As you may or may not know by now, the Cubs have signed former Angel/Cardinal/Padre, Jim Edmonds, to a one year deal. Seeing as how Edmonds was one of the most hated players by the Cubs’ fan base when he was with St. Louis, it’s amazing to see how much this has divided the current crop of Cub fans. Over at the Cubs’ Official message board, there are “fans” who are calling other fans traitors simply because they have said they will root for him on the Cubs. (Funny how these same “fans” have no problem rooting for Derrek Lee, a key contributor to keeping the team out of the World Series in 2003.)
Here’s my take on the whole situation. As a fan, you root for the name on the front of the jersey, not on the back. Besides, it’s only costing the Cubs a pro-rated league minimum salary. If he doesn’t work out, it costs them virtually nothing. Look at it this way, the Cardinals, the team looking up at the Cubs, are paying Jim Edmonds $2 million to play for us. Personally, I find that rather amusing.
Don’t get me wrong, I hated Edmonds as much as anyone, mainly for the fact that he was a Cub killer. But there are a lot of examples of players with a chip on their shoulders playing lights out for a season. If Edmonds can help the Cubs get to the World Series, I guarantee he will be treated just as much as a hero as everyone else on that team.
It will be interesting to see how the Cubs themselves respond to Edmonds. I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure he has had some disparaging remarks about the Cubs in the past. I know he has felt that Zambrano has plunked him on purpose on more than one occasion. (And frankly, he’s probably right.) We could very well see a Michael Barret-esque confrontation in the dugout if Zambrano feels that Edmonds didn’t go all out on the field. If nothing else, the remainder of the season is going to be entertaining.
