Drama kings

CHRIS DE LUCA writes that catchers' past brawl has become symbol of Chicago's civic war

Sitting on the other side of town, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen monitored his counterpart's actions and raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

''Can you imagine if I did that?'' Guillen said. ''People would go crazy. Forty-five seconds? You guys wouldn't let me get away with that. But that's Lou.''

A double standard in Chicago? Never.

Besides, Guillen should know Chicago's baseball managers always get at least one year to enjoy the honeymoon -- then the gloves are off. Just ask Dusty Baker, who thought things couldn't get any better after 2003, and he was quickly proved right as the North Side nose dive began.

Guillen extended his honeymoon by winning a World Series in Year 2 of his reign. By Year 3, there were already calls for his head.

So Piniella might as well enjoy the grace period -- because judging from the early eruptions, he hasn't always enjoyed the brand of baseball played by his ''Cubbies.''

If Piniella has found himself turned off by the Chicago media, he's in for an overdose this weekend at Wrigley Field when the White Sox visit the Cubs. And with two fiery managers around in Piniella and Guillen, the media will show up looking for sizzle.

Not that this perfect recipe needs any more spice.

Interleague play celebrates its 10th anniversary this weekend, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a more intense interleague rivalry than when the North and South sides of Chicago get together.

What other regular-season interleague series has produced fisticuffs, plus so many threats and taunts? For better or worse, Chicago cares the most about its interleague drama -- maybe too much.

Go back to the first time the Sox and Cubs hooked up for this American League-meets-National League gimmick. It was June 1997, and Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf tried to put the ''rivalry'' in perspective.

''Things have changed a lot in the 40 years I've been here,'' he said. ''The intense hatred is dissipated. ... That's why everyone gets along so well on both sides.''

Clearly, Reinsdorf never imagined a sucker punch back in interleague's innocent days.

Now go back to spring training a couple of months ago, when Piniella got his first taste of the Sox-Cubs rivalry in Mesa, Ariz. He was asked if he believed the reunion that featured fists, fines and a suspension last year can suddenly become friendly.

''Why not?'' Piniella said of playing nice with the Sox. ''They're part of our city, the same way the Cubbies are.''

Piniella admits he doesn't know what to expect this time around.

''Ozzie's a fun guy,'' Piniella said. ''We'll let him do most of the talking.''

If anyone still believes the Sox-Cubs series is mostly hype, they haven't been paying attention. Here's a quick refresher course -- all you really need to know happened last year -- as Piniella gets his first REAL taste of Sox-Cubs.

As long as baseball stages interleague play, the snapshot of Cubs catcher Michael Barrett's fist connecting with Sox bad boy A.J. Pierzynski's jaw will be the all-time symbol of Chicago's civic war.

It was last May 20. Pierzynski tagged from third base on a Brian Anderson fly to shallow left field in the second inning. Barrett blocked the plate as he awaited Matt Murton's throw. A lumbering Pierzynski then raised eyebrows by barreling into Barrett, knocking him over.

As Barrett struggled to his feet, Pierzynski reached over, slapped home plate, then brushed past the catcher as he tried to retrieve his batting helmet. Barrett put Pierzynski in a bear hug and, according to Pierzynski, said, ''I didn't have the ball, bitch.''

Then, the punch.

Jaws all over U.S. Cellular Field dropped. And so did Pierzynski.

Both dugouts and bullpens immediately emptied for a full-fledged brawl.

''It's hard to imagine that I was a part of all that,'' Barrett later told the Sun-Times on the final day of serving a 10-game suspension for the punch. ''You never want to act like that, in a way that's inappropriate. It was kind of a weird, sick feeling.''

Yet in the same conversation, Barrett realized how big a moment this was in Cubs-Sox lore.

''Let's face it -- there are points in history in all of baseball that mark the true character of this sport,'' Barrett said. ''And that was one of them.

''I think baseball fans all over the country thought more than anything that that was entertaining. Not so much the violence, but the nature of the competitiveness that was involved. Obviously, nobody likes to see violence or punches thrown. But, hey, they appreciate the fact that A.J. and I both care enough to play passionately and to play the game in a way where we are both on edge at any time.''

A sideshow to the main event was the surprising commentary from Cubs left-hander Rich Hill.

After the Barrett-Pierzynski dust-up, Hill did plenty of talking for a relatively reserved rookie, saying: ''It was pretty gutless over there on their part, [Pierzynski] hitting Michael when he didn't even have the ball. That's not how you play the game. You don't go around just running over catchers. What if he injured him? That was just pathetic.''

Of course, Guillen fired back, saying: ''That's girl [expletive]. ... Tell that Triple-A [expletive] to shut the [expletive] up. Tell him to start throwing some strikes or he's going to get Dusty fired.''

The Cubs quickly sent Hill back to Class AAA Iowa.

Some of the Sox have gotten what they believe might be the last laugh. They claim slow-motion replays of the brawl show Hill progressively moving away from the action as the rest of the players moved toward the epicenter.

''It was hilarious,'' said one player who watched the replay. ''We just kept rewinding it and rewinding it. And in each frame, he's taking another step back.''

Hill isn't scheduled to pitch again until Tuesday in San Diego.

With emotions understandably high -- and emotional pitcher Carlos Zambrano on the mound -- Pierzynski quickly found himself the center of controversy during the next game.

After Cubs center fielder Juan Pierre failed to glove his ball as it disappeared over the wall, Pierzynski slapped his hands together in a wide motion as he crossed second base to celebrate his home run. Typical Pierzynski.

It was just enough for Zambrano to come unglued. He put his fingers to his eyes to show he was watching Pierzynski. When Sox third-base coach Joey Cora yelled at Zambrano, the big pitcher charged toward third base and yelled at the coach and runner.

Then he pointed to his head -- a gesture interpreted by the Sox that he was soon going head-hunting.

That's when Guillen ran onto the field, yelling at his fellow Venezuelan.

''I see Zambrano making some signals like he was going to hit somebody in the head or something, so I wanted to know what was going on,'' Guillen said that day. ''That's the way Zambrano is; he's a little crazy over there, a little over-excited. When you watch this kid pitch every day, his emotions take over. I think he overreacted. He is the type of kid, when he strikes out people, he gets cocky and points his fingers up. All of a sudden, when somebody [celebrates against him] he gets mad.''

Zambrano is on pace to start the series finale Sunday.