Knew it was coming

I've got to admit - Ryan Theriot had a good game yesterday which helped put the Cubs into first place. He went 4-5 with two doubles, two singles, a walk and scored three runs. So naturally, sportswriters are jumping on the Ryan Theriot bandwagon. Rick Telander of the Chicago Sun-Times was the first.

Theriot, 28, doesn't look very imposing at 5-10, 175 pounds.

But he's wiry and fast, and his game awareness, savvy, confidence and bat control are helping this team become so much more than just power pitching and the giant sticks of Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Kosuke Fukudome.

What does he mean exactly by "so much more?" Aramis Ramirez had a good game yesterday. He went 4-5 with a home run and a double, but no one's writing any articles praising him. Derrek Lee is second in the majors in home runs with 7 and has an awesome line of .364/.419/.714. Kosuke Fukudome is 8th in the National League in on-base percentage. How is what Theriot is doing "so much more?" That's like saying the criminals on the streets of Chicago are giving the city so much more character than the well-behaved citizens.

Look, Theriot has gotten off to a pretty good start (.338/.408/.485). If he produces like this for the next few years of his career, I will retract all the bad I have said about him. However, his BABIP of .379 shows that he has run into a little bit of luck this year. This is also his age 28 season, and as history suggests, this is the peak age of his career.

In the fourth inning, Theriot, who was putting together his third straight multihit game, showed how baseball can be played. He hit a line drive to right center that was either going to be a long single or a close-shave double. Reed Johnson sprinted from first to score, and Theriot, running like a rabbit, slid into second, a whisker under the throw from Pirates center fielder Nate McLouth. On the next pitch, The Riot stole third. Three batters later, Matt Murton grounded out to first baseman Adam LaRoche, and Theriot scored.

Normal stuff, right? Not exactly.

Come on. Just because he is fast enough to steal bases, doesn't mean that's how baseball should be played. In this instance, yeah, it resulted in a run being scored. But what if he got thrown out trying to steal third? What if Murton hit a single which would have scored him from second? What if Murton grounded out, but next hitter Mark DeRosa hit a single?

Like I said before, he had a good game. But when you talk baseball, you have to talk about long-term. Theriot most definitely will not produce at this level for the rest of the season, and if he does, I owe every single none of you a beer.