Mid-season Appraisal From Wrigleyville

Living within 5 blocks of the Wrigley bleachers you are surrounded by all things Cub -- banners, sign cards, souvenirs, posters, people in uniform and my personal favorite, a Mona Lisa painted on the wall of Panino's, a nearby pizzaria I favor just a few blocks east of Wrigley. She is not sporting her usual, cryptic smile but a Cub hat instead.

It was here on a Friday night that I encountered a few fellow Cub fans as the team faced Florida and attempted to break its horrid recent stretch. "I moved here for the Cubs and this is the only year,'' said one female, almost unable to watch. She then outlined her dream scenario for the second half: Washington Nats fade (a possibility, surely), Atlanta moves up to take the Eastern division and the Cubs can sneak into the wild-card berth (seems a long shot given that in past years it took 90 wins, but hope springs eternal).

Another fan took a less optimistic view. "I'm so mad at them right now. I hope they lose 10 straight.'' Anger in Wrigleyville, festering for years with the disappointing follow-up to 2003's glorious playoff run, was in full bloom and it wasn't pretty.

I could relate because I moved here for much of the same reasons. After following the Cubs long distance for most of my life I had the leeway to live where I wanted and I chose their own backyard, much as Nick Hornby did for "Fever Pitch.'' And I was feeling some of the same sense of betrayal at the time, down over the Cubs and their cursed chances for ever putting a true championship team on the field. Thinking of giving up my tickets (partial season plan only), boycotting, disconnecting from the misery that surrounded all things Cubdom. As if that were
truly possible...

But just as the gloom and doom were setting in, the rains passed in Atlanta, Dempster came in and got the job done and they swept the Fish in fine style, the leadoff hitters getting on base and the big bats (and pitchers, especially Kerry Wood) coming through and raising hopes for a meaningful second half of being in the race for the wild-card. Hey, if Houston can climb over .500 from 15 below no reason we can't make a run, right, especially given a favorable second-half schedule. What did I hear today, 21 of the next 27 games are against teams with sub .500 records. Time to make our move....

It's always exciting to see fresh blood enter the scene and the Cubs have been woeful at developing solid position players over the years; Corey Patterson is the only one from the last 6-7 years and look where he is now. The Cubs, taking their cue from the Braves, seemed to be energized by the demotion of CP and the arrival of minor leaguers Matt Murton and Adam Greenberg, but it's hard to imagine them being big-time contributors in 2005. The boil-up is now beginning, on radio talk shows and in the streets, over CF Felix Pie, a younger, presumably better version of Corey, sidelined with a freak injury but on track for Wrigley before season's end. There's also renewed, maybe false hope about Nomar's return, possibly as soon as early August, needed now that Neifi has slipped from hitting .400 in May to to the .260s in July, as realists all expected.

So we'll take a deep breath and see what happens when they return from the break. There's been continuous talk about what "moves'' the Cubs might make to improve the team before the All-Star break, acquiring another bat for the OF or possibly bolstering the bullpen. I don't see that many tradeable parts to acquire much talent, unless you give up a Wood or Maddux. Maybe this is a "rebuilding'' year, a bridge from the Sosa-Alou years to the Murton-Pie future, and we should be satisfied if we see some promise out of the kids (including Ronny Cedeno who should get more playing time in the 2nd half pending Nomar's status).

As a kid growing up downstate I used to devour the Chicago papers particuarly enjoying this time of year when the scribes covering the teams would "switch'' beats and one writer would tell the other ("Dear Edgar Munzel...'') what to look for. That practice is no longer in fashion, but what a contrast this season so far with Expectations/ Payoffs on the North and South Sides. The Sox' secrets seem so simple from a distance: a solid pitching staff (deep, dependable bullpen included) and well-balanced attack that plays "good fundamental baseball'' (to borrow a Santo-ism) for a fiery skipper. That means getting on base (yes, walks count), advancing runners, stealing bases, doing all the little things it takes to win. A few fatalists are concerned with the Sox losing three straight to Oakland before the break, but unless they collapse like the '64 Phillies there is no way they can miss the playoffs. That might be a good thing in stimulating more spending and off-season activity from Tribune/Cub brass. They and all of baseball may borrow a few lessons from "Ozzie-ball'' if it takes the Sox all the way to the Promised Land. I am not ready to jump on the Sox bandwagon yet, but will root for them when they're the only Chicago team still standing in October. Or should I say when that happens??

The Cubs still have a window of opportunity to win with their core of talented pitchers Prior-Wood-Zambrano intact through 2006 with maybe another year from Maddux IF they can ever stay healthy and start reeling off W's like the Sox' (and St. Louis') Big 3 has done this season. Look at the standings, up and down the National League, and you'll see there just aren't that many outstanding teams to overtake (the Cardinals are the clear standouts in the NL, with a big falloff from there to the overachieving debutants in D.C. and the always steady Braves.) The Cubs, for the first time in my lifetime, seem truly committed to putting a contending team on the field year after year. I still want to believe it can and will happen, that 2003 was not a mirage but just the beginning of a long stretch of Wrigley winning, not whining. Dusty Baker points with pride to his teams' second-half surges, so we'll wait and see.

I have decided in my maturity that after 35 years of following this team, it's a long-term proposition and I'll give the Cubs a temporary pass if 2005 is not the year we all wanted it to be. A wise old Dodgers fan (Brooklyn era ) advised me once that all you really want out of your team is a fun run, to give you the excitment and anticipation as a fan of being in a pennant race, each game important to you and the standings. It used to be if you fell much below .500, (circa the 1975 Cubs of Bill Madlock and Co.) with one or two divisions and only the winners advancing to the playoffs, the second half was pretty meaningless. Nowadays with the wild-card as a fallback, mediocrity in the form of a .500 team like these Cubs keeps you on the fringes of a race for most of the season. Maybe it's an illusion and we're all kidding ourselves, but yes Mr. Cub, we're still alive in '05.

So here's to a healthy and productive second half with all things clicking and falling the Cubs' way. It's nearly impossible to do during losing streaks and goes against the well-established Wrigley grain, but to keep our sanity we've got to adapt that catchy Monty Python/Spamalot ditty as our new anthem: "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life."