CHICAGO \u2014 \u201cCubbie Occurrence\u201d is a phrase coined by Lou Piniella, the baseball character and former Chicago Cubs manager whose fiery temper and quotable riffs once made him an entertaining spokesman for Chicago\u2019s charter National League franchise.<\/p>\n
Matthew Boyd is now familiar with the term.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve heard of it,\u201d the Cubs pitcher said before Friday\u2019s 10-5 win over the Chicago White Sox on the South Side.<\/p>\n
You know it when you see it is the loose standard for a \u201cCubbie Occurrence.\u201d It\u2019s Kerry Wood slipping while getting out of a hot tub, or Sammy Sosa sneezing so hard he experiences back spasms. Piniella\u2019s off-the-cuff comment became a shorthand for all the weird stuff around a club that was founded in 1876 and went more than a century between World Series titles.<\/p>\n
Boyd\u2019s freak injury, which led to last week\u2019s surgical procedure on his left knee, appears to match the description.<\/p>\n
It was around lunchtime when Boyd squatted down to interact with his children in his home, hoping to hang out with them for a bit before he went to work at Wrigley Field.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t get to play with my kids,\u201d Boyd said. \u201cI was just kneeling down, and my knee popped twice. Literally, as unglamorous as that sounds, that\u2019s just kind of what happened. There was no precursor, nothing that indicated (something was wrong). Who knows if there might have been something going on in there before?\u201d<\/p>\n
Standing in Rate Field\u2019s visiting clubhouse Friday afternoon, Boyd gave his first explanation to reporters since the Cubs placed him on the injured list May 6, part of a whirlwind 24 hours.<\/p>\n
An MRI on Boyd\u2019s left knee revealed a meniscus problem. By that night, the decision was made to get surgery to fix the partial tear. The next morning, he underwent the procedure.<\/p>\n
Boyd, 35, earned an All-Star selection with the Cubs last year as well as this season\u2019s Opening Day assignment. The Major League Baseball Players Association recently announced him as the first recipient of its Most Valuable Philanthropist award, which will be presented monthly throughout this season.<\/p>\n