Footprints

by Budd Glassberg

Reprinted with permission from the Zionsville Times Sentinel on August 29, 2007

If Not Now, When?

I can hold my tongue no longer. Friends have called me. Readers have emailed me. Strangers approach me on the trails. All who know my tendencies have been waiting for the other shoe to drop. With September approaching and my beloved Cubs in the rare position of being not completely out of contention for the National League Central Division, friends and foe alike have inquired as to why I have not written a column this year on the perennial cellar dwellers of baseball.

To be fair, the Cubs are not only “not out of contention”, they are atop of the Central division, be it only by a slim margin, but leading nonetheless. Oh sure, they have the worst won/lost record among the six division leaders and are as of this writing, three games behind in the wild card chase, but all they have to do is win their division (weak as it is).

My good friend and fellow Cub fan, John, who celebrates with each Cub win and figuratively dies with each loss, is riding the typical Cub roller coaster of emotions. With each loss he fears it is only the beginning of the end of the season. Then a small winning streak happens and he believes the team has risen from the dead and may actually finally take us to the Promised Land.

I take a different approach to the day to day changes. In baseball, nearly every team will win 1/3 and lose 1/3 of their games no matter how good or bad they are. The other third is where the champions are separated from the chumps. A 12-2 loss is much less painful than the 4-3 loss in 11 innings. The 9-4 win provides less momentum than a 1-0 shutout over a divisional rival. This way some losses are less painful and some wins offer less euphoria than others.

Certain fans subscribe to the school of wanting (and expecting) their team to grab a large lead in the standings and run away with their divisions. They hope that their team has locked up the division title by mid September. I have seen enough playoffs to know that it is better for a team to have a tough fight to make the playoffs than an easy path. The more close important games the team is forced to win in a close playoff race, the better that team will play when and if they make it into the playoffs. It is the difference between having a sure thing in making the playoffs and having your team in position to do well in the playoffs if they make it there.

Listen. The Chicago Cubs last World Series championship came in 1908. That is 99 years ago this October, a dubious record indeed. Between 1909 and 1945 the Cubs played in a total of seven World Series without a championship, another record in futility. In 1910, 1918, 1929, 1932, 1935, 1938 and 1945 the Cubs played and lost to various American League teams in the World Series. From 1946 through 2006 the Cubs have not appeared in a World Series, a record of 60 consecutive years.

Since 1946 the Cubs have made five runs at winning the National League pennant. The first came in 1969 a year which found the Cubs leading the hated Mets by 10 games in August only to lose the pennant by 8 games with a memorable collapse akin to the Hindenberg disaster. The next came in 1984 when the notorious Steve Garvey and his damn Padres beat the Cubs in the playoffs 3 games to 2 after the Cubs won the first two at home. In 1989 the Boys of Zimmer again made the playoffs only to lose 4 games to 1 to the Giants. 1998 was particularly notable as the Cubs needed one extra game in the season to win the Wild Card spot in the playoffs by beating the Giants. They promptly lost three straight to the Braves in the first round of the playoffs. Most recently, in 2003 the Cubs had their first post season series win beating Atlanta 3 games to 2. They took the Marlins to the seventh game of the league championship series before losing 4 games to 3. That series’ sixth game was most agonizing as the Cubs came within 5 outs of making it to the World Series before the now infamous Steve Bartman incident.

That brings us to 2007 as the Cubs fight their way toward another shot at the Series. Most of the usual suspects are hanging around looking to spoil it one more time for the Chicago northsiders. The Mets lead the NL East, the Padres and the Braves are wild card contenders, the Tigers (the last team to beat the Cubs in the World Series) are fighting for the AL Central, the Cardinals (perennial Cub killers and most despised rivals) who loom close behind the Cubs all stand in the way of the Cubs ending their World Series slump. Only the Giants and Marlins are not going to be factors this year.

Can the Cubs finally get this monkey turned gorilla off of their proverbial backs? Will they keep from going a full century without the ultimate championship? There would be nothing sweeter than slaying each of the dragons who have denied the Cubs over all of these years. If not now, then when? I am thinking that this is their year. If it doesn’t happen, these are just the rumblings of a demented Cubs fan. If it does happen, remember that you heard it here first.

Budd Glassberg is a 23 year resident of Zionsville who works and volunteers in the community. Visit www.runz.com for reprints of all his columns. You can reach him by email at budd@runz.com.