Drunk fans and baseball sentimentalists may love Wrigley Field, with its quaint sense of old-timey atmosphere and booze-fueled joviality, but players have long despised its cramped, dungeon-like clubhouse and other unwelcome features.  And nothing reminds a player of just how bad the “amenities” are at beloved ivy-covered Wrigley than a trip to a sparkling modern baseball super-cathedral like the New Yankee Stadium, where the leg-room is ample and the rat sightings rare.  Given his propensity to speak his mind regardless of the possible consequences, it’s no surprise that Carlos Zambrano, having laid eyes on the marvel that is a 21st Century sports facility (toilets without stuff growing on them!), would once again open the “Should We Get Rid of Wrigley?” debate.

“You come into a ballpark like this and you see great things,” Carlos said during the Cubs‘ trip to the Yankees’ new digs.  “You wish that Chicago’d build a new stadium for the Cubs.”

To which the drunks and sentimentalists reply:  “Blasphemy!  Blasphemy!  Burn the witch!”

Just for the record, Carlos’s manager Lou Piniella doesn’t agree with him.  “People are used to Wrigley Field,” the diplomatic Cubs skipper said.  “As a fan it’s hard to think of a new ballpark.”

Of course Carlos isn’t speaking as a fan – he’s speaking as a man who’s tired of having to chase away families of rodents just so he can take a leak.  He’s speaking as a man who would like a clubhouse that doesn’t engender claustrophobia attacks and mold-related sinus infections.  In short, he’s speaking as a selfish, spoiled, crybaby modern ballplayer.  Well Carlos, if it was good enough for Gabby Hartnett, it should be good enough for you.  I’m just glad Harry Caray isn’t here to witness your effrontery.  He’d probably spill his Budweiser all over himself (and not realize it for three days).