The 47 Best Players from the 1998 Chicago Cubs - #7 Gary Gaetti

7. Gary Gaetti
Is this too high to put a guy who only played a little over a month for the Cubs in 1998? No, because it is my list, and I can do whatever I want. Also, spoiler alert, he's not even the highest ranked guy on this list that was acquired late in the season.

Gary Gaetti had a fascinating career before joining the Cubs. He began his career in Minnesota where he had some great years including a World Series in 1987 and finishing eighth in the AL in OPS and winning a Gold Glove. Then he fell off and things only got worse when he went to California in 1991 as he lost the ability to hit at age 32. Then, he went to Kansas City in 1993, and he regained the ability to hit, even hitting 35 home runs in 1995. He would go to the Cardinals in 1996 and put nearly three seasons of good work for them during his age 37-39 years. But the Cardinals acquired Fernando Tatis at the trade deadline and decided he was their third baseman of the present and future. They waived Gary Gaetti on August 9, and ten days later, when he was free to join any other team, he signed on with the Chicago Cubs.

His impact in 37 games was nothing short of incredible. Not only did he fill in at third base, allowing Jose Hernandez to replace Jeff Blauser at shortstop to eliminate the black holes in the lineup that had been the left side of the infield, but he exceeded every possible expectation during those final six weeks.

The Cubs started him off slowly, as he had just eight at bats in his first five games with the team. In the sixth game, he took John Hudek of the Cincinnati Reds deep for a two run homer, and he would start every game but one from then on. Oh, and that game he didn't start? He hit a pinch-hit home run in his one at bat.

On September 2nd, he continued his Reds killing ways by hitting a two-run homer in the eighth inning to turn a one-run deficit into a one-run lead. He also had a home run against the Brewers that sparked an eight-run comeback in one of my favorite games ever. Oh, and that pinch-hit home run i casually mentioned above? Yeah, that was in the tenth inning off of Trevor Hoffman to give the Cubs a win. This man did not just hit well. He was incredibly clutch as well. In close & late situations, he may have only had 25 at bats, but he managed 13 hits, four doubles, and four homers for a line of .520/.556/1.160. Gary Gaetti fucking ruled.

But there was no more clutch moment than Game 163. In a winner-takes-all, loser-goes-home matchup against the San Francisco Giants, neither team had scored halfway through the game. After a Henry Rodriguez single, Gary Gaetti, facing an 0-2 count, did this:

It's one of the most important home runs in Cubs history. I know nine years isn't some incredible playoff drought, but it's not that the Cubs didn't make the playoffs, it's that they could barely muster up a season of competence during that time. It was that the Cubs had one of the greatest pitchers ever, but he chose to go to Atlanta for less money. These were the true lovable losers, but on this night, Gary Gaetti hit a ball so hard that all Cubs fans felt like champions.

The Cubs resigned him after 1998, but he would only last 1999 with the team as they released him after the season when it was clear that the magic from 1998 had worn off. He would sign with the Red Sox but would only play five games before retiring early in the 2000 season. He played in over 2500 games before it was all said and done. I would say that was one hll of a career, and in 1998, he gave the Cubs one hell of a run. Gary Gaetti owned.

In case you missed it:
Introduction
#47 - Matt Karchner
#46 - Jose Nieves
#45 - Rodney Myers
#44 - Justin Speier
#43 - Tony Fossas
#42 - Kennie Steenstra
#41 - Chris Haney
#40 - Bob Patterson
#39 - Pedro Valdes
#38 - Derrick White
#37 - Ben Van Ryn
#36 - Terrell Lowery
#35 - Don Wengert
#34 - Kurt Miller
#33 - Jason Maxwell
#32 - Kevin Foster
#31 - Mike Morgan
#30 - Felix Heredia 
#29 - Jeff Blauser
#28 - Jason Hardtke
#27 - Dave Stevens
#26 - Manny Alexander
#25 - Marc Pisciotta
#24 - Kevin Orie
#23 - Sandy Martinez
#22 - Terry Adams
#21 - Matt Mieske
#20 - Amaury Telemaco
#19 - Tyler Houston
#18 - Geremi Gonzalez
#17 - Orlando Merced
#16 - Scott Servais
#15 - Mark Clark
#14 - Lance Johnson
#13 - Brant Brown
#12 - Jose Hernandez
#11 - Steve Trachsel
#10 - Henry Rodriguez
#9 - Kevin Tapani
#8 - Mickey Morandini

The 47 Best Players from the 1998 Chicago Cubs - #15 Mark Clark

15. Mark Clark
Mark Clark had an up-and-down career with the Cardinals, Indians, and Mets before being traded to the Cubs in 1997. It was part of a fairly massive deal that saw Clark joined by Manny Alexander and Lance Johnson in heading to the Cubs in exchange for Mel Rojas, Brian McRae, and fan favorite, Turk Wendell. He was great for the rest of the season with the Cubs, compiling a 6-1 record with a 2.86 ERA.

Unfortunately, 1998 was more of a down year. He went 9-14 with a 4.84 ERA which isn't going to wow anyone, but this is a case where the numbers do not tell the whole story. He was a victim of bad luck as he had a FIP of 3.76 which just shows that things really did not go his way that year.

His greatest ability was his availability as this guy took the mound every fifth day and gave the Cubs a chance. Throughout the season, he pitched 213.2 innings, and considering how bad the bullpen was, that was incredibly valuable. He gave the Cubs a chance in his starts as he allowed four runs or less 22 times that season. I know that four runs isn't exactly a high bar to clear, but considering how good the Cubs offense was that season, he easily could have had a much better win-loss record as there was a pitcher on the Cubs staff who had a worse ERA than Clark but also had ten more wins in 1998.

In the second to last game of the season, when every game mattered so much to the Cubs, they gave the ball to Mark Clark and asked for him to give them a chance. He did more than that as he pitched one of his best games of the season, going eight innings and allowing just a single run. Rod Beck made things interesting in the ninth, but the Cubs held on for a 3-2 victory to keep them tied with the Giants for the Wildcard spot while staying one game of the Mets with just day left in the season.

I would also like to mention that Mark Clark hit two doubles in this pivotal game. This was incredible as his line entering the game was .034/.081/.034. In fact, after getting a hit in April, it took him over four months to get his next hit of the season. But after his performance in this game, his numbers rose to a Babe Ruthian .065/.108/.097.

The Cubs would go on to make the playoffs and again turn to Clark in game one against the Atlanta Braves. Clark did continue his hot hitting, getting one of the Cubs few hits in the game and finishing his career with a .500 batting average in the playoffs. But his pitching was not quite enough as he gave up two earned runs in six innings. John Smoltz pitched a gem, and the Braves pulled away late in the game for a 7-1 victory for the racist bad guys.

He went to the Texas Rangers in free agency after the season and completely imploded with ERAs of 8.60 and 7.98 before retiring after the 2000 season. But don't worry about Clark as he seems to be living the good life. Although this article is old, "LUCKY STIFF RETIRED BIG LEAGUE PITCHER MARK CLARK WAS NO STAR, BUT HE GOT PAID LIKE ONE. AND NOW HE'S LIVING THE GOOD LIFE--WITH ALL THE TOYS TO PROVE IT." This is the worst title of anything ever, but at least Clark is living his dream, even in a place like Bath, Illinois, which is ironic since none of the residents have ever taken one.

Congratulations, me on knocking those hoity toity, highfalutin, Bath residents off their high horse.

They're from the Midwest, so I'm sure they are very nice people.

In case you missed it:
Introduction
#47 - Matt Karchner
#46 - Jose Nieves
#45 - Rodney Myers
#44 - Justin Speier
#43 - Tony Fossas
#42 - Kennie Steenstra
#41 - Chris Haney
#40 - Bob Patterson
#39 - Pedro Valdes
#38 - Derrick White
#37 - Ben Van Ryn
#36 - Terrell Lowery
#35 - Don Wengert
#34 - Kurt Miller
#33 - Jason Maxwell
#32 - Kevin Foster
#31 - Mike Morgan
#30 - Felix Heredia 
#29 - Jeff Blauser
#28 - Jason Hardtke
#27 - Dave Stevens
#26 - Manny Alexander
#25 - Marc Pisciotta
#24 - Kevin Orie
#23 - Sandy Martinez
#22 - Terry Adams
#21 - Matt Mieske
#20 - Amaury Telemaco
#19 - Tyler Houston
#18 - Geremi Gonzalez
#17 - Orlando Merced
#16 - Scott Servais

The 47 Best Players from the 1998 Chicago Cubs - #27 Dave Stevens

27. Dave Stevens
To begin 1998, Dave Stevens was the hottest fire of the Cubs bullpen. He made his first appearance on June 21st and did not give up a run in his first seven appearances. Even when Jeff Cirillo knocked in a run against Stevens, it only raised his ERA to 1.12. And sure, the man would have some rough outings here or there, but going into August 7th, Stevens ERA was an even 2.00.

And then the Cardinals broke his magical spell. Now, to be fair, the Cardinals bats were at least slightly warm that day, if not downright hot. Steve Trachsel gave up nine runs while recording just one out (suck it, Ron Gant). Dave Stevens came in to clean up the mess, but he would go on to walk Brian Jordan before giving up a home run to Ray Lankford in the inning. He struggled through 3.2 innings, his longest outing of the year and would later give up a home run to Ron Gant (sorry about telling you to suck it, Mr. Gant). His ERA nearly doubled as it went up to 3.74 that day.

He did manage to keep his ERA around that very respectable number and on September 1st, he had his ERA at a very solid 3.60. But things fell apart for him down the stretch. He pitched in four games for a total of six innings, while giving up seven runs during that time. The most heartbreaking was when he came in to a tie game in the bottom of the 10th against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Jason Kendall launched a game winning walk-off home run. The Cubs stopped pitching Stevens by the middle of the month; his ERA still rose over a full run to 4.74 during the month.

For two months, Dave Stevens was a good reliever when the Cubs desperately needed one, and sure, it all fell apart after that, but he did have some good times. He was done in the majors shortly after his time with the Cubs following brief stints with the Cleveland Indians in 1999 and the Atlanta Braves in 2000. He did manage to play another year in the minor leagues before taking a break from baseball before trying to get back at it through indy ball in 2004, but just like in 1998, it was not in the Cards.

In case you missed it:
Introduction
#47 - Matt Karchner
#46 - Jose Nieves
#45 - Rodney Myers
#44 - Justin Speier
#43 - Tony Fossas
#42 - Kennie Steenstra
#41 - Chris Haney
#40 - Bob Patterson
#39 - Pedro Valdes
#38 - Derrick White
#37 - Ben Van Ryn
#36 - Terrell Lowery
#35 - Don Wengert
#34 - Kurt Miller
#33 - Jason Maxwell
#32 - Kevin Foster
#31 - Mike Morgan
#30 - Felix Heredia 
#29 - Jeff Blauser
#28 - Jason Hardtke

2017 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers - NL Central

Although baseball season is still a few weeks away, fantasy baseball season is here as draft rooms are opening and people are spending fake auction dollars on their favorite players. Everybody knows about the Mike Trouts and Clayton Kershaws of the world, so what you need to do stand out is find those hidden gems on each roster to propel yourself to fantasy greatness. I am going to go through each MLB roster to find at least one underrated player who will have you looking like a genius at the end of the season.

Today, we visit the World Series Champs and their merry band of misfits, the National League Central.

Chicago Cubs - Jason Heyward
So it's pretty hard to find an underrated player on the Cubs these days as right now we are living in a time where everybody loves the team, so they are hyped to an unbelievable level. But the Cubs level of lovability is about to drop precipitously as the hate is brewing for this Cubs team. Much like Red Sox hate, there isn't a ton directed at the players themselves, but the fans are going to become insufferable pretty quickly. One guy that is not universally loved is Jason Heyward. It's not through any fault of his own. He tries hard, and he's good enough on defense to not be totally worthless, but he was a very bad offensive baseball player last year. He has been a good baseball player in the past, and I can't help but buy into Heyward. The guy has so many natural tools that even though he's well past the age of potential, it's hard not to see all of the great qualities he could have. This is one of those guys where a Cubs fan jumps on him too early, but if he's there after pick 200, take a flyer on him and maybe he'll figure it out, or maybe your league added UZR in the offseason.

Cincinnati Reds - Devin Mesoraco
Remember that time that Devin Mesoraco actually played a bunch of games. He hit the ball really well when he did that. He hasn't done that the last two years, and even in his minimal time, he's been rather abysmal, but maybe he'll go back to being the 2014 version of himself. I don't know, it's the Reds, and looking up Reds players is seriously depressing, so Mesoraco it is.

Milwaukee Brewers - Keon Broxton
Keon Broxton hits baseballs really hard. They still usually find people's gloves, but they probably a sting a little when people make the catch. So he's probably not going to hit for average, but that's okay, because he's got some pop in that bat, and the dude just wants to steal, steal, steal bases. Milwaukee's kind of a fun team, because they don't give a shit, so they're just going to steal bases and do all the hustly things that may not necessarily make them good, but it will make them fun. Broxton personifies this.

Pittsburgh Pirates - Tyler Glasnow
Okay, so is this going to be a good pick? Eh, probably not. But will it be a fun pick? Oh hell yeah. Glasnow is going to strike dudes out. He is able to dot hat because he has no idea where the ball is going to end up. Sure, you are sacrificing WHIP for this pick, but sometimes, in life, you have to make sacrifices. And this sacrifice leads to fun, so you should do it. Draft him and ride that Glasnow Rollercoaster.

St. Louis Cardinals - Kolten Wong
Remember those shirts from Abercrombie that talked about "Two Wongs Make it Tight." I think it was like a plumbing shirt with an Asian caricature on it. It wasn't funny, and it may not have even been from Abercrombie, but I still remember that shirt. Anyway, don't buy that shirt, but buy in on Kolten Wong. I know he's never put it together at the major league level, but he's got a good line drive swing that should lead to more balls landing in for hits. He's not going to be a home run threat, but I do think he can get some of those balls to drop in for extra bases. He's an extra infielder that you probably don't even need to draft, but he could add some value this year. What won't add value is that stupid shirt. Seriously, if you have that shirt, don't get rid of it, burn it, and make sure nobody else wears that stupid shit.

A Cardinals Fan, a Cubs Fan, a Red Sox Fan, and a Tigers Fan Walk Into a Bar

...they all walk in at different times, and take seats at the bar.

The Cubs, Red Sox, and Tigers fan start conversing at the bar. The Cubs/Cardinals game is on, and even though the conversation starts on baseball, the fans of their respective teams also converse on Arkansas, Michigan, and Iowa football. Laughs are shared by all, and they are the life of the party.

The Cardinals fan sits quietly on his laptop and stays away from any and all conversation. To call him a party pooper would be an insult to shit.

The three baseball fans marvel at the skills of Jake Arrieta, because even though he didn't have his best outing, he has been on an incredible run in the second half of the season.

The Cardinals fan gets incredibly bitter at the mere mention of Jake Arrieta, because Cubs fans think he's so great. Uh, yeah dude. The reason Cubs fans are like that is because he is pretty great.

The three baseball fans continue to commiserate over sushi and beers.

The Cardinals fan gets a club sandwich (the #1 sandwich for children) and white wine, because of course the white wine pairs perfectly with the Hellman's Mayo on his sandwich.

The three baseball fans all agree that the Cubs are the team to root for in these playoffs.

And worst of all, the Cardinals fan roots for the Cardinals. He was the worst.

To be fair, this all happened for game three. For the final game of the series, I was at a sports bar and sat next to a totally pleasant, female, Cardinals fan. I don't even think she ate any mayonnaise.

My Review of Atlanta

My wife, dog, and I took a trip to Atlanta this past weekend. All it took me was one weekend to understand the city of Atlanta completely.

Before arriving, I needed to find a hotel. We wanted something close to the stadium, but since the dog was coming, needed something pet friendly. Hotwire had a deal on a 4-Star hotel less than two miles from the ballpark that was pet friendly. That sounded perfect, so I booked it and found out it was the downtown Sheraton. I went to their website, and found that although they are pet friendly, it is only for dogs up to 40 pounds, which is about 20-25 pounds too light for my pup. Also, they make you pay $100 deposit, and you only get $65 back. That is not pet friendly; that is pet exploitation. They are basically just trying to wring $35 out of you with no extra work on their end of things.

I was not having any of that, so after our 6.5 hour drive to get there, I snuck in my dog through the backdoor after I checked in and continued to sneak her in and out through the back doors of the place, so I didn't have to answer any questions from that nosey front desk.

But this hotel drama was far from over, as this supposed 4-Star hotel does not have free WiFi. They were trying to charge like $9 a day to use internet. What kind of hotel charges for internet in this day and age? I have stayed in some absolute shitholes, but even those would at least give you free WiFi. Don't stay at the downtown Sheraton. It sucks.

Saturday was a day of exploration in order to obtain food and wear out the dog. The morning was uneventful, but business picked up in the afternoon. We went to Cook Out for lunch on Saturday, because it delivers a lot of food for very little money. I got walking directions from Google, and luckily Google knew of a shortcut that would save us three walking minutes. I live my life with the motto of, IGWT, In Google We Trust, so I had no issues following Google's directions. Did the neighborhoods that we walked through get sketchier and sketchier? Did we most likely walk by a drug dealing operation? Yes, that seems quite likely. Was my wife happy about Google's directions? Honestly, she wasn't. She wasn't too pleased with me at all. We took the long way back home, and honestly, when you're not walking around in fear of being murdered, the walk does seem quicker.

But maybe the most disappointing part of that story is that Cook Out was not nearly as good as I remembered it. The caramel cheesecake shake delivered, but the burger, nuggets, and fries left a lot to be desired.

That night, we went to the Braves/Cardinals game, as it was the main reason for our trip. The old lady used to work for a Cardinals affiliate, so she knows a lot of the players. I am a lifelong Cubs fan, so I could give a shit about the Cardinals, but whatever, I figured I could root, root, root for the home team.

This plan would have worked, but Atlanta got rain that just would not quit the entire night, and the game got postponed, so we would not be seeing a baseball game on our 13-hour round trip drive to go see a baseball game. But hey, that's the way it goes sometimes.

And had the game not been cancelled, I would not have seen what I assume is the most Atlanta thing possible. While driving back to the hotel around 10:00 PM, I saw two pitbulls trotting down a busy street. I thought there owner would be following closely behind, but nope. There were just two pitbulls trotting down the street in the middle of downtown Atlanta. They just took up the far left lane on a one way and looked like they knew where they were headed. I would have adopted those pups, but they were so badass that it would have made more sense for them to adopt me.

Our trip ended with a dinner with friends, and then breakfast with another friend the following morning. They were both very pleasant experiences but unless I want to reveal secrets about the persons at these meals, they were rather uneventful.

So what is my overall review of Atlanta? If you like Waffle Houses, drug deals, and pitbulls running the streets, then Atlanta is the place for you. Personally, I'll take the tamer streets of Clearwater, where the only real concern is Hulk Hogan's racism getting totally out of control.

The Saga of the Jaime Garcia Trade

Jaime Garcia is one of the most interesting players in baseball. He somehow inspires very strong opinions, despite there not being much to base these strong opinions on. All of the Cardinals fans I know LOVE him to a point that is completely unreasonable. Like, yeah, they'd rather keep Wainwright than Garcia, but they'd have to think about it. He is this player who can flash something special, but has never done it for very long, and, oh yeah, he hasn't had a healthy season since 2011.

I am not a Cardinals fan. In fact, I believe, like most of the sane universe that Cardinals fans are the absolute worse fans in all of baseball (they are tied for last with the other 29 teams, because all fans are the same; they are all equally the worst), but Jaime still has a special place in my heart. Last year, I was able to take advantage of a Cardinals fan's irrational love for Garcia. I offered him Garcia for Pablo Sandoval since my 3B situation was a little shaky. He said he still needed to get a third baseman, so I used my knowledge of his Cardinals fandom, picked up David Freese, paired him with Garcia to get the Kung-Fu Panda. Freese struggled all year, and Garcia got hurt a couple weeks later. Meanwhile, Sandoval started crushing the ball right after I acquired him and helped me get a second place finish last year.

With those memories in my head, I kept track of Garcia's rehab progress and picked him up before his first start. He did not disappoint, as he had maybe his best stretch of pitching in his career to start out his season this year. After four starts, I decided it was time to sell, as I know Garcia, and he is a ticking time bomb ready to explode at any moment.

Since he was a top-10 pitcher since coming off the disabled list, I thought I should aim high. After numerous people told me to go fuck myself for my trade offers, I knew it was time to slightly lower my sights in a trade return. I talked to another Cardinals fan in the league about a straight swap of Garcia for Gio Gonzalez. He said he was interested, but he thought he was going to get a fourth round basketball pick for him, but if that fell through, he would make the trade with me.

I waited patiently, as I didn't think there was a chance he was going to get that sort of haul for Gio, and Garcia continued to dominate, so everything was looking good. Unfortunately, his team was hit by a string of injuries, and now he was looking for outfielders in any trade he made. I assured him that Garcia could play outfield at any moment, but he was unconvinced, and it was time to move on.

Right before his seventh start, I offered him up for Yasmani Grandal and a fifth round pick in a sport of his choosing. The guy accepted, but when I asked him which sport he wanted to trade the pick in, he said he didn't actually read the trade proposal and just thought it was a straight up swap of players. Now, I secretly love Yasmani Grandal, but I don't need him, so I was just hoping to get him as a throw in on the deal. But the guy had no interest in trading a pick, so all he did was waste my time on that trade offer since he doesn't know how to read.

Still, I was working the lines after his seventh start and was close to getting a fifth rounder from someone else, but they wanted an eighth rounder in return. Not ideal, but it was a solid bump up in the basketball draft, so it was worth it. The deal was good to go, but there was a slight groin issue from Garcia that my trade partner wanted to wait on. I had no worries, as he had only given up one run in his last three starts, so there were no signs of a decline.

Every morning, I waited to see the news that he would make his next start. Nothing. I started checking nights and mornings. Nothing. Finally, it was said that his next start would be delayed. Then he got totally skipped in the rotation.

The trade was off at this point, but I kept checking. He got pushed back yet again, but would not hit the disabled list with his groin injury. Then, finally, I saw this come across the news wire:

Jaime Garcia (shoulder) has been placed on the 15-day disabled list.

God damnit. A shoulder injury? There are only two possible explanations. Either they massaged his groin so hard he threw out his shoulder, or he kept saying his shoulder was sore, but the pervy Cardinals trainer just wanted to massage groins all day and convinced him that it would help. I'm leaning towards the latter, and I fully believe that a simple ice pack for his shoulder after his last start would have kept him healthy.

And by healthy, I mean healthy enough for me to trade him, as he probably had a maximum of three starts left in him before his body caved in like it does every year.

So I've got Jaime Garcia chilling on my disabled list for who knows how long. Anybody want to trade for him?

I Have Lost My Sports Hate

I hate the St. Louis Cardinals. I say that, because it is something that, as a Cubs fan, I have believed in my entire life. But, being honest with myself, I really don't hate the Cardinals. I'm 28 years old, and at this point in my life, I have to be pretty selective with my sports hatred.

I no longer hate the Cardinals, I'm just tired of them. I just want them to go away. I don't really care about the Tigers, but I'm kind of semi-rooting for them on the rare occasions that I accidentally turn on baseball. The Cubs suck, and fantasy baseball is over, so I have no reason to give two shits about the baseball season.

This is only partially because I am a much bigger college sports fan than I am of professional sports. As a fan of Iowa, I don't care at all about baseball, because Big Ten baseball is as relevant as the Jamaican hockey team. Even with the teams that do matter, I can't quite build up hatred for their opponents.

Iowa basketball has been bad for a while, so it's not like they can really create a rivalry. I think I probably hate Illinois basketball the most, but it certainly doesn't keep me up at night.

Iowa football matters, but I've gotten past the rage at how things are run to just kind of laugh when things get horribly fucked up. I was actually a Ken O'Keefe supporter. He did a solid job. He was conservative, but Kirk wants to run a conservative gameplan. People really hated the guy, but almost everyone just complained about a play call after it failed instead of having a viable solution. I also don't hate Kirk, because ten wins every few years is pretty cool. Maybe he'll never make it to the Rose Bowl, maybe he'll make it this year. He's still a really good coach, and yes, I realize he is overpaid, but I can't blame him for that. As for football rivalries, it really irritates me when Iowa loses to Northwestern, but it is just Northwestern. Wisconsin would be a rivalry, but Iowa no longer plays them every year, and I have had some great times in Madison, so it is tough to build up too much hatred. Maybe I could hate Nebraska, but the rivalry started one year ago, so I'm going to need some time to build up hate for them.

And then there's Iowa Wrestling, but hating another team in wrestling would be a real asshole move considering my favorite team always finishes in the top-5 nationally. I would say that I hate the fan bases of places like Penn State for having an awesome wrestling team and not giving a shit about it.

So, that's where I'm at. I no longer have that blind hatred of sports teams. I used to hate teams like the Packers and Cardinals. Now I'd still rather see them lose than win, but I don't have that chlamydia feeling burning inside of me anymore. Now it's more like a zit on my ballsack. Yeah, it's annoying, but it's pretty easy to make it go away.