Hey Bobby,

I just wanted to drop a line to address the issue of booing. After all, we Cub fans have taken a lot of flack these days for being impatient and mean (and nasty...and sometimes a little racist). Last year, there was much booing and it didn't take much to get us riled up. Some fans went over the line and feelings were hurt.  So, are we seeing more of the same this year?

It seems that the press think we are. I didn't get to Tuesday's Trib until late at night, or I would have written earlier. You see, Rick Morrisey made sure to draw Howry's attention to the booing in his extremely sarcatic article following opening day.

But things are different now, more upbeat. It's going to be hard to say bad things about the Cubs this season even if we wanted to, what with that W reminding us to stay positive and all.

But something dark made me ask Cubs reliever Bob Howry whether he had noticed any of the booing after he had given up a two-run eighth-inning home run to the Astros' Adam Everett on Monday.

"No, I couldn't hear the 30,000 people that were booing me," he said.

I'm pretty sure I detected some sarcasm there, but I had it coming. That homer ended up giving the Astros a 5-3 victory and mailing the Cubs a different letter: L.

Then, this morning, Paul Sullivan also penned a piece with a subtitle "Friendly Confines?"

After Howry was booed in the home opener, Piniella was asked Tuesday whether it's a new reality at Wrigley Field, where fans are more impatient than ever?

"I didn't hear any boos," Piniella said. "Were they booing?"

Piniella was told they were booing.

Alright, lets get this clear before this gets out of hand. Maybe Sullivan and Morrisey weren't at the game, I don't know, but it's pretty clear that the Cub fans weren't booing Howry. The pitch before Howry served up the homer to Everrett, the one that doomed the Cub, he was completely hosed on what should have been a third strike. We booed then. We were booing the ump.

Then, after the homer, he got out of the inning with an easy grounder and we booed again. We booed because, if not for some very confused umpiring, Howry would have been out of the inning and the game would still be tied. Again, we were booing the ump, not Howry.

Cub fans are not entirely irrational creatures. We realize that pitchers will make mistakes and other teams will take advantage. But getting cheated by an arbiter is enough to set any fan off.

So Bobby, don't be sad. We weren't booing you.

Give Cub fans a chance. We're not that bad.