RBi
05-17-2006, 03:13 AM
I do not care how many times a guy makes a mistake, this should never happen, I hope the fan is a longtime season ticket holder and she gets banned from Wrigley... for life.
Keep in mind all this happened while the Cubs were ahead, 4-0. UNREAL.
CHICAGO -- A female fan sitting in the bleachers threw a ball that nearly hit Chicago Cubs right fielder Jacque Jones in the head at the start of the ninth inning Tuesday night.
A Cubs spokeswoman said the woman was inebriated and detained by security. Jones was not hurt, but he was shaken up.
"I threw a ball to Juan [Pierre during warmups], and turned around to go back to my position and a ball came whizzing past my head," Jones said. "They said whoever threw it was drunk. It went right past my face."
Jones has not gotten a warm reception from the Cubs fans since joining the team this year. He signed a three-year, $16 million contract in December, and is batting .264 after Tuesday's 4-0 win over the Washington Nationals. He didn't endear himself to the fans when he singled with none out in the fourth and was doubled off at second base. What happened?
"[I should've just froze] at least, and then I saw the ball turn in and it looked like it was going to fall," Jones said of the play. "I should've just stayed at second base. No excuses."
But there's no excuse for a fan throwing anything at a player, especially at his head. Jones called second base umpire Ed Montague out to let him know what happened. Was he scared?
"Yeah," Jones said, "but I'm not going to let one person ruin my time here. I signed here for three years, and I signed here to help the team win. I probably haven't played my best baseball and I understand that, and you can voice your opinions. But throwing stuff at me is not acceptable in any way, shape or form.
"I'm not going to let one incident ruin what I came here to do, what I came here to help do. I'm not going to leave here until I help this team win."
The win was the Cubs' second in their last 14 games, and the fans have not been shy in voicing their displeasure at the team's performance.
"What you don't want to have happen is guys in right field throwing balls at people," Cubs second baseman Todd Walker said. "In this city, we have great fans and knowledgeable fans, and they understand we have a long way to go. You can't jump off the bandwagon just yet."
Walker said the troublemakers are few, not the majority. He also admitted he'd be nervous if someone threw something at him unexpectedly.
"I would [be afraid] if a ball came whizzing by my head," Walker said. "They've done a good job in this ballpark [with security]. You can't put the entire fan base of the Cubs around one idiot out there who does something like that. But what you can see start to happen when you lose is more people booing plays, and the reality is it's not plays that should be booed. Let's understand the game a little more and back this team. I think we have a great chance to do some things."
Does Jones regret signing with the Cubs?
......
Read the rest of the story here (http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060516&content_id=1457262&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc).
Keep in mind all this happened while the Cubs were ahead, 4-0. UNREAL.
CHICAGO -- A female fan sitting in the bleachers threw a ball that nearly hit Chicago Cubs right fielder Jacque Jones in the head at the start of the ninth inning Tuesday night.
A Cubs spokeswoman said the woman was inebriated and detained by security. Jones was not hurt, but he was shaken up.
"I threw a ball to Juan [Pierre during warmups], and turned around to go back to my position and a ball came whizzing past my head," Jones said. "They said whoever threw it was drunk. It went right past my face."
Jones has not gotten a warm reception from the Cubs fans since joining the team this year. He signed a three-year, $16 million contract in December, and is batting .264 after Tuesday's 4-0 win over the Washington Nationals. He didn't endear himself to the fans when he singled with none out in the fourth and was doubled off at second base. What happened?
"[I should've just froze] at least, and then I saw the ball turn in and it looked like it was going to fall," Jones said of the play. "I should've just stayed at second base. No excuses."
But there's no excuse for a fan throwing anything at a player, especially at his head. Jones called second base umpire Ed Montague out to let him know what happened. Was he scared?
"Yeah," Jones said, "but I'm not going to let one person ruin my time here. I signed here for three years, and I signed here to help the team win. I probably haven't played my best baseball and I understand that, and you can voice your opinions. But throwing stuff at me is not acceptable in any way, shape or form.
"I'm not going to let one incident ruin what I came here to do, what I came here to help do. I'm not going to leave here until I help this team win."
The win was the Cubs' second in their last 14 games, and the fans have not been shy in voicing their displeasure at the team's performance.
"What you don't want to have happen is guys in right field throwing balls at people," Cubs second baseman Todd Walker said. "In this city, we have great fans and knowledgeable fans, and they understand we have a long way to go. You can't jump off the bandwagon just yet."
Walker said the troublemakers are few, not the majority. He also admitted he'd be nervous if someone threw something at him unexpectedly.
"I would [be afraid] if a ball came whizzing by my head," Walker said. "They've done a good job in this ballpark [with security]. You can't put the entire fan base of the Cubs around one idiot out there who does something like that. But what you can see start to happen when you lose is more people booing plays, and the reality is it's not plays that should be booed. Let's understand the game a little more and back this team. I think we have a great chance to do some things."
Does Jones regret signing with the Cubs?
......
Read the rest of the story here (http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060516&content_id=1457262&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc).