October 4, 2021: Closing the Book

Finally. It’s been 66 days since the Cubs started the trading of their top 3 players. I know it pales in comparison to 108 years, or for me, 40 years, but man… these last 66 days of Cubs baseball have just been brutal. It’s a relief to finally close the book on this 2021 regular season; it’s been one to forget.

That’s saying something isn’t it? We’ve been through a lot of rough seasons as Cubs fans. Depending on your age, we could be talking cumulative decades of years just flat out lost… Yet, in each “lost year”, there is always some joy you can extract. All those last place regular season finishes certainly contained great moments during the season; those moments, like those few golf shots, that keep you coming back. This season is no different. There were certainly some bright spots; shit, we were in 1st place for a minute. You had the combined no hitter, which ironically started our descent. You had the Baez vs Garrett moment. What about one of the few good Jake performances? After last season, just being able to be back in the ballpark was something. I was lucky enough to attend, I believe 4 games this year, including the 1 in Cincinnati. If 2020 taught us anything, it was never to take going to a ball game for granted. To be able to set foot back in Wrigley, a place that I love, after a long hiatus… THAT was one of the highlights of the year for me. And regardless of how this season torpedoed, I will still miss it. I will miss Wrigley. I will miss the Cubs. Yet, I am happy and relieved that 2021 is over; it couldn’t end fast enough.

And yet, it’s not over yet… we have many familiar faces, familiar teams in the postseason race; how will these final chapters of the MLB season be written? Honestly, who cares. I’m not going to totally lie… I have been intrigued by the AL Wild Card race this past week; I’ll be keeping an eye on the playoffs, heck… who am I kidding; I’ll probably watch some games… depending on how the postseason proceeds will dictate how many games I will end up watching. Yet, without the Cubs… the playoffs, which have become part of the norm for us here lately, will not be anywhere near the same. And to think, the Cubs powers that be directly caused this…

Yeah, I know… who knows how it would have played out. I see stuff out there showing how good the Plumber did, the Dentist’s great rookie campaign, and how Happ shined down the stretch; here’s the truth: IT WAS ALL IN GAMES THAT DIDN’T MEAN SHIT! The season was over; the pressure, the expectations were gone. Great for those guys, don’t get me wrong; I still want to trade Happ though. Anyways, yes, maybe these guys CAN be a part of the future, and that’s great; I support anyone and everyone in a Cubs uniform. Yet, to think, to try to compare them to what we had… no… hell no. The Cubs need to be big time players this offseason to get this team back to a competitive level, and if you believe the words coming out of Jed’s mouth, I got a car to sell you. I don’t believe him. I’m hopeful, but I don’t trust these guys for shit, and please don’t tell me any of the recent Cub stars that were dumped will be coming back; it ain’t happening!

The damage has been done; there is no going back. There is only moving forward, and unless the Cubs are going to shock me, and end up signing some big time players to add to this minor league roster, 2022 will be a continuance of this past 66 days. I will keep hope alive; I always do. Just excuse me if I hated this season more than any other. Yeah, it doesn’t compare to the big stage heartbreak we’ve endured… 1984, 2003, 2008, etc, etc. But as far as regular seasons that have disgusted me the most… and there were others… this one takes the cake. So yeah, I’m happy we’re closing the book on 2021; slam that bitch shut. Time to move forward…