Major League Baseball coach blames AC/DC for star player’s form slump

COACHES will say just about anything to take the pressure off an underperforming star, but it’s not often Australia’s greatest rock act is thrown under the bus.

AC/DC lineup for Rock or Bust world tour includes rhythm guitarist Stevie Young and drummer Chris Slade. Picture: Supplied, AC/DC

A MAJOR League Baseball coach in the United States says Australian group AC/DC are to blame for his star player’s bad day at the office.

Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon pointed the finger of blame at the rock legends for the fielding errors made by Cubs infielder Starlin Castro in the team’s win over Milwaukee at Wrigley Field on Tuesday AEST.

Maddon said the team’s home field has not been the same since an AC/DC concert was held at the venue last week.

He said the outfield was churned up during the concert and the in-field now has a few bumps that have made it difficult for his players.

“Since the AC/DC concert, we’ve had a little bit of trouble,” Maddon told The Chicago Tribune.
“I don’t know if they were out there taking ground balls before the game, or if they had 9-inch heels or spikes….

“They totally messed up the infield, and it has nothing to do with the groundskeepers.

“I’ve seen a bad hop at third, and a bad hop at second. I didn’t see one bad hop all year.”

Castro fumbled a ground ball while fielding in the in-field and Maddon wanted it known the mistake was all AC/DC’s fault.

“We just got to get it ironed out because I think Starlin has done a nice job at second base,” he said.

“I don’t want anyone blaming him on that error. It was a weird hop.”

Castro said he noticed the uneven surface caused problems for his team a number of times.

“It’s not even,” Castro said.

It’s been a turbulent few weeks for the Cubs.

“Some places are long, some are short. It’s not like it used to look.”

On a lighter note, the story also made headlines across the USA, including sports website ftw.usatoday.com, which published this outstanding paragraph by wordsmith Ted Berg.

“Maddon can keep a stiff upper lip, as the Cubs haven’t exactly been thunderstruck by the band’s dirty deeds,” Berg wrote for USA Today.

“Castro’s error might have shook them all night long, but they still scored a touch too much for the Brewers thanks to some heatseekers off the bats of the big guns in their line-up.

“And in a dog eat dog division, their high voltage pitching and offensive T.N.T. have Pittsburgh giving them dirty eyes.

“It’s a long way to the top if you want to beat the Cardinals.”

Unfortunately for Castro, Maddon’s AC/DC theory might not stack up.

According to Bloguin the opposition team’s playing at Chicago’s home of baseball haven’t had the some problems as the Cubs after rock acts AC/DC and Foo Fighters have played at the venue.

It claims the Cubs committed 12 fielding errors in the 10 games following a Foo Fighters gig at the venue on August 29, including six errors in the four matches following the AC/DC show.

In those same 10 games the opposition teams have made just one fielding error.

Meanwhile, the Cubs have also made headlines in recent days for one of the most bizarre attempts to ever end a sporting team curse.

The Cubs have long suffered at the hands of the infamous Curse of the Billy Goat.

In 1945 the owner of the Billy Goat Tavern Billy Siannis was kicked out of a Cubs’ World Series game because the pet goat he brought to the match was a bit too smelly for other spectators to handle.

He famously said: “Them Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more”.

The team has never won a National Baseball League Pennant since and have not won a World Series since 1908.

It’s the reason competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi ate a goat to help the Cubs reverse the Curse of the Billy Goat Tuesday night.

Kobayashi with the aftermath. 40 pounds if goat gone in about twelve minutes. That was...disgusting. pic.twitter.com/ACnMgScwxT

— Matt Lindner (@mattlindner) September 23, 2015

Kobayashi teamed up with a couple of Chicago locals to eat an 18kg cooked goat in one sitting earlier this week.

That’s definitely one way to end a 70-year curse.

Originally published as Major League Baseball coach blames AC/DC for star player’s form slump