It's been a while. It seems like ages since I've done anything of value on the Cubs. I kinda wish this post would change all that, but I doubt it. The Hall of Fame game doesn't seem to pose much value.

Who would have thought that a league, much less the MLB, would ever find the idea of putting an exhibition game right smack dab in the middle of and inter-league road trip to be a great idea. If it's opinion you're looking for, here's mine: the idea was ridiculous.

Now I know baseball means well. There is so much tradition in the land of Cooperstown, NY that one couldn't possibly be able to write about it in a short paragraph. One can ridicule it that quick, but there's no way a simple paragraph could ever give it the justice it deserves.

That being said, in making my peace with the baseball gods, the Hall of Fame game has become nothing but a waste of the teams' time involved with it. This year will pit my beloved Chicago Cubs vs the San Diego Padres for a game that means absolutely nothing in the standings. I'm sure the Cubs coaches and players would much rather be heading to Tampa Bay to rest up and prepare for their three game away series that starts on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays... or is it just the Rays now? I forget. Doesn't matter really, just as the Hall of Fame Game won't matter.

How is respecting the game of baseball by throwing teams that are prepared to shove their minor league teams' players in for pretty much the majority of the game. I can't possibly imagine hearing anybody from New York say to their friends "hey guys, lets go check out the game. I hear the Cubs have Junior Lake, Cesar Salazar, Bryan Jost, John Contreras, Robinson Chirinos, George Matheus, Alvaro Sosa, Dwayne Kemp, and Kevin Soto playing tonight!" Or, "hey honey, any idea who the hell Yohan Gonzales, Julio Pena, Rogelio Carmona, Miguel Sierra, Jeff Antigua, Luke Sommer, or Carlos Rojas are?" The game is so intense that the starting pitcher had yet to be announced. The Cubs starters will supposedly start, but really how many innings would a smart manager play them at such a critical time in the schedule. The inter-league games require more focus for away teams. The AL teams now have to put their hitless batters up to the plate, while the NL teams have to figure out this whole 'designated hitter' thing. Frankly, I prefer the advantage the NL has in these, but then again, that could just be my bias speaking for me.

Fortunately for all involved, this is going to be the LAST Hall of Fame Game. I like the idea, but in the sport of baseball, wouldn't it better serve as a honor by being and legitimate game with superstar value. This joke of forcing teams to throw in singe, double and tripe-A ball players while in turn causing them a lack of time to prepare for much more meaningful games is perhaps more of an insult to those players in the Hall than it is a tribute.