Baseball open thread: Freaky Cub birds edition
Tuesday, Apr 12, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As if the Flubs don’t have enough problems, now it’s a monstrous invasion of ring-billed gulls…
The Cubs have tried a number of ways to fend off the birds, which occasionally circle over Wrigley Field during games and dive-bomb for hot dogs and nachos, according to Carl Rice, vice president of ballpark operations and “resident expert on things that fly.”
“We’ve tried a little bit of everything, but honestly our flying friends, they usually adapt,” Rice said. “I am convinced now that no matter what we do, they will always be here until the beaches open up.”
To ward off the gulls, the Cubs have experimented with using a chemical repellent that sprays something similar to purple grapefruit juice into the air, Rice said. They have also tried shooting off air cannons before games to make a loud blast that sounds like a car backfiring.
The birds “don’t like noise,” Rice said. “It scares them away but only for a short period of time. I need something that scares them away for a baseball season.”
Um, dude, the birds don’t like noise, so maybe getting more fans into the park might help. I mean, check out this photo of a recent game. There are more birds than fans at Ricketts Field…
I mean, I’m just sayin’. Getting more people to the games could do the trick. Of course, the twin dangers of being bonked on the head by falling concrete and dive-bombed by crazed nacho-craving birds could be hindering attendance. Not to mention that the team sucks, but, heck, the Cubs always suck.
Seriously, though, how are players supposed to deal with stuff like this?…
* This is a 2011 Major League Baseball open thread. Have at it.
- Cincinnatus - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 11:52 am:
Yet another reason to allow concealed carry????
- Frank - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 11:53 am:
Rich,
As a Sox fan, I know better than to bring up anything related to attendance to Cubs fans. Its a no-win situation.
- JL - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 11:57 am:
No one likes a nit-picker, but the top picture is a game from last season, when Lance Berkman was last on the Astros and wore number 17.
- View from the Cheap Seats - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 11:58 am:
This is only a matter of time -”Rickets announces $300 million taxpayer funded bailout to get rid of birds.”
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 12:09 pm:
Give the seagulls a break. They heard that a “marlon bird” was getting paid handsomely to hang out in center field at Wrigley Field and they just want a piece of the action.
- cermak_rd - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 12:10 pm:
How are players supposed to deal with this stuff? Like the professionals they are. It’s like the wind, or the ivy, or the non-uniform ground that causes odd bounces. Just another part of the game.
You forgot another even less appetizing aspect of the birds involving the other end of their eating process.
Mr. Rice is correct. As long as there is food, the birds will adapt. It is nature’s way.
- mokenavince - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 12:10 pm:
Maybe they can scalp bird watching tickets on their offdays. Iownans would probaly buy into it.
- 3rd Generation Chicago - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 12:13 pm:
Rich with these postings you give me more reasons to be thankful to be a Sox fan.
- gregory tejeda - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 12:14 pm:
Does anyone remember a little over a decade ago when the Statehouse had the same problem? How did they finally get rid of the birds that were roosting on the Capitol? I remember the air cannons that state officials used, only to learn that the birds became used to the noise and ignored it after awhile.
- Pot calling kettle - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 12:18 pm:
They should just wait a few weeks. By mid-May the birds will be so turned off by the Cubs’ performance, they’ll go elsewhere.
- Nuance - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 12:21 pm:
Maybe if the birds felt threatened, like by a baseball being hit to the outfield, they would leave.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 12:23 pm:
Nuance, to be fair, that happens during half of the games. The top half of every inning.
lol
- ah-HA - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 12:25 pm:
That’s for the Birds…
- cermak_rd - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 12:27 pm:
Hire Dave Winfield?
- Cincinnatus - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 12:28 pm:
Given that Chicago is gaining in its reputation as a food Mecca, perhaps we can allow a few food carts to specialize in, and encourage local eateries to serve squab. Mayor Daley can, as a last legacy, sign a proclamation!
- CircularFiringSquad - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 12:30 pm:
Tejeda got to the State House “solution” first, but he omitted the guy who walked around with the shotgun and then the nail board on ledges….the only outcome was shift the birds into the trees at the executive mansion….where they dumped all over the grounds.
- phocion - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 12:35 pm:
Go Gulls!
- amalia - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 12:38 pm:
well, i’ve always thought of Cubbie fans as bird brains….
- Capitol View - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 12:39 pm:
can any of the birds catch or pitch?
- Loop Lady - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 12:41 pm:
I am done with the Cubs…and after hearing the announcers rag on Manny Ramirez ad nauseum last night during the Tampa/Boston game, I think I am officially done with baseball…steroids, greedy owners and players, drunk fans, high ticket prices…stick a fork in me…
- Mark Buerhle - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 12:47 pm:
I would love to pile on but Juan Pierre didn’t do me any favors last night.
- matty - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 1:00 pm:
So far I can rejoice that my Brewers are better than the Cubs. We won that series this weekend 2-1.
It’s as simple as ABC: Anbody But the Cubs
go Brewers!!
- John A Logan - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 1:03 pm:
It must be difficult to be a White Sox fan. Knowing that despite everything, the Sox are still an after thought in Chicago.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 1:05 pm:
Actually, it’s a lot more fun being a Sox fan. I’ve been both during my lifetime, so you can trust me on that one.
- Irish - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 1:05 pm:
Build a Dome!
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 1:05 pm:
Consider the Ricketts family and the vagaries of timing.
Just a few short years ago, they were buying a young, 97-win team that looked like it was going to be a pennant contender for years. The joint sold out for the season in February and they had the governor, the owner of the Trib and a former governor working on a deal to shed the liability of their old ballpark.
How does that look today? They have the third highest payroll in baseball, but a profoundly untalented team, with really only two compelling players in Castro and Marmol. They’re stuck with the liability of Wrigley, with no real hope of a bailout. And, so far, they’re drawing the fewest fans in 10 years.
The only bright spots for them is that eventually the weather will turn warm, the beer will be cold and the prettiest girls in the Midwest still flock to Lakeview. That will put some fannies in the seats, but that ballclub won’t.
On the South Side, Adam Dunn’s appendectomy may prevent him from breaking the Sox season record of 175 strikeouts. Dunn usually pushes the 200 mark in strikeouts every year.
Contrast with Joe Dimaggio.
Career Home runs:
Dunn: 354
Dimaggio: 361 (most in cavernous old Yankee Stadium).
Career strikeouts:
Dunn: 1,632
Dimaggio: 369
- Irish - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 1:05 pm:
Next!
- Ghost - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 1:51 pm:
Ricketts: welfare for the rich but not a dime for the poor!!!
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 1:53 pm:
“Fill the Ballpark” Come on Rich, you should know that park is 30 -40 degrees until mid June…And the birds alone would outnumber what the Sox draw to their park annually. Dont heave bricks when you live in glass castle….The Sox will always take a backseat to the Cubs, so get your inferiority swipes in now…You will ALWAYS be the Second City’s second baseball team….Back to the backseat.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 1:55 pm:
===The Sox will always take a backseat to the Cubs===
One hundred and how many years?
- CircularFiringSquad - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 1:55 pm:
And we could not clout ourselves a space shuttle…bah humbug
- OneMan - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 2:04 pm:
I think a few skeet and trap shooting Thursdays might do the trick.
- 47th Ward - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 2:08 pm:
Rich, you touched on part of the gull problem: empty seats. The gulls see them, and think the game is over. Time for nachos and hotdogs!
The gulls have always eaten well at Wrigley. Notice 3:05 starts, the gulls are everywhere, waiting for their chance. That’s usually when most 1:20 games are ending, so the problem has always been worse during those late afternoon games.
What is different this year? All of the empty seats during the entire games. The gulls see so many empty seats, they think the game is almost over when it’s really only the 2nd inning.
Fill the seats for a whole game and the birds will have to wait for dinner. Problem solved.
- Louis G. Atsaves - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 2:09 pm:
Those birds have been around for many years, even going back to when I was a kid. They have multiplied and gotten cheekier and bolder these past few years.
What is worse? Asian carp or Chicago Cub seal gulls?
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 2:10 pm:
Good points, 47. Thanks.
- Nuance - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 3:05 pm:
“Fill the seats for a whole game and the birds will have to wait for dinner. Problem solved. ”
No they will just start acting like the other Cub fans and just take your nachos away from you (if you are wearing an opposing teams shirt):)
- Jimmy CrackCorn - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 3:23 pm:
== One hundred and how many years? ==
I still contend that the best part of the ’05 World Series for Sox fans, was that the Cubs did not win it.
Reagrding the birds…
Maybe the bird population spike is instead a bird migration from the Southside. The migration is the effect of the sound of Ozzie cursing to the high-heavens whenever Matt Thornton takes the mound. That Venezuelan “air cannon” on the Southside would be far more effective than anything they’ve tried at Wrigley.
(P.S. I am fully aware my Cubs may only win 45 games this year, and hate myself for feeling the need to defend them.)
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 3:50 pm:
Maybe we’re actually trapped in a Hitchcock film?
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 4:01 pm:
Any one of those gulls is smarter than Oney.
- 3rd Generation Chicago - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 4:11 pm:
John A Logan
It must be difficult to be a White Sox fan. Knowing that despite everything, the Sox are still an after thought in Chicago.
Sounds like someone needs to go to the Cell and find out why Sox fans are the best baseball fans in Chicago. We actually watch the game, and cheer, boo, sigh, and care about our team. Go to a Cubs game…..one big party, and they don’t seem to be there for baseball.
Loop Lady
I am done with the Cubs… I think I am officially done with baseball…steroids, greedy owners and players, drunk fans, high ticket prices…stick a fork in me
Join us at The Cell Loop lady, it’s a whole ‘nother ballgame over on the South Side.
- Then again... - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 4:12 pm:
Wait wait wait wait…. Sox fans want to talk about attendance? Really? Okay…
In 6 games at Wrigley, 32,266 average (78.4%)
In 5 games at Comiskular, 25,729 average (63.4%)
=They have the third highest payroll in baseball, but a profoundly untalented team, with really only two compelling players in Castro and Marmol.=
sorry wordslinger, they actually have the 6th highest payroll, right below…… the SOX. And I’m not going to go even so far as to call my Cubbies a playoff team, but I think “profoundly untalented” is a little bit of a stretch.
- Wensicia - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 5:03 pm:
Maybe the Cubs should sign Randy Johnson to get rid of the birds.
- Cincinnatus - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 5:36 pm:
- Wensicia - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 5:03 pm:
“Maybe the Cubs should sign Randy Johnson to get rid of the birds.”
Bwhaha! Too funny.
- Just The Way It Is One - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 6:50 pm:
Hey Mark at 12:47–ALL Sox fans feel your pain over that one–needless to say, Juan owes you one–but, FABulous outing last night and please just stay healthy (and please DON’T ever leave for St.Louis!) and I STILL say you’ll end up in the Hall one day…And P.S.–say “Hi” to my Uncle Jack for me (the nice ol’ fella who lives off of your backyard) when you get the chance!
Now as to the “Gulls.” 47th Ward’s comment at 2:08 was right on–mostly, they just want EATS, and they and their ancestors have just been so conditioned to swooping in in mid/late afternoon AFter those earlier, good ol’days, more traditional 1:20 p.m game starts to clean up (and I remember seeing the same regularly going back to at least 1969)so that they’re probably baffled at times but still STARVING. It’s about survival for them. If you’ve ever been on some of the North Side/Lake Michigan beaches, you’ll witness the same thing. Their vision is spectacular and when they get a good look at the leftovers from the air–esPECially if their are open gaps without fans too nearby–they’ll go for it! Back in the day I used to actually be enamored by them somewhat but appartently they’re gettin’ a bit out of control these days–but I can’t disagree with the Commenters about one other major cause being the open parts without FANS in the seats–that’ll bring the birds on in droves….One bit of advice to Ricketts–how about actually LOWering some ticket prices for some games on weekdays–especially in the cheap seats but do include the Bleachers which are hardly even “cheap” anymore (like “10 Bucks Off Tuesdays,” “Girls Go Free Mondays” or some other gimmick like that, or “50 Cent HotDog Days”)…. That way he can help solve TWO nuisances to the new owners! But whatever the case, Go SOX/Go CUBS!!!
- The Captain - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 7:49 pm:
Finally, someone brings rings home to Wrigley.
- jimmy james - Tuesday, Apr 12, 11 @ 8:59 pm:
how that new closer working out for you? anyone missing bobby?
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 13, 11 @ 2:07 am:
Not missing Bobby. He became a head case.