Down and Out

The opera ain't over but the fat lady is surely warming up in the bullpen for the wilting '05 Chicago Cubs. The sense of frustration here in Wrigleyville could not be much stronger; I will be interested to see and hear how the crowd reacts at tonight's game and throughout the coming "make or break'' homestand.

This team cannot sustain any kind of run with its disappointing pitching staff and challenged offense. It's enough to turn one into a Sox fan--almost.



A few weeks ago in the heady pre-All Star surge and after that nice Sunday night win over St. Louis there was good reason to maintain optimism. In a post I quoted the Monty Python ditty, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.'' It's a good philosophy to avoid the doom and gloom that losing streaks can bring on, but I cannot honestly subscribe to it anymore this year. I'm down and out. This year's Cub team stayed in it for 4 months (for the wild card) but the last two will not find us realistically in the chase, I'm afraid. There are too many better teams in front of the Cubs now. As I write this the "experts'' on Chicago Tribune Live agree it's unofficially over for the NorthSiders, but there's still plenty to ponder as we look ahead.



Fortunately for lifelong fans, the future should not be bleak, and the Cubs should use the last two months of 2005 to find out who can and cannot contribute in '06--players like Matt Murton and Ronny Cedeno, for example, deserve more playing time. It hurts to see Milwaukee with its up and comers overtaking the Cubs, but GM Jim Hendry and the Cub brass needs to look around and learn that nothing inspires and sparks a team like fresh talent. The Cubs need to get younger, especially in that dismal outfield where the only semi-bright spot has been the replacement of Sammy Sosa with the aged but adequate Jeromy Burnitz. With Corey Patterson's regression and Todd Hollandsworth's utter failure to deliver as an everyday player, they have had to mix and match with a succession of standbys (Macias in CF?) whose overall production is among baseball's worst. What will the '06 OF look like? Will the Cubs give up on Patterson in the off-season, go for a Johnny Damon or another flychaser in a trade? I'd like to see an all-new OF with Murton, Felix Pie and a player TBA (maybe a resurgent Patterson), but I'm afraid the Cubs will bring back Burnintz because he's the best they've got, and relatively cheap to boot. The best thing that can be said about '05 is that we put Sammy in our rear-view mirror and never looked back. It would be really ugly if he were still patrolling RF.



I won't even go into the middle infield or pitching questions but they are not insurmountable. I've got some concerns about Greg Maddux' decline and of course Kerry Wood, but they should be able to patch together a dependable staff built around Prior and Zambrano for a few more years. I'm starting to debate with myself already whether it's worth the money to support this team in person at the prices they charge ($38 a game for "prime'' seats that aren't primo) for another year. I'm tempted to take my anger out with my wallet, but I know I'll still watch and listen closely and wish I were there. As my fellow sufferer for 35 years put it last weekend, "It's hard being a Cub fan.''



Derrick Lee's chase for individual honoros (he now looks likely to NOT win any of the Triple Crown categories, but has still had an amazing year) will keep some interest alive the last two months. Beyond that, it's time to look ahead--the sooner the better.



I'm beginning to get excited about the Blackhawks.