For the first nine and a half years of his professional career, infielder Ryan Theriot only knew one organization — the Chicago Cubs, who drafted him in the third round in 2001. Despite his small stature and lack of power, he played himself into a starting role for three straight years until being traded at the deadline this past year.
Theriot went along with Ted Lilly to the Dodgers in late July and played full-time for them, but he was dealt again in the off-season. The Dodgers traded Theriot to the St. Louis Cardinals — the Cubs’ greatest rival — late in November. He wasted little time trashing his former team, saying he was finally on the right side of the rivalry.
The comments circulated around Chicago and upset his former team and teammates. During the Cub Convention Saturday, it was evident that Theriot had become a target. Catcher Koyie Hill was asked if the pitchers would be throwing at Theriot when they faced each other, and Hill answered with a politically correct response:
“There’s probably a decent chance he’s going to feel how hard the dirt is around the home-plate batters’ box,” Hill said. “At least once, maybe once an at-bat. I don’t know how long it’s going to take. I want to get an apology out of him, and until the whole team, the whole organization kind of feels satisfied …”
The Cubs may get retribution in the form of hit batsmen, but things could end up like this, and that wouldn’t solve much. Bottom line, there’s only one way to get back at Theriot and the Cardinals — by winning. That sure would solve a lot in the North Side if they could get it done.
