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Yah, I know build a good team. Hey 2003 great team but then heartbreak, again. Prior and Wood didnt loose back to back all year...untill game 6 and 7 in the NLCS. Craziness!I think maybe god needs to keep a running joke going or something. It's tough being a Cubs fan. How can such a major market team suffer so many indignaties?
Then again, when you have the drunkest, least knowledgable fans in baseball you really don't need a good product ..... not when you can blame curses or just fall back on the loveable loser label
Then again, when you have the drunkest, least knowledgable fans in baseball you really don't need a good product ..... not when you can blame curses or just fall back on the loveable loser label
We have plenty of knowledgeable fans and drunks too. I see lots of people with their scorecards at the game and they know their baseball too. It's true there are a lot of frat kids but when you are popular that happens. As far as not needing a good product, maybe not as much as other teams but we still have had one of the larger payrolls for years. So its not an issue of money.
the cubs also have much larger revenue streams than other clubs, so while payroll may be large it is still easily covered by the revenues
locking up mediocre players to long term deals or buying a guy long term on a flash season or hope doesn't get it done
maybe theo will help with this, but he had his best success when he used a strong farm system that was supplemented by others and it fell apart when they went to selling the farm to bring in the names ..... also, with Boston the payroll was such that he could afford a mistake or two
The cubs can afford an occasional mistake - just not to the same level as the yankees or red sox
In one of his Abstracts, Bill James did a study of the impact of introducing night baseball to Wrigley. He discovered that before the lights were installed, the Cubs had a greater tendency to collapse late in the season than did any other club. James concluded that the reason the Cubs played poorly in the final stages was that they were exhausted from having played more day games in the sun than had the other clubs, the reasoning being that a day game took more out of you than did a game played in cooler weather.
In the next year's Abstract James mentioned the article and said that he got a letter from a Cubs fans which read...
"So the reason the Cubs lose is because they play too many day games? I always thought that the reason they lost was because the other clubs had better players."
There is no curse. The Cubs have no reason to invest in a quality baseball club. Wrigley Field is the premiere place to be seen and/or get wasted in Chicago. Ownership has no desire or need to build a team that will win. The Cubs are like the Maple Leafs. Your owner and GM can say all they want...they're blowing smoke and laughing their way to the bank.
they aren't even interested in good & free publicity anymore apparently
Adam Greenberg will get an AB today against the Mets (and presumably RA Dickey)
Greenberg was a Cubs farmhand who got his callup in July of 2005. He never touched the field, but was called in to pinch hit against the Marlins. He was finally going to realize his dream of logging a major league at bat. To make it better it's in a nationally televised game, so all his friends and family can watch this moment.
First pitch comes in, drills him in the back of the head - that's it folks - career over.
Only the 2nd player in MLB history to have 1 career AB and be plunked.
Over the past 7 years he's worked hard at overcoming the physical & mental side effects, has played independent ball and some WBC for Israel. On an interesting side note he did face off against the pitcher who plunked him in the independent leagues - in his 1st AB against him he got a hit, then went 0-7 in the rest of his career.
He's played some minor league ball, some spring training, but hasn't been able to break through - decent enough minor career, but the look of a career minor leaguer - especially as he advances in age
There is a filmaker that has been following his story and an online petition to have the cubs sign him to get him 1 more AB. The Cubs end the season home against the Astros - a series that has absolutely no implications on the universe as we know it.
They could have brought him in for a pinch hit AB, closed that chapter, gotten some good publicity in a bad season. It's not like the kid hasn't faced live pitching in 7 years - he's been active in professional ball. He had also earned his way to the majors once in your organization. They repeatedly declined.
The Marlins heard about the story, sent a couple scouts to watch him play to gain confidence he could stand in there for an AB and signed him.
Will be interesting to see how he does tonight - I wish him the best of luck and the closure he's looking for.
There is no curse. The Cubs have no reason to invest in a quality baseball club. Wrigley Field is the premiere place to be seen and/or get wasted in Chicago. Ownership has no desire or need to build a team that will win. The Cubs are like the Maple Leafs. Your owner and GM can say all they want...they're blowing smoke and laughing their way to the bank.
That's pretty much it. If your ballpark will fill up regardless, there's no incentive to invest in a quality team. The RedSox could be in the same boat, but their demanding fanbase wouldn't allow it.
Yah, I know build a good team. Hey 2003 great team but then heartbreak, again. Prior and Wood didnt loose back to back all year...untill game 6 and 7 in the NLCS. Craziness!I think maybe god needs to keep a running joke going or something. It's tough being a Cubs fan. How can such a major market team suffer so many indignaties?
Simple: all they have to do is win the Series! (Ask fans of the Red Sox...or even better, the New York Rangers. Championship = curse lifting every time).
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