It’s been 3 years since that fateful summer… when the Cubs “blew it up”. How’ve we been since then btw? Shit, basically. Yeah, let’s get rid of the team that makes the playoff every year after 162 games, but comes up short (all except one year btw) in the playoffs. Forget tweaking things… just blow it up. We’ll build it back and be better. Sounds like the same philosophy used by Jerry Krause back in 1998; how’d that work out for the Bulls btw? Will we have to wait a few more decades for the Cubs to contend again? It’s not like we haven’t waited longer…
The last of the 2016 heroes returns to Wrigley on Tuesday night; yes, Javier Baez returns home… yes, this will ALWAYS be his home. Do you remember when he first joined the Cubs? I do. I don’t have to look it up either. The Cubs were in Colorado when Javy made his debut; damn right he went deep in his first game. Baez became another key part of the Cubs core that would eventually bring the holy grail back to Cubs fans; remember that?
In anticipation of his first visit back to Wrigley, Marquee showed Game 1 of the 2016 NLDS; remember that? I don’t… that was the only game of those playoffs that I didn’t watch from first to last pitch; I was at a family wedding in New York… that had no TVs… AND no reception. I was totally in the dark. I tried walking in and out, to pickup a signal, and finally did here and there, along with texts from my brother. I knew it was 1-0 in the 9th, but didn’t know we held on to win until much later; the suspense was killing me. Of course, the only run we needed was the Baez bomb that barely made it into the basket… whew! Watching the replay yesterday, I would have shit myself if I was watching it live, because I sure thought that Buster Posey hit in the 9th was going out. Instead it bounced off the wall, and Chappy closed the deal. And away we went…
I have a theory. If the Cubs didn’t trade away Rizzo, Bryant, and Baez, they’d all be doing better than they’re doing now; you with me? No way these guys go from how good they were to shit overnight; there was still some magic in those guys… that magic that helped 2016 end happily. Now, Rizzo is on the DL again, Bryant barely played all year, and Baez is not even batting his weight. The big 3… no disrespect to Schwarby… are no longer. I still think if the Cubs found a way to keep these guys together, they’d be better… we’d be better. At the very least, the Cubs have done nothing to make me forget about this possibility; maybe they never will… Nothing can take away 2016.
When Javy steps to the plate on Tuesday night for the first time, the crowd will go wild; I almost feel like getting my ass there to do the same. He deserves it; all the boys from 16 do. And if my feeling is correct, he’ll hit another one out of Wrigley, this time playing for another team; I’ll be happy to see it… of course, then the Cubs win the game, but… the electricity that Javy brought with him on the field far outshone his deficiencies. I know I talked my crap about him over the years too… hard not to when you’re swinging at pitches 2 feet outside… but I still love him; I always will. Welcome back Javy; wish you were doing better…. wish we were doing better too.
Leave a Reply