Even a World Series Ring Can't Guarantee Patience for Cub Fans

As I sat and ate my breakfast this morning, I read all the articles I could find recapping last night's Cubs game (a morning ritual for me between the months of April and October). Jesse Rogers and Carrie Muskat are usually my go-to beat writers for all things Cub, but an article written by former Cub Doug Glanville was my favorite this morning. He talked about his experiences on the Cubs back in 1997 when they started the season 0-14 and how a 3-4 start for the 2018 team should not cause panic for the Cubs' fan base.

I was only 3 years old in 1997, so my knowledge of that start and that season as a whole is non-existent. In fact, my first memory as a Cub fan is sitting on the living room couch watching game 6 of the 2003 NLCS. It doesn't require an explanation, you know what happened. Moises Alou went up against the brick wall in left and Steve Bartman did what any fan would have done. I remember being frustrated, but as a fourth grader the enormity of the situation didn't stand out to me. I viewed it as a bump in the road in that game and that game alone, but for my dad, a lifelong Cub fan who had experienced plenty of Cub-related heartbreak before that game, it was a much bigger deal. My dad is one of the most laid-back and easy-going individuals I've ever met, but when Bartman touched that ball and my brother, Zach (a Cardinal fan, no less), started laughing, my dad about lost it ("IT'S NOT FUNNY!"). Needless to say, that's one of the funnier moments we reflect on as a family now, but how fitting is it that my first memory of cheering for the Cubs is one of heartbreak?

It's hard to believe this year will be the 15th anniversary of that game. The craziest part about it is how much the Cubs' organization has changed since then. In 15 years the Cubs have had plenty of different "saviors" who would lead the ball club to that coveted World Series title: Nomar Garciaparra, Derrek Lee, Alfonso Soriano and Lou Piniella just to name a few. Not one of those guys made it out of the NLDS. However, those guys gave the fan base hope. It was after they were all gone, with Soriano being the last man standing, that things had to get ugly in order to get pretty.

I have this app on my phone called "TimeHop" which, for those of you not familiar with it, allows you to see your social media posts from past years on today's date. Looking back four, five and six years ago on that app at this time of year is incredibly painful. Seeing the starting lineups featuring the likes of Luis Valbuena, Emilio Bonifacio and Jeff Baker isn't something I hope to relive any time soon. Add in the fact that Carlos Marmol was the closer back then and you have a heart attack waiting to happen. Cubs baseball was not fun back then. Did I still watch as many games as I could? Absolutely. All the way through September. It was brutal most days, but there was a reason for it and Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer had the 5-year plan in place.

So now here we are in 2018. A World Series banner has been raised and the Cubs have made three consecutive trips to the NLCS. I grew up watching an NL Central division that was perennially dominated by the St. Louis Cardinals. Heck, the Cardinals made three consecutive trips to the NLCS TWO SEPARATE TIMES. My brother couldn't have been more spoiled as a Cardinals fan. Sheesh. But look at who was on those Cardinals teams. Generational legends like Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen. All-time legends like Albert Pujols and Tony LaRussa. Those teams were flat-out good, and now the Cubs have the roster to make the same noise those Cardinals teams did.

Who would have thought there would ever be a year where Cubs fans couldn't wait for their bullpen to enter the game? Last night, Justin Wilson walked three straight hitters to load the bases only to watch new-comer Steve Cishek strike out Lorenzo Cain to get out of the jam. The days of watching Kevin Gregg or Brian Schlitter blow a late-game lead are over. They have one of if not the best bullpen in baseball right now (albeit with a very small sample size) and even though they're off to a bit of a slow start, their starting rotation should be at least in the top five, potentially top three by the end of the season. There is not a single hole in their batting order and the youth of the team projects perennial contention for the next few years. This is a Cubs team unlike any other Cub team before them.

So stop panicking. Stop being impatient. Stop questioning the Cubs' focus or motivation. It's April 7th. This team was built for longevity, not just "win now" on a one or two year timeline. Cubs fans (myself included) have been so spoiled these past three years and I never thought I'd be able to say that. The problem now, though, is that success is not a hope or a pleasant surprise, it's an expectation. Hoyer and Epstein have made all the right moves and now the team has shown the potential it has. That brings about a lot of pressure, but also a lot of irrationality from the fan base.

The bottom line is this: things could be so much worse. It's a beautiful day when a 3-4 start can be considered a reason to be anxious rather than bringing about a "here we go again" mentality when thinking of the season as a whole. Be excited because truthfully, it could and has been so much worse. I'd take a 3-4 record with Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Addison Russell and Javy Baez headlining the Cubs any day over a team with Marlon Byrd, Bryan LaHair and Koyie Hill. Smile, Cub fans. Life's pretty darn good right now.

For the Cubs and the City of Chicago, "Next Year" is Finally Here

12:47 AM eastern time. Two outs, and a one-run lead. Mike Montgomery was on the mound. Wait, who? Talk about your unlikely closer. This moment was made for Aroldis Chapman, the flame-throwing left-hander who came up big time and time again in the World Series. Or maybe this moment was Jon Lester, the prized 2015 free agent who put up Cy Young-caliber numbers this season. Or maybe, though it's a stretch, this moment was for Hector Rondon. A guy who struggled with consistency yet still managed to seal a couple key wins for the Cubs these past few seasons, yet lost his closing job when Chapman was acquired this summer. Could you imagine Rondon being the hero after the guy who took his job was knocked out of the game? So many scenarios, so many possibilities, but it was Montgomery who had the weight of 108 years and generations of sadness on his shoulders.

108 years later, the Cubs can celebrate once more

And it didn't phase him one bit. That final pitch, a curve ball that the Cleveland Indians' Michael Martinez grounded just past the mound to a charging Kris Bryant, is the pitch that will replay in the minds of Cubs fans for eternity. Bryant threw the ball to Anthony Rizzo, Montgomery completed the one-out save, and the baseball world was turned upside down. The Chicago Cubs, yes, THE Chicago Cubs, were World Series champions. There are people who lived and died without ever saying those words in the same sentence. Yet here we are, still trying to comprehend what took place in Cleveland, Ohio last night.

So many times in that game it seemed like the Cubs were going to crumble. Dexter Fowler's lead-off home run seemed too good to be true when it happened, but the Cubs piled it on early. It was in the fifth inning when things started to get shaky, and every Cub fan desperately hoped and prayed that this team would avoid another historic collapse. David Ross' throwing error, Lester's wild pitch, Chapman giving up three straight hits, Rajai Davis' game-tying home run in the eighth. You name it. Time after time it seemed like the Cubs' magical season was going to come to a horrific end. So many times it seemed like history could repeat itself.

But this team never cared about history. Dexter Fowler said it himself. This team was not going to break under any pressure. Down three runs in the ninth inning of game four in the NLDS? No worries. Fail to score a run in consecutive NLCS games? Don't sweat. Trail 3-1 in the World Series which requires winning two of three games on the road? No big deal. Time and time again this Cubs team was faced with season-threatening obstacles. To watch this team fight back and show grit and heart that no Cubs team has ever shown is something that every baseball fan should be able to admire. I understand the Cubs have their fair share of enemies and haters, but to look at a group of kids, literally kids with a little veteran leadership,  and see the maturity, the fight that this group has. How can you not appreciate that?

It's what brought so much excitement to the north side of Chicago. It's what gave every single Cub fan reason to hope. The emotions that fans feel towards the Cubs are something no other fan base can truly appreciate. No other fan base in all of sports understands what that kind of perennial mediocrity and disappointment feels like. I'm 22 years old, I don't even know the full affects of that, but I'm old enough to vividly remember "The Bartman Game". I watched the Cubs get swept out of the playoffs back-to-back years in '07 and '08. I sat and watched as they lost 101 games in 2012. I witnessed the Cubs drop four in a row to the New York Mets in the 2015 NLCS. 22 years of age and still experienced all that disappointment. God bless those Cubs fans who are on the back half of their lives. That's dedication that will always be respected.

That is why emotions were in abundance when Bryant and Rizzo combined for that 5-3 putout. Decades of hope, passion, and anxiety finally rewarded. No more talk of curses. No more jokes. No more "this is what was happening in the world the last time the Cubs won" on Sportscenter. No more waiting for next year. The Cubs are on top of the baseball world, and this team is built to last.

Bedlam in Wrigleyville

So now what? 108 years of pain has been alleviated, so where do the Cubs go from here? The "lovable losers" label is long gone and the wait for a championship is now over. Are the Cubs ever going to be the same? The answer is no, and that's perfectly okay. Look at what the Red Sox have done since they broke their curse: they're now perennial contenders (with a few bad years sprinkled in) and have sustained their success. To this generation, they are a better organization than the New York Yankees even though history would certainly tell us otherwise. Are the Cubs now setting themselves up to be viewed as superior to the St. Louis Cardinals? Again, history would tell us otherwise, but for now the Cubs are in the driver's seat in the NL Central with a young core that will be around for at least a couple more years. And now, with no curses to think about and every single reason to hope, Cubs fans can truly begin to wonder if a dynasty started on November 3rd, 2016.


I shed a lot of tears last night. I wasn't old enough to appreciate Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls. The Cubs went to the playoffs four separate times before this year and never came close to winning the World Series. Shawn May and the North Carolina Tar Heels beat Illinois in the 2005 men's basketball championship. Peyton Manning and the Colts took down the Chicago Bears in the 2006 Super Bowl. USC disposed of Illinois in the 2007 Rose Bowl. Derrick Rose went down with a torn ACL in 2012, one year after the Miami Heat beat the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals, and that core's potential was never fully realized. I've never experienced what it's like to have a favorite team of mine win on one of the games' biggest stages. Let me tell you, watching my brother and grandpa celebrate a couple St. Louis Cardinal World Series wins got old really quick, too. So last night, there was a lot of emotion that went into that Cubs victory. Sweet relief and pure joy. This Cubs team gave the city and its fans everything they had and completed one of the best seasons in major league history. And you know what's most exciting? They could just be getting started. Hey Chicago, what do you say?

For St. Louis, Cubs Present Serious Threat

Normally, winning 100 games with several key players injured throughout the season in the MLB's toughest division bodes well for the future. The St. Louis Cardinals held off the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates last season to win the National League Central despite patching together a roster that suffered injuries to Matt Holliday, Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright and Matt Adams. With hardly any roster turnover, and the above players all healthy, there's hardly a reason to doubt that St. Louis can replicate last season's success.

Except for one thing: the Chicago Cubs.

The Lovable Losers were neither lovable nor losers to Cardinals fans last season as Theo Epstein's master plan started paying dividends. Chicago's young studs Kris Bryant, Addison Russell and Kyle Schwarber all enjoyed successful seasons and the Cubs received a career year from Jake Arrieta. After dispatching the Cards in five games in the NLDS, the Cubs were defeated by the Mets in the Championship Series.

The successful campaign was apparently a year ahead of Epstein's schedule and that has the baseball world gushing over Chicago. Several media outlets have picked the Cubs to end the 108-year drought and win the World Series, while manager Joe Maddon has his team wearing shirts that say "Embrace the Target." Life is good on the Northside of Chicago and there's reason to be excited.

For the Cardinals, life is changing. The Central Division has been owned by St. Louis since the new millennium as the Cardinals have won nine division titles. In addition, the Cardinals have also been a wild card team three separate times in that span, while adding two championships to their collection. Rarely has St. Louis not been the favorite in the division and it's been a while since they looked up to the Cubs. Sure, Chicago tasted playoff success in 2003 and won the division in 2008, but it wasn't like last year. Last year was different. Last year, legitimate belief trumped Cubbie skepticism and a confidence rarely seen overshadowed fear of curses.

In the offseason, Chicago signed former Cardinals Jason Heyward and John Lackey, along with Ben Zobrist. The Cubs got better. The Cardinals stayed the same. In the St. Louis clubhouse, the belief is that the organization did get better in the offseason by getting healthy. A pitching staff that was a bit thin will get its ace back in Wainwright and a lineup that was starved for runs at certain points will get Holliday and Adams back.

But is it enough? Everybody is healthy for the Cardinals, but will it stay that way? The reality is that Holliday is 36, Wainwright is 34 and Molina is 33. On the other side of the coin, Randal Grichuk hasn't played a full season without injury and Stephen Piscotty is unproven, although he did tear up the 2015 postseason.

Think about this: the Cardinals won 100 games while ranking 24th in the league in runs scored and 25th in home runs. The low offensive output put extreme pressure on the pitching staff, which responded with a league-best 2.49 ERA. Just how good is that figure? The Pirates' staff was second in the league with a 3.21 ERA.

It would be foolish to count on the same domination from the pitching staff and if St. Louis is to keep its strangle-hold of the Central than the lineup must produce.

As for the Cubs, Maddon is right - the target is squarely on their back. Fans are aching for the agony to end. But before blue and red confetti can rain down on Michigan Avenue, the Cubs have to win and that may be tougher than it looks. The roster is stacked with talent, but the Cubs made it through last year with hardly any injuries. Luck was on their side. They will need a little luck again this season in the ultra-competitive Central Division.

St. Louis is the king of the Central; the past 15 years tell us so. The Cubs are no longer the lovable losers; last season showed us that. And St. Louis knows they must be firing on cylinders if they are going to win their fourth-straight division title.

Because the Cubs are coming and they are embracing the target.

Hamilton Tearing Apart AL Competition

If you haven't taken notice of what Josh Hamilton has been doing the past week then now would be a good time to do so. The Rangers have won four of their last six heading into the Sunday Night Baseball showdown against the LA Angels and Hamilton has been tearing the cover off the ball. Over the course of those last six games he has hit nine home runs with a four-homer game on May 8th the highlight. Hamilton is hitting .402 with 18 home runs and 41 RBIs just 34 games into the season. As of now he is running away with the Triple Crown race, which has not been won since 1967 by Carl Yastrzemski. Hamilton's .402 average is thirty points higher than Derek Jeter's, who is in second place and he has eight more dingers than the next closest player. He also has 11 more RBIs than second place Miguel Cabrera. His Rangers are 22-12 and leading the American League and it appears this could finally be the year that he leads Texas to that elusive World Series title.

The Texas Rangers had the World Series almost wrapped up last season before David Freese and the St. Louis Cardinals performed one of the great Fall Classic miracles, stealing Game 6 and winning it all in Game 7. In the offseason the Angels and Detroit Tigers dominated the headlines by signing power hitters Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder. Yet it is Hamilton who has been called the best player in the American League by several analysts this season. Consider these numbers: Fielder and Pujols have combined for just six home runs this season. Hamilton has hit three times that amount. The two also combine for 27 RBIs compared to Hamilton's 41. Pujols is hitting just .195 while Fielder is below his normal average at .266. While the two new AL sluggers get accustomed to their new homes their teams continue to suffer. Detroit is .500 while the Angels are at the bottom of the AL West. Another stat worth mentioning is the fact that the entire San Diego Padres team has hit just 13 home runs.

We can expect Hamilton to come back down to Earth, but the fact of the matter is that he will most likely finish the year .330/50/150 if he stays healthy. Sure, there will be slumps, but Hamilton is hitting at such a torrid pace right now that his stats will still be above average. Healthy is the key word though as that has been a problem for Hamilton. He is one of, if not the most, talented players in the game of baseball when 100 percent. He can hit for average and power, run the bases, and play a stellar centerfield. He is well protected in the Rangers lineup with bats like Ian Kinsler, Elvis Andrus, Adrian Beltre, and Nelson Cruz surrounding him.

Still, the personal stats are nice and the trophies and accolades will add to his legacy, but the Rangers big prize would be a World Series trophy. The two-time defending AL champs have come up short the past two seasons and one must wonder how much longer they can keep this team together. They are a complete team with a potent lineup and a pitching rotation that's solid from top to bottom. The loss of C.J. Wilson was offset by the addition of Yu Darvish, who has been lights out thus far. Right now, the Rangers are clicking on all cylinders, and if it keeps up they will be World Series champions and their star should win the American League MVP and perhaps the Triple Crown. Stay tuned.

Cards Cap Unbelievable Comeback For 11th World Series Title

Sports are made for fairy tale endings. We see it all the time in movies like Rudy, Remember the Titans and others, but sometimes it seems that there are no such endings in the real sports world. Hollywood can make a great fake fairy tale ending but none of that could come close to what took place in St. Louis late Friday night. The St. Louis Cardinals completed one of the most incredible comebacks in sports history, defeating the Texas Rangers 6-2 in Game 7 of the 107th World Series. The victory wrapped up the 11th World Series for the franchise and it's their second since the millenium hit.

Written off in August, the St. Louis Cardinals made a furious comeback in the final weeks of the regular season to overtake the Atlanta Braves and clinch the Wild Card on the final day of the season. What did that get them? A date in the NLDS with the MLB-best Philadelphia Phillies and their lights out pitching staff. Trailing 2-1 in the series and with their backs against the wall, the Cards pulled out two tight games in a row to win the series. By now, Chris Carpenter's legendary Game 5 pitching performance against Roy Halladay has found it's place in Cardinal baseball folklore and the win was easily the playoffs biggest upset. Division rival Milwaukee was standing in the way of the pennant but, again, St. Louis found a way to win. The offense averaged over seven runs a game in the series and it seemed like Tony La Russa almost averaged that many trips to the mound to change pitchers every game.

It's safe to say that the Cardinals were underdogs in the LDS and LCS and that didn't change in the Fall Classic. Texas lost last year's World Series to San Francisco but was back again with a powerful lineup and a bullpen that had been pitching extremely well. Many experts picked the Rangers in six games and the Cardinals seemed to just be a nice story but a team that was going to finally run out of October magic. Wrong. In one of the best World Series in a long time, the two teams went back and forth and four of the games were decided by two runs or less with only one game being decided by more than four runs. For the Cardinals it usually wasn't one of the stars who played the role of hero, but rather one of the role players. Allen Craig won Game 1 with a clutch pinch hit and nearly won Game 2 in the same way. Game 3 was a slugfest that became Albert Pujols' game to write his name into World Series record books. After dropping Games 4 and 5 the Cardinals once again found themselves with their backs against the wall.

A better script couldn't have been written. Relentless team battles back time and time again with the hometown kid hitting a clutch triple to tie it up. Then that same kid blasts the walkoff homerun a few innings later. Talk about a fairy tale ending. Trailing 7-4 in the eighth inning, Allen Craig hit a solo homer to cut the lead to two. At the time it seemed irrelevant but hindsight is always 20/20 and if Craig doesn't hit that home run than David Freese may not even get the chance to be a hero...for the first time. The Cardinals were down to their last strike but Freese's two run triple in the ninth tied it up and forced extras. Josh Hamilton promptly launched a two run homer to put Texas up by two again but St. Louis rallied one more time. This time Lance Berkman had the game-tying hit and that set the stage for Freese's 11th inning leadoff home run to dead center, sending the city of St. Louis into a frenzy. There would be a Game 7 in the World Series for the first time since 2002.

There was only a quick moment of doubt that the Cardinals would win Game 7. Texas took a two run lead in the top of the first but Freese erased it with a two run double in the bottom half of the frame. Allen Craig homered an inning later to give his team the lead and later on, leaped up to rob Nelson Cruz of a home run. Up four in the top of the ninth, Jason Motte delivered the pitch to David Murphy who hit a fly out to left. Craig twisted around before getting under the ball. He caught it, raised both arms in the air and hugged Jon Jay. On the infield Yadier Molina leaped into Motte's arms while Pujols and others ran to join the dog pile on the mound. They hugged, high-fived and put on their championship shirts and hats. The St. Louis Cardinals had, perhaps, just completed the greatest comeback story in the history of sport. Down 10.5 games with a month remaining, coming back in all three postseason series including the World Series where they were down to their final strike twice.

How did they do it? The stars performed well like they should have but the St. Louis Cardinals are not the World Series champions if it isn't for Freese, Craig and the bullpen. Craig wasn't even supposed to be in the lineup for Game 7 but he wound up hitting the go-ahead home run and taking away another. Freese made a critical error in Game 6 but made up for it with his two clutch hits. The bullpen was atrocious at times during the regular season but, with a few exceptions, was lights out in the postseason. La Russa wore a path to the mound, making 3-5 pitching changes a game and he made the right move almost every time.

There will always be talk about the baseball postseason struggling to get viewers on television and many will say it can't compete with the NFL. That might be true but here's what I know: America just witnessed one of the best postseasons any sport has ever offered. Baseball is a special game and what makes it special is hard to describe. Those who love it can relate and those who don't will never understand the true beauty of the game. The 107th World Series will go down as one of the all-time greats and one that truly showed the beauty of baseball.

The only sadness in my heart now is that the season is over. Start the countdown now: 100 days until Spring Training begins. Congratulations to the St. Louis Cardinals on winning their 11th World Series title.