnsworth will take to heart: that he needs to keep his emotions in check for the good of his team. Like he did last season, when he body-slammed Reds pitcher Paul Wilson after Wilson charged the mound, netting Kyle a three-game suspension.
Or like he did several seasons ago, when Cubs players had to restrain Farnsworth from attacking a fan (this time the loud-mouthed kind, not the metal kind) who was throwing peanuts and being verbally abusive ("Farnsworth wanted to kill the guy," then teammate Courtney Duncan said.) Obviously, Farnsworth has learned his lesson; after all, it's not like history tends to repeats itself or anything.
The Cubs had to have seen this coming. Dusty Baker said the problem with Farnsworth was all mental. Ten days before his outburst, Baker said they were giving Farnsworth some time to get his head together. I don't even know if there is enough time in the world for that to happen. Frankly, I think the chances are better that Steven Seagal's first album, Songs from the Crystal Cave, released in France (figures) in May, reaches platinum level before Farnsworth can get his head together.
Baker went on to say that "We need Farnsy. We need the Farnsy that we know." And that's just what they got. They got the Farnsy that people in Chicago have come to know. The Farnsy that hangs out in bars until the wee hours of the morning, even on days he pitches. They got the Farnsy that, according to WGN Radio, still parties like a frat boy. Threatening fans, both of the verbally abusive and metal variety, should come as no surprise.
While watching the Olympics, I had to review the tape of the men's marathon several times just to confirm that it was, in fact, not Kyle Farnsworth attacking the Brazilian leader while wearing some ridiculous costume. It did seem odd to see that this attacker arrived in Athens only two days after Farnsworth went on the DL, and then did something incredibly asinine in front of millions of viewers. I finally cleared Kyle as a suspect when it was discovered that the attacker was actually a leprechaun.
While Farnsworth's antics and appreciation for adult beverages are not new to Cubs fans, things could be worse. He has never murdered his limo driver or attempted to kiss a female reporter on live TV. There are no tapes of him stumbling around begging cops to let him off the hook after picking up a DUI, a la a certain University of Cincinnati college basketball coach. That being said, Farnsworth's actions are still inexcusable and selfish.
"We wish he had handled the frustration differently because it affects not just yourself, but everybody else," Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said.
That is my biggest problem with this situation. The Cubs are entering the toughest part of the season, and they needed Kyle to help their playoff push. Now he has to spend a critical three week stretch on the DL, during the time where his teammates need him the most.
This seems similar to a story in the news not too long ago. A player doing something incredibly childish and selfish, and in the process he screws over his teammates at about the worst time possible. This player also had problems with drugs, although he enjoyed the illegal kind, and his problems with it were more notable.
Ricky Williams is now, according to the Miami Herald, living out of a tent in Australia. Part of me thought Ricky's decision would come back to bite him in the rear, and it appears I was partially right. Ricky was recently bitten by something he described as a caterpillar and the swelling kept him off of his feet for a few days.
While Ricky's actions were much more childish (it is clear now, regardless of what Williams' mouthpiece, Dan Le Batard, tries to say, that Ricky quit this year to avoid his inevitable suspension for failing a drug test), there are a lot of similarities between the two situations.
Maybe Farnsworth should look into the Ricky Williams sabbatical package. A year away from work, time for Kyle to "get his head together," and boozing without having to worry about reading about it in the papers might do some good for him. Perhaps Williams could use a roommate in the Outback; it could almost be the 21st century version of the Odd Couple. I just hope Ricky doesn't own any fans.
Mark Chalifoux is also a weekly columnist for SportsFan Magazine. His columns appear every Tuesday on Sports Central. You can e-mail Mark at [email protected].
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