Cubs Players Split On Night Games

When Cubs chairman Crane Kenney said last week that he'd like the Cubs to play about 50 night games this season, it started a debate throughout Chicago that the city and its fans have gone through a couple of times already. While some people are of the opinion that day baseball is part of what makes the Cubs and Wrigley Field so wonderful, there are also just as many people who think the preponderance of day games has helped contribute to the extreme lack of World Series trophies the Cubs currently possess.

Well, while the opinions of fans are nice, it's the opinions of the players that we should probably be listening to before making any such decision. Unfortunately, they seem to be just as divided on the subject as everybody else.

On one side of the Cubs clubhouse there's Aramis Ramirez who spends most of his time standing at third base being slow baked by the hot Chicago sun. So it's not too surprising to hear he's in favor of more night games.

"We play so many day games, especially in the summer when every day it's hot," Ramirez said. "It takes a toll on everyday players, so I'd be in favor of increasing them to 50. They're still going to have 31 day games, so it's not like it'd be 81 night games."

Then there's Ryan Dempster who thinks playing so many day games is part of the draw of being a Chicago Cub, and he wouldn't want to change anything.

"The tradition is cool, something unique to Wrigley Field," he said. "I think if you start going more than [30], you kind of take away from what we have here. If we get up in the 50s or 60, then you're just a normal team.

"Whether it has a direct effect on us, I don't know. I mean, we were almost 30 games over .500 at home."

Personally, I have no real preference. If I lean any way it's that the Cubs keep playing games during the day, but my opinion is purely selfish. It's just that having the Cubs play day games gives me something to watch during the afternoon while I sit around and wait for the White Sox to play, and it also allows me to follow both teams.

What I can't stand, however, are the residents of Wrigleyville who do everything in their power to keep the Cubs from playing at night. If the Cubs are going to play 50 games at night like they want to, that means they're going to have to have some night games on Fridays and Saturdays, which you can be sure will draw resistance from the people who live near the park.

For some reason these people seem to forget that their neighborhood, which is an area where you can't walk ten feet without stumbling onto the property of another bar, is completely packed on Friday and Saturday nights anyway. As if having a Cubs game on the same night is going to change anything. These same people then complain about the noise and the mess that's left behind after a Cubs game, because apparently when they moved into their homes/condos/apartments they didn't notice Wrigley Field sitting right there and somehow they weren't aware of what they were getting themselves into.

Considering that the Cubs are the driving force behind the money being made by business owners in the area, and the rising property values of the land around the park, you'd think these people would be smart enough not to bite the hand that feeds. If the Cubs want to play more night games, then they should be able to play more night games.

That's all there is to it. At least, that's all there should be to it.