FOR SALE: An endearing home on Chicago's North Side complete with ivy covered brick. All sales come with golden opportunities for improvements.
Intriguing, huh? Maybe that’s how Sam Zell and the Tribune Company should market their best and worst asset, the Chicago Cubs.
Whoever the next owner is, they will inherit a team with lots of baggage.
The 104-year-old franchise has not won the World Series since 1908 and has only made five postseason appearances since 1945, which is also their last World Series appearance. Tack on three major meltdowns and three curses -- you've got a forsaken franchise.
A few of the Cubs meltdowns coincide with their curses. The most important curse dates back to 1945. During Game 4 of the World Series, William Sianis brought his pet goat to the game. Sianis, owner of the famous Billy Goat Tavern, had purchased two tickets but was escorted out of the stadium due to the goat's foul odor. Sianis supposedly placed a curse on the team and the Cubs haven't returned to the Fall Classic finale since.
Jump ahead to 1969, when the "Black Cat" walks in front of Cubs third baseman Ron Santo at Shea Stadium. The Cubs held a 9 1/2 game lead in mid-August, only to have the Amazin' Mets fly by.
Skip to 2003, when one man altered the course of history. The Cubbies led the Florida Marlins 3-1 in the NLCS and held a 3-0 lead in the eighth inning of Game 6. Five outs away from the World Series when Walkman-wearing Steve Bartman made history. Bartman's infamous fan interference set off a hissy-fit by then leftfielder Moises Alou and a chain of comical errors, handing Florida the game. The Marlins would win the next night too.
In 2004, the Cubs melted down again. Holding a 1 1/2 game Wild Card lead, they fell apart in the final week, losing three of four at home to the Cincinnati Reds, missing the playoffs.
That doesn't even get close to the current group of pre madonnas. Just look at the soap-like month of June.
On June 1, the Cubs were taking swings at each other, instead of the fences. Pitcher Carlos Zambrano and Michael Barrett start a scuffle in the dugout. The next day the Cubs dropped their season-high sixth straight game as manager "Sweet" Lou Piniella was anything but. In a fit of rage Piniella threw his cap, got nose to nose and kicked dirt on third base umpire Mark Wegner's shoes. An ejection followed.
Jump ahead to the 11th, starter Ted Lilly blisters a 0-2 fastball inside hitting Atlanta shortstop Edgar Renteria. Benches empty...chaos ensues, and to Lilly's surprise he's ejected after 10 pitches.
On the 16th, the gloves come off again after Padres pitcher Chris Young and Derrek Lee traded whiffed punches. Barrett was back in the headlines in a trade to San Diego on the 20th. Sammy "my bat is not corked" Sosa belts home run number 600 to lift his new team, Texas, to a 7-3 victory. Skip a few more days, with Zambrano tying his career high in strike outs (12) and a suicide squeeze to beat the ChiSox, well, are you getting the picture?
In order to make it back to the promised land, the Cubs need to cut their pre madonna stuff, be patient at the plate and develop more pitching. Look at the 1908 pitching staff. Lead by Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown the '08 Cubs produced the lowest ERA in baseball history.
As the free agent market gets started the hottest item might be the Chicago Cubs, the loveable loser in the midst of a 100-year rebuilding project.
1 comment:
The loveable losers. They can't seem to do anything quite right. You didn't mention their pitching outside of Zambrano. They had one of the brightest young talents in Mark Prior and before that Kerry Wood who both have been injury prone their entire careers. Maybe there actually is a curse from the goat guy ;-)
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