Cubbies and Cookies
I wake up today and I really don’t know what to think about the world. We’ve got two people running for the presidency in the United States that no one really wants to vote for; then theres all the….wait…the Cubs won the World Series?!?!?!? Are you kidding me? No! No! All that I knew for my entire life was that the Cubs were losers. Like big time losers. Hell; all that any person under the age of 108 knew about the Cubs was that they were losers. Think about that for a second. This is their first since 1908. Most people think the Leafs fans have it tough. Seven decades of futility is nothing compared to what the fans of the Cubbies have gone though.
Looo-hooo---seee---herrrr
Think about that for a second. In 1908, the Boer War had finished up a few years before. Flight had just become a possibility. Franz Ferdinand was still alive….not the band you idiots. The Archduke; leader of the Ottoman Empire; whose assassination led to the start of World War I. Women couldn't vote. Sliced bread was 20 years away from being an actual thing. Hell…that invention that we like to call the car?? The Model T had only rolled off the assembly line 2 weeks before. With that being said; enough of the history lesson.
I won’t lie. Once the Jays get eliminated; I basically shut out any and all baseball viewing until spring training. Why? Because I don’t want to see other fans happy that their teams have won the title. To me that is serious self loathing. Watching another team celebrate and you have to sit back and wait for next year…ya; I don’t like that.
How I react watching another team have success.
This year was a bit different though. We’re talking about two teams that always lost the big game, they never won. So; I may have watched a game or two. I didn’t watch game 7 until I was finished work so I had a bit of a different view. Here are some thoughts:
Seriously; all you Joe Maddon lovers…I don’t get it. Watching Game 6 and Game 7; it looked like he over managed his team to the point he could almost get himself fired. It was brutal. He didn’t trust anyone in his bullpen other than his golden arm closer with a 9-2 lead? Sure his excuse was they were only up 7-2 and he didn’t have enough time to get another guy up and warmed up after the 2 run homer. Seriously??? You didn’t trust anyone else in your bullpen with a 7-2 lead? And then in the deciding game he pulls his starter who has basically been on cruise control for 67 pitches…to bring in your other starter who can’t hold runners and promptly spikes a pitch in the grass…might have made it 2/3 of the way to the plate allowing two runs to score on a wild pitch. Folks out there might hate John Gibbons but he’s always said, “Sometimes it’s best if you just get out of the way.” Joe Maddon at times looks incapable of that. He looks as though because everyone thinks he’s a great tactician that he has to do something to appear smarter than everyone else. He became the manager of a team that was trending upwards and was there at the right time. He had the most talent in all of the MLB so winning this although very tough; they were expected by most to do so at the start of the year. Lets not anoint him a saviour just yet. Last night if it wasn’t for some timely hitting and the Cleveland bullpen looking human for the first time all post season; Cleveland could have won the title.
Yep...that's what needs to be done to Joe Maddon when he's over coaching. Please. Just. Stop.
That brings me to Cleveland. You guys deserved better. Up 3-1; you kind of blew the final 2 games. Game 5 I’ll give you, but the defense let you down in Game 6 and Game 7 was kind of there for you after Joe Maddon did Joe Maddon things and brought in Lester to almost blow the game. It happens. I'm just happy you lost because I couldn't deal with Lebron James acting like he's been a fan of your team his entire life. The good news is next year, you’re pitching staff will be healthy (hopefully) and you’ve got a talented young team. Like really, really talented. Which gives me hope because the guys that built that team are the ones now in charge of running the Blue Jay; bigger payroll, more resources. This should work out for the Jays in the long run.
Lastly; Theo Epstein. Seriously, just put this guy in the Hall of Fame right now. The president of the Cubs broke the Red Sox curse back in 2003 and then completely transformed this Cubs team from the day he took over; acquiring young stars with shrewd trades and great drafting (although when you’re drafting near the top you should hit more often than you miss) and assembling a great team not only for the present but also the future.
Back to the headlines; Cubs and Cookies. You’re thinking I don’t get it. Well, like I said I didn’t care about who won but a family member proposed a bet in Game 6. He wanted the Indians to win and offered the following deal. If Cleveland wins; I’d have to give him my portion of cookies that I receive every year at the family Christmas get together. I didn’t want to make this bet because I didn’t want to part with any cookies; but then I thought: “Wait; I could end up with twice as many cookies as I would have gotten plus the chance to look like a genius with the Cubs down 3-2.” So ya, I took the bet and I’m going to be swimming in cookies in a couple of weeks.
Cookies!!!!
So thanks Chicago; for winning me a large amount of cookies and giving me hope that all of my teams with Championship droughts will win a title one day….just hopefully before 108 years of futility rolls around.
