"The French Connection" aka "The Baseballin' Bayou Bengals" aka "The Silent 'T' Pals": A fluff piece BONANZA
>> Wednesday
To this point, the story of Cubs infielders Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot probably hasn't made it far outside Chicago, but each day brings the national audience closer to an angle that could well be Eckstein^2.
It's positively precious--two diminutive, high-contact, line-drive hitters with similar last names playing in the same infield... just like they did as college teammates at LSU! Add in a cutesy nickname for the duo ("French Connection"--the other two I made up) and second-half charge by the "lovable losers," and ...ka-blammo! You've got yourself the best This Week in Baseball moment since Steve Lyons's pants fell down.
I only want to prepare our readers because the Fontenot-Theriot explosion is imminent right now. After a five-hit game Monday and a three-hit game including a homerun today, Fontenot is hitting .408, and his emergence has coincided with--or in sports journalist logic, caused--the Cubs' recent hot stretch. And oh did I mention Fontenot is only 5'8" and 160 lbs?
"The Riot" is not quite as small--just 5'11" and 175 lbs--nor is he as good. But with his 13 SB and connection to Fontenot, a pesky .327 SLG% won't spoil this fluff mine of fluff. No sir-ee!
Prepare yourself, baseball fans. As the Cubs make their second-half charge at the NL Central title, these two young men with silent "T"s at the end of their names will steal your hearts and Alfonso Soriano's credit.
David Eckstein--your reign may be over.
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9 comments:
Man, I love this kid Theriot! He's got the spunk and grit of a future Ryne Sandburg. Plus I think he has stolen some of the love I had for T Walk...btw whatever happened to the guy with the sweetest swing in baseball?
On May 12, the A's designated T-Walk for assignment, and five days later they cut him.
So he's finally got time to work on one of those instructional videos that you won't hear about until 2020 when they make a big deal out of the fact that your kid can receive tips from a former Major League player, and you'll think to yourself, "Oh yeah, Todd Walker, he was a marginal player...not really worth the $19.95"
Unfortunately, the Prince of Milwaukee is going to have a ton to say about the second half of the season...
Prince of Milwaukee gets my vote as worst sports nickname ever.
"btw whatever happened to the guy with the sweetest swing in baseball?"
He's playing RF for the Cincinnati Reds.
I hope this posting doesn't jinx all the great work they've done so far, but "French Connection"...that's an awesome nickname...
In the spirit of the post...
Geaux Cubs!
The Ted Lilly Fan Club points out just how French the Cubbies are:
http://tedlillyfanclub.blogspot.com/2007/05/cubs-call-up-additional-frenchie-and.html
I agree with that anonymous guy, "The Prince of Milwaukee" is maybe the worst nickname this side of "Fast" Willie Parker.
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