Tribune Real Estate Called Dumpy & Dangerous

Among those many things you won't read in the Tribune, you won't read what a dump Wrigley Field is. It's for sale, after all.

Today's Daily Herald features a story in which the Pittsburgh Pirates join the Cincinatti Reds in calling Wrigley's outfield "the worst in the major leagues." Here are some quotes from the Daily Herald about the crumbling eyesore that Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin calls "a sacred garden":

"It's rock hard and it's as fast as turf and looks like there's been a dozen cows grazing out there for the past week," said Pirates left fielder Nate McLouth. "It was the worst I've ever played on. Taking balls in (batting practice) you kind of came to the conclusion that you can't really charge a ball that's hard hit…. It was by far the worst I've ever played in and it's unfortunate because it does kind of play into the game, it does have an impact."

"The outfield is not good, it's not good, it's not (a) major-league caliber outfield. It's really bad, as a matter of fact," said Pittsburgh manager Jim Tracy. "I noticed it as soon as I walked in behind the cage today for batting practice. It's very, very difficult to play the outfield out here. The outfield is horrendous to play on, as bad as I've ever seen it in the big leagues."

“The ground is pounded down, you watch balls roll and moving all over the place," Tracy said. "The ball is moving out there as fast as I've ever seen it to try and draw a bead on it."

"I'm surprised more people don't get injured out there. It's as bad as there is," said Reds left fielder Adam Dunn. "It's worse than playing in a parking lot. It looks like they had a monster truck rally. It's terrible. There's potholes. It's bad. It's unsafe."

Now to be fair, the Tribune did allow a couple of AP stories to slip into print that include some buried criticism of their precious investment property. Both stories raised the topic in light of Ken Griffey Jr.'s injury in right field last week. Maybe the Tribune thinks that covers it. But as far as assigning some local reporters to get the scoop, well, let's just say this story falls into the same category as Sammy Sosa's incredible hulk routine: don't ask, don't tell.