December 22, 2018: Spoiled Ones

I know the stove has been cold thus far for the Cubs offseason, but so what.  Do we expect the Cubs to go out every year and make a splash?  Do we really think they have to coming off a 95 win season where we were heavily impacted by injuries?  Are we really all complaining about the state of the Cubs coming off the best 4 years in franchise history… the 387 regular season wins, the 4 straight playoff appearances, the one and only World Series in our lifetimes?!?!  Aren’t we the spoiled ones…

Yes, there are players available this year who are game changers.  Even if I do think Bryce is a little overrated, I still think he’s a big time player; same goes for Manny.  And yes, you can rip the Cubs about spending all that money on Heyward (without him we don’t win the World Series?), and Darvish (one year hurt, still many years left to earn it), and Chatwood (OK, got me there), but seriously… these are rich people problems we’re dealing with here.  The core is alive and well… and still young.  This Cubs team isn’t going away any time soon, even if they do absolutely nothing in the offseason.  With Bryant back healthy and Darvish… that’s 2 big time acquisitions right there.  Why do I see so many people whining about the Cubs offseason?

If it isn’t about the lack of a big name signing, it’s about Addison Russell.  Yes, with all the details that have came out about his marriage, he certainly looks like a scumbag.  So now you want to boycott your team because of the presence of a scumbag?  There would be no fans of any team if that was the case.  And another thing… I don’t dispute anything she is saying about what happened between the two of them, but there are two sides to every story… although not really sure how Addison’s side would make any of this OK…  Reality is, shit happens between people in any relationship.  Only the two people that are going through it day in and day out really know the extent of it all… the ins and outs, the ups and downs.  Certainly in that two person relationship, stuff can come off the tracks at times; you hope that the derailment isn’t THIS bad though… you always wish that people can get back on track…  you hope that the other person doesn’t take advantage of you in any way, especially in an abusive way, either verbal or physical.  It’s not easy… there are many factors that can hinder the relationship and make navigating the path even harder than it already is.  That’s what I’m focused on… my path.  It’s really easy to sit back and judge people, especially now in the social media era…  I try really hard NOT to judge people… it’s the easy thing to do…. making a snap judgment on a situation when you really have no idea.  As more and more details come out about the Russell relationship, it looks more and more ugly.  I hope for the best for his ex-wife; I hope for the best for him too.  Whether or not he is in a Cubs uniform ever again is NOT going to change the team that I root for, because at the end of the day, I was a fan before him, and will be a fan after him whenever he is not here; same goes for any player on any of my teams.  Our paths just happen to intersect because you play on MY team…  Doesn’t mean I have to like every player, but it certainly doesn’t mean I’m changing my allegiance because of an individual player.  OK… started to ramble there.

Anyways, maybe it’s just the folks I see on social media, or the media itself, but man… let’s not turn into a bunch of little bitches.  The Cubs are still rocking the shit.  We’re still living in the golden era.  Yes, I too want another World Series; I don’t want to see this window open and close without raising it at least a couple more times.  Yes, I was disappointed with the way last season ended, and understand that we are living in an alternate universe as a Cubs fan, but… come on folks.  Making the playoffs every year sure beats 100 loss seasons… I don’t expect that streak to be broken for a while, regardless of this offseason.  We have all we need.  Go Cubs!