CHICAGO | As the 2010 season swirls down the drain to its conclusion in the sewer, you can safely say the Cubs have done three things right this year.
No. 1, they dumped Milton Bradley and actually got both cash and a useful player -- Carlos Silva, Tuesday's starting pitcher -- from Seattle. No. 2, they promoted Starlin Castro at 20, an action I feared, but one that also seems like genius now despite Castro's myriad errors of youth that resulted in his benching the other day.
Best of all at No. 3, they were better late than never in erecting a Billy Williams statue in place of the now-relocated Harry Caray sculpture at the northwest corner of Addison and Sheffield. Just as in their playing days, Williams and Ernie Banks, this time in bronze form rather than semi-baggy pinstriped flannels, welcome fans arriving from all directions to Wrigley Field.
The new Williams statue, unveiled in a grand ceremony Tuesday, is the first thing kids see as they get off the Red Line L. There still is that special anticipation rumbling down the Addison station steps and glimpsing Wrigley Field coming up fast.
Sculptor Lou Cella has a winner here. He has captured Williams in the follow-through of his sweet swing from what appears to be his batting title season of 1972. You can tell the period via Williams' belt-less uniform, mustache and sideburns. Cella applied blue tinges for authenticity around the collar, sleeves and Cubbie-bear emblem.
But there was one glitch. Kenny McReynolds of WCIU (Ch. 26) noticed the inscription of Williams' induction into the Hall of Fame was dated July 24, 1987. Williams actually gave his Cooperstown speech two days later, on McReynolds' 30th birthday, a date he can never forget. Cubs president Crane Kenney was quietly informed of the mistake, and no doubt Cella will make repairs soon.
The statue was presented to an adoring crowd that still thrilled at the sight of Williams, Ernie "Mr. Cub" Banks, Ron Santo, Fergie Jenkins, Randy Hundley and Glenn Beckert. Most importantly, the action to honor Williams and move Caray to the bleachers entrance shows the Ricketts family ownership cares about the history that is so much a part of the franchise.
Banks and Williams statues should have been erected 15 years ago. You must honor your greatest players first, and, then, maybe a likeness of Jack Brickhouse, the cheerful TV voice of the Cubs for 35 seasons.
A statue of Caray, connected with the Cubs for 16 seasons, should have come after all these gentlemen were bronzed, not before. If at all. If the truth be known, Ron Santo should have a statue -- the concept of which was endorsed by Banks at Tuesday's ceremonies -- before a Caray figure ever goes up. But this franchise has gotten a lot of stuff backward over the decades.
Maybe the Williams statue represents the fresh air of the Ricketts ownership, despite the befouled odor of 2010. After they clean up assorted messes, it will be all about baseball, not bread and circuses and Harry and Sammy and under-management as Tribune Co. honchos emphasized on their watch.
George Castle's "Diamond Gems" baseball show is posted weekly at NWI.com/sports/baseball and airs at 2 p.m. Saturdays on WIMS-AM (1420). This column solely represents the writer's opinion. Reach him at DGemsNet@aol.com.
