Hernia has given Alou time to think

According to an Associated Press article, Moises Alou says he would never have caught that ball that Steve Bartman "interfered" with.

I guess being down and out with his hernia injury has allowed him to rack his memory for strange happenings over his lifetime.

From the AP:

The Cubs were leading the Marlins three games to two in the 2003 NLCS, ahead 3-0 in the top of the eighth inning and five outs from returning to the World Series when Florida's Luis Castillo lifted a foul down the line in left just past the bullpen.

Alou raced over, timed his jump perfectly, opened his glove wide -- and got beat to the ball by a 26-year-old youth baseball coach in Row 116, Seat 9 who didn't do anything more strenuous than stand up. The baseball hit the heel of Bartman's hand and caromed farther back into the stands. In the Marlins dugout, Game 7 pitcher Mark Redman turned to a teammate and said, "Let's make this kid famous."

They did, but only because a few pitches later, Cubs shortstop Alex Gonzalez made an equally ham-handed attempt on a grounder that should have been an inning-ending double play. Florida erupted for eight runs to win Game 6 and the only real suspense left was whether the kid would get out of Wrigley Field alive that night. The Marlins clinched the NLCS the night after.

"Everywhere I play, even now, people still yell, 'Bartman! Bartman!' I feel really bad for the kid," Alou told Associated Press columnist Jim Litke.

"You know what the funny thing is?" he added a moment later. "I wouldn't have caught it, anyway."

I totally forgot that Castillo hit that ball. I wonder if there was any tension between Alou and Castillo when they first were teammates.

Anyway, I think it's about time Cubs fans give up on the Bartman bashing. 100 years, Wrigley faithful, it wasn't one guys fault.