Perspective is a fickle master. It rules supreme, molding every thought and beloved belief. It is the difference between right and wrong, love and hate, and even the subtlest of subtleties in how we see the world. But change one variable, and the perceived world crumbles into a pliable heap that is never quite the same as it was before, be the scale great or small.

Baseball fandom is no different. But when you've spent years reading the same Cub beat writers for the same Chicago papers, and discussing your team with the same Cub fans, perspective loses its malleability.

So my eyes were pulled wide open this week, courtesy of the fine commenters at Dodger Thoughts. A quick skim through the game threads from the Cubs' three games against the Dodgers left me gaping: Do LA fans really see the Cubs that way?

A sampling:

Game One:

Brenly is such an idiot.

Bob Brenly's suck is almost as epic as Joe Morgan.

Brenly certainly isn't the best color commentator in baseball, and he has his irritating quirks (like his tendency to tie everything to his days as manager of the Diamondbacks), but I wouldn't call him awful, and by no means anywhere near the level of badness that is Morgan.

But maybe he is awful. I wish I'd logged somewhere how I initially felt about Brenly in the booth; I fear I've developed a sort of announcer Stockholm syndrome, if outsiders' remarks are so scathing...

is it because the Cubbies are so loveable that their fans seem so clueless

I don't see many ways in which lovability results in cluelessness. If you love something, would you not be more engaged with it, and thus more knowledgeable? I don't deny that many Cub fans are blinded by their love, but just as many see with eyes unclouded.

The Cubs are the best team in the NL. D-Backs are pretty good, but the Cubs will go farther in the playoffs. Barring freakish circumstances, this is their year, finally.
Good timing, too, since Sam Zell wants to sell them.

freakish circumstances. This is the Cubs. They own the all time record for freakish circumstances.

Number one pushes my superstitious line way too far, and will not be receiving comment. I agree wholeheartedly to the second, though.

As painful as the game was, listening to this ridiculous "Go Cubs Go" song is worse.

Steve Goodman fills a special place in the hearts of Cub fans, but to non-fans his Cub songs may indeed sound ridiculous. But that won't change my mind one bit.

Game Two

I hate Derrek Lee. He cant be that good on defense and offense. He and Pujols are ridiculously complete first basemen

It is comments like these that remind why his moniker is The Savior. Lee's play is so consistently superb that we Cub fans have truly become spoiled (what an odd phrase...). When Henry Blanco manned first late in a game over the weekend and couldn't make a difficult scoop, the response was not, "Tough play, nice try," but exasperation: "C'mon! You've got to make those plays!" Particularly on the defensive end, the outstanding has become routine for Lee -- more than enough to draw opposing fans' ire.

Can I ask a question, why is Soto batting behind Edmonds?

This question has no reasonable answer, and only leads to another, far more troubling question: Why is Jim Edmonds in the lineup?

Dude, it's Lou Pinella. I doubt he thinks about much at all.

One word: wrong. See here, for but one example.

Fukudome has only impressed me defensively but maybe it's a lack of knowing the pitchers.

His .406 OBP begs to differ.

What a miserable night spent in miserable weather watching my miserable team surrounded by a bunch of miserable Lincoln Park Trixies whose only interaction with the game was to make fun of my son for crying. God I hate this city and these supposed great fans.

I feel like Cubs fans have embraced their national reputation as drunken louts the same way Boston fans embraced their national reputation as losers with a chip on their shoulder. Both are annoying. sorry about your game experience.

Sigh. This could be an entire post itself. For another day, perhaps...

Game Three

from that camera angle the air in Chicago looks really healthy, I wonder if it's just the camera or what?

The things we take for granted...

Zambrano looks like an anime villain in his Gameday photo.

To which I say, your villain is my hero.

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There's plenty more for any Cub fan wanting for a shock. A fresh perspective, indeed.