Odds & Ends
I have a few odds and ends – items that were not long enough to be a full column (at least 900 words or so by my count) – so I’ll just throw them out there:- In case anyone hasn’t seen the new Family Guy DVD, there’s a section where Stewie is in Wrigley Field. It’s downright hilarious, and you can watch that clip here at thatvideosite.com. It’s highly recommended viewing, and only takes about 15 seconds.
The Tribune Company's Measure Of Success
Major Joppolo said: “Why?”
“Because of what you want for Adano. That’s why everyone here loves you. There is no one here who will say a bad word about you, and that’s a rare thing in Adano.”
The Major said: “And I know why I like you.”
“Why?”
“For a very selfish reason: because you make me feel as if I were almost important.”
“Oh, you are,” Tina said, with just enough mockery in her voice.
-- John Hersey in Chapter 36 of A Bell For Adano , published in 1944.
I doubt that very many people caught Mike Comerford’s column in The Daily Herald, but in it he talks about the possibility that the Cubs could be sold at some point by the Tribune Company, who is suffering from stock prices in a tailspin. (alternate link here.) This would have come as a surprise to me had I not recently read an article called “Fault Line” by Ken Auletta in the Oct. 10, 2005 New Yorker (not available online). It’s about the Tribune Company’s ownership strategy with regard to the LA Times. Comerford’s source cites the LA Times as a core asset, and the Cubs as peripheral, so considering the cuts made with the Times’ budget, I think there is a lot regarding the Cubs to consider as a corollary. If they are willing to cut a core asset, what will they do with a peripheral asset? Right now, the Cubs are making money, having sold out the entire season before it began last year, but it’s not hard to play out the following scenario: (continue...)
An Outsider's Salute In Triplet Paragraphs
There are times when baseball is metaphysical and mythical, as forces greater than mere physics propel teams to victory against all odds when their back is against the wall. There are also times when a team simply stampedes its way to victory after victory by playing superior baseball. This was one of the latter. (continue...)Who Should I Cheer Against?
Editorial note: I wrote this in the airport, but didn't get a chance to post it until now.There is something oddly satisfying about flying from Houston to St. Louis on the morning after last night’s game. I’m traveling to St. Louis to stand for a wedding; two die-hard Cardinal fans who used to be my roommates are going to pronounce their intentions to be man and wife, and the groom’s father (a pastor) will say a few words, and so there’s a good chance that in a few years there will be baby Cardinal fans in the world and I will have to pretend that this is a good thing. (Joking, of course.) Still, I was not looking forward to the prospect of being in St. Louis during a miraculous game 7 or worse, a miraculous comeback that sent them to the World Series. Yet, the satisfaction I feel goes a bit deeper than that, and I think I need to sort through it. (continue...)
Winning In Chicago
(Or, Why I Really Hope The Chicago Cubs Organization Is Paying Attention)I happened to be in a dive bar in the northwest Chicago suburbs about three years ago. My roommate at the time and I both liked dive bars. We were there for cheap pitchers of Old Style, and to shoot some pool. Between games and between pitchers, we went to the bar for a refill. Two middle-aged men sat there, nursing beers, and arguing quite loudly about the 1985 Bears like it was 1985. The main point of contention was whether Willie Gault is overrated. (Not ‘was’ overrated; ‘is.’) My point? Chicago sports fans have long memories, and for better or worse, conversations like that one are not uncommon in dark corner taverns all across the area. (continue...)
Protocol
The most interesting angle of the story to me is the set of assumptions. Many of you have no doubt already heard about the dilemma facing ESPN 1000’s Dan McNeil. He spoke about it on the air on Friday, and he wrote a column about it for the Northwest Indiana Times. In summary, McNeil donated two pairs of playoff tickets to a charity raffle raising money for a White Sox fan with cancer. Two Cubs fans each won a set of tickets, but the second winner -- the winner of the World Series tickets -- intends to sell them for a large profit, according to McNeil. Mac hasn’t given the man the tickets yet, and feels tempted to deny the Cubs fan the tickets on principle, knowing full well he could be taken to court over the matter. (continue...)Cubs 2006 Schedule
Al Yellon at Bleed Cubbie Blue has worked out the 2006 schedule. Also, browse around his other posts for pictures of the bleacher construction. By the way, I've adjusted the Links on the side, since I never visit ESPN or SI, but I regularly visit Bleed Cubbie Blue and the View From the Bleachers. Any other suggestions?Essay
I've posted a nearly-final draft of my end-of-season essay, "The Longest Season That Went Nowhere and Everywhere." I am not including any place for dynamic comments, so if you have comments you can put them here, or e-mail me by clicking on the "jcb" below. Once again, I meander along with a bit looser structure, if you can even call it that, so there's my fair warning.Go GO!
1918? 1917! Take that, Redstockings, Bo Sox – Manny being Manny, Big Papi, Bloody Sock, Caveman Jesus and all the rest. The Whitestockings, Southsiders, South Side Hit Men, Go Go White Sox, even the Black Sox if you go back far enough, they have now done this much: they have dethroned the World Champion Red Sox. Good guys wear black this year, finally, the Hitless Wonders are back and El Duque -– remember him? -– brought a broom, and darn right, as far as I’m concerned. (continue...)2005 A & I Retrospective
Writers often have selective memory, and once we put our thoughts into print it’s entirely too tempting to point back at them and say “Look! I was right!” Nevermind the times we were wrong. Well, I’m not going to do that. I was right sometimes, but probably no more often than anyone who watched the team as much as I did this season. I also see no point in dredging up all the reasons the Cubs' year went awry now that I have put them behind me -- at least for a while, anyway, until it becomes time to point out the lessons we’ve learned, and how they apply for next year. Without a little bit of distance, this is not yet the time to recite the litany of reasons, excuses or explanations. (continue...)Best Of Game Notes Vol. 12
I missed a few Game Notes, being that I didn't watch the games, but I hope I've accumulated enough for one last attempt at humor to finish up the 2005 season. I also hope everyone reading them enjoyed the running series all season long. Anyway, here goes. (continue...)And Then What?
This is the operative question for Cubs fans this offseason: And then what? Whether it's firing Dusty Baker or signing another starter or signing a shortstop or whatever else, the Cubs are in a position where any such decision will have more than merely a straightforward effect because they are not in a place to start over. With a solid starting rotation and corner infielders returning, they are in a position to augment and catalyze, which is more complex. I am not going to dwell on any of the arguments right now, but I will say that as I think about them, most of them are much more nuanced than they might first appear. (continue...)The View From Wrigleyville
The Big Waffle
It's hard to explain just how a lifelong Cub fan feels about the Sox thrilling championship run: emphathetic and excited, yes, but also divided and ultimtely, unable to fully partake in the joy. Amid all the calls for citywide baseball unification, you want to jump aboard the Ozzie Express, but there are a few things holding you back. For this Cub fan, the Sox can only be savored from a chilly, envious distance. (continue...)
The Eye Of The Beerholder
10.28.05 Parade
LaSalle and Wacker 10:45 a.m. (continue...) 10.24.05 Sox Fever?
Various locations (continue...) 10.15.05 Under Construction
Bleacher Expansion
Clark, Addison, Waveland and Sheffield (continue...) 10.02.05 Last Game
Cubs versus Astros at Minute Maid Field
Sitting on my couch in my living room (continue...)
Westside Wavelength
