OK, it’s not exactly Bungalow Bill, but Friday night brought some great news about an ex-Cubs pitcher who will make his return to Chicago for a second stretch in 2021. Yes, the Cubs signed Jake Arrieta; I couldn’t be more excited.
Of course this isn’t just any guy… Jake was one of my favorites, right in the middle of the Golden Era of Cubs baseball. So many memorable moments… Of course his dominant stretch of pitching comes to mind from 2015, bleeding into 2016. His wild card performance against the Pirates in 2015. His no hitters against the Dodgers, and then the Reds. The countless games where he had no-hitter stuff, taking games into the 6th innings still blanking teams. How about the World Series wins? Yeah, there are no shortage of great memories from Jake. For me, it was a game I attended at Wrigley to see him pitch in late September 2015; his 20th win, bringing the Cubs Magic Number to three games. I would talk more about it, but I already did; I re-read this after I heard Jake was returning. You can too if you’d like:
Reading this brought the feeling back… that was a magical time for Cubs fans; the start of something in 2015, the completion of the journey in 2016. Yeah it hasn’t been multiple titles like we all thought… hearing that Jake has our last postseason win from 2017 can clue you in to that. But 2016 did happen; I have a hat, sweatshirt, t-shirt, and ski cap to prove it… haha. Signing Lester was surely a big turning point for the franchise, but the swagger and confidence that Jake brought when he grabbed the ball every 5th day was infectious. When he took the mound, we knew we had a great chance to win. He got us our first win in the 2016 Series in Game 2 in Cleveland; he got a second win in Game 6 in Cleveland. I hated seeing him go; I will enjoy seeing him back in a Cubs uniform. Sure, he won’t be the same Jake, but nothing will ruin this reunion. Regardless of how he pitches, and I do think he’ll have his moments, we will welcome him back with open arms. I already can’t wait to return to Wrigley this year, now I have another reason. Come hell or high water, I will see Jake pitch in a Cubs uniform again this year.
Funny, I saw somebody tweet that we replaced Jake with Yu… and now, we’re replacing Yu with Jake; that was a good one. It hasn’t been the greatest offseason by any stretch for the Cubbies, but this one is special. I know it’s not Trevor Bauer and his loose cannon ass, or even innings eater Lance Lynn on the other side of town. But it’s Jake!!! and he will continue his story in a Cubs uniform in 2021, and for that, I’m thankful. AIR, EE, ET, A…..
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