December 2, 2008
After a century, Cubs have arrived again
The Cubs win the World Series? Yeah, right. Fat chance.
That'll be the year that panic sweeps Wall Street, Yankee Stadium falls down and a black man becomes president of the United States.
Oh, wait.
You know, crazy as it sounds, they've got a shot. A real shot, almost as sure as Michael Jordan's from the free-throw line against the Utah Jazz. As I sit here and write this, hours before the start of their opening-round series with the Dodgers, not even bothering to wait just in case they lose Game 1, confidence is flowing from my fingers. The Cubs are gonna do it.
After 100 years of wondering what victory Champagne tastes like, after breaking more hearts than Brad Pitt, after being everyone's favorite losers for decades, the Cubs will win and if you think Chicago was ablaze after Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked that lantern in 1871, you haven't seen nothing yet.
Yes, not only will this happen, it must happen, because the Cubs never will have a better chance. In fact, if they're not holding the trophy and booting all those curses to the curb in three weeks, then it might be 100 more years before the Cubs have this much twinkle in their eyes.
They must win because nobody out there is standing in the Cubs' way, looking unbeatable. The Yankees were the last dominant team in baseball, and they stopped winning World Series championships, oh, it seems like 50 years ago.
They must win because Lou Piniella isn't getting any younger or giving his dirt-kicking shoes any rest. Ever since he arrived in town a few years ago, Lou has been absolutely right for this team.
Piniella, who won the World Series with the Reds in 1990, had the best regular-season team in baseball several years ago but Seattle went out meekly in the postseason to the Yankees. He spent a handful of frustrating seasons in Florida with the coupon-clipping Devil Rays, only to flee to Chicago, only to see, wouldn't you know it, the Rays turn devilish all of a sudden.
They must win because the Cubs just finished the season as one of the best three teams in baseball, and are the class of the National League by far. Really, there was no stopping them from rolling through the schedule, sidetracked only a few times by speed bumps here and there.
The Cubs earned what they got. They didn't get a watermelon stuck in their throats like the Mets did, or take advantage of a weak division like the Dodgers did, or feel the need to fire their manager in the stretch run like the Brewers. The Cubs just took care of business and left the craziness to others.
They must win because they can pitch better than you think. Ryan Dempster was surprisingly and scarily good during the season. Carlos Zambrano, on his best days, had few peers on the mound. And by the looks of things, the Yankees sure miss Ted Lilly, you think?
They must win because Kerry Wood needs to complete the cycle from starter to closer. You know his story by now: He came into the league throwing flame, then saw his arm go deader than a blind squirrel crossing the road. He then was considered washed up, but found salvation in the 'pen.
Wood knows heartburn, just like the Cubs, but his saga can take a happy turn, like this year's Cubs.
They must win because old and charming ballparks cut in the Wrigley mold need a reason to keep on living.
They must win because Cub fans get tired of smart alecks bringing up curses like the Billy Goat and Steve Bartman, and mentioning the Billy Goat and Steve Bartman, and getting the Billy Goat and Steve Bartman shoved in their faces, and reading about the Billy Goat and Steve Bartman, and . . .
They must win because they can't keep going much longer without a reason to celebrate. Can they?
Purely on simple mathematical odds alone, and because logic and gravity say you must eventually win after so many years of losing, the Cubs will finally get the elusive championship. The only professional team with a misery streak even close to the Cubs' is the Arizona Cardinals. They last won a title in 1947, when they were based in . . . Chicago.
Cubs in six, over the White Sox, here in 2008, which is about to get crazier.
Mixx it!
Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.
Popular stories
- Don't let a disaster ruin your big day
- U.S. stars to let it fly
- Rahula Strohl: From the Cubicle
- Tynes confident he'd stick a fork in Packers
- Your dream wedding gown is within reach
- A weekend in Ridgefield, Conn.
- Recession primer: How to cut costs
- Bill O'Donovan: The next judge
- Call in the family
- Environmental Pollution
- Pat Bell
- Southampton County
- International Olympic Committee
- Wrestling
