Local folks who like to talk about curses got about as good an opportunity as they're going to get last night: A white spotted cat -- apparently a Calico -- appeared out of nowhere in center field, was greeted by the cheers of outfield fans, and then proceeded to run all the way to left field foul territory. There, a grounds worker picked up the cat. The cat bit the grounds crew guy. The grounds crew guy lifted the cat by its tail and put it over the short wall for security personnel -- or whoever it is that takes care of stray ballpark cats -- to deal with. Saga over.
Naturally, this is seen as some sort of omen. Lou Piniella was asked about it. He responded by noting it was a "white cat," not a black one, which meant it wasn't a bad omen. How's about this: IT'S NOT AN OMEN AT ALL. IT'S JUST A CAT. THAT MEANS NOTHING. Harumph. Man, we hate this superstition stuff.
But we do have one question about the cat. How on Earth does a stray get in to Wrigley Field in the first place?
We suppose there are a few obvious ways it could happen. Perhaps it gets in during an off-day, when the grounds crew is working on the field and leaving certain park doors open, that sort of thing. Maybe it sneaks in at night. Maybe it climbs the fence. Maybe it jumps all the way from the top of Harry Caray's statue. Maybe it flies. Do cats fly? They do now!
Maybe, during the daily swell of humanity at the front gates, a cat just sort of trickles in with the paying customers. Lord knows there are plenty of stray animals in the city. It's not exactly mystifying that some of them would hang around Wrigley. Plenty of leftover food to be had, too.
In the end, perhaps we can see the cat's dirge onto the field as a final, horrible mistake. If she lays low, there's a world of ballpark food for her to scrounge. She'd be like Templeton in Charlotte's Web. Instead, she had to go for the glory -- and get everyone all riled up about curses. Had to be a rock star, didn't you, cat? Bad move, friend.
Eamonn Brennan is a Chicago-based writer, editor and blogger who wants to know what it means if he buys a dog this summer. Good omen?! You can also read him at Yahoo! Sports, Mouthpiece Sports Blog, and Inside The Hall, or at his personal site, eamonnbrennan.com. Follow him on Twitter.
