The C stands for Choke
There's no other way to say it, they friggin' choked. The Cubs dropped a giant turd in the 2008 punch bowl, and all memories of this "magical" season have pretty much gone right down the crapper. It's so pathetic that I don't even know where to start.
I can't blame Jim Hendry. What more could he have done? It wasn't him making the errors. I can't fault Lou Piniella much. He made a few minor head scratchers but he certainly didn't go 1-for-14 either. The players just botched it. I think it was in their head. They know about the history. They're asked about it every single day. They all wanted to be on the team that finally won a championship for this city. So that's on their mind with every swing; every grounder. They don't just play baseball. Seriously, the team needs dumb (yet also good) players that simply "see ball, hit ball". 1969? That was before I was born. 2003? Don't know nothin' about it; I was in Des Moines. 2008? Uh, what year is it again?
The real problem is wondering where the hell do they go from here. I mean, what moves can Jim Hendry make to make the team better? Get a reliable, every day, left-handed bat? I guess. A dependable middle reliever? Would either of those additions made a difference this postseason? Not a chance. Some might say "blow it up." I have a hard time agreeing with that. They won 97 games. This is/was the best Cubs team of my lifetime. They're good if not great at every position. They're deep. They just need to NOT FUCKING CHOKE when they get to the playoffs.
And what happens next year when (if) the Cubs have a 20-game lead in August? Will it really matter? Why should I get excited about regular season wins? Am I supposed to jump up and down and spray champagne on my neighbors when they win the Central again? It won't mean anything. Its all bullshit unless they win a title. That's all there is to it.
I don't know, maybe I'm looking at this all wrong. I should just throw all that fancy "title" talk out the window. I should just know that it will never happen, so why should I torture myself? The journey is the reward. What's great about Lord of the Rings isn't the climax or the ending, it's the 2,000 "magical" pages that precede it. Cubs win on a walkoff in June? Party time. Just sit down, shut up, and drink my beer with a smile on my face. That's the ONLY reward I'm ever going to get.
Oh, and through all this I've found a new hatred for the White Sox. A little background. I've NEVER hated on the Sox. The only time that I've ever rooted against them is when they are playing the Cubs. I really don't care about the South Siders. They're in a different league, playing against different competition. I was happy for them in 2005, and I was happy for them when they won game 163 against the Twins last week. Why? Because when it doesn't affect the Cubs, I root for my city. Call me crazy. But then, Friday happened. I listened to Waddle and Silvy on ESPN 1000 for a few hours, and a bunch Cubs fans were calling to talk about Game 2. Typical venting, whining, anger, etc. Sox fans were calling in, too. Did they want to talk about their own Game 1 loss? Did they want to talk about Beuhrle and Game 2? Hell no, they were giddy as little school girls because of the Cubs collapse. Seriously. They could care less about the Sox. It wasn't just one d-bag either. There was a whole bunch of them. Then Sunday, right after the Sox won game 3 and staved off elimination for one day...I got a text from a Sox fan congratulating the Cubs on their magical season with the best record in baseball. What a bunch of stereotypical, wife-beating, inferiority complex-wearin' losers. Worry about your own god-damned team. I heard from one Sox fan that more or less sent condolences, but other than that it was nothing but South Siders rubbing it in. So from now on - fuck 'em. I let out a little cheer when they lost to the Rays today. Call me the asshole.
Or just call the Cubs the assholes. That's what I've been doing for three days.