The Cubs lost the first series after the break to the Red Sox at Wrigley this past weekend. They opened up the second series after the break by losing to the Nationals at Wrigley on Monday night. I’ve been seeing more and more pissed off Cubs fans on Twitter; getting mad now? I’m way past that point.
I’ve went over this, oh I don’t know, like 50 times. Without going through all the painful details, let me try to sum it up in a couple statements:
1. The Cubs built a perennial contender then decided to blow it all up because we couldn’t win ANOTHER World Series title.
2. The Cubs have decided to operate like a small/mid market franchise.
I know there’s more to it, but who wants to go through all that rubble? I surely don’t. Like I said, I’m way past the point of being mad at the Cubs; I’m not that great at staying mad anyways. Sure, am I resigned to the fate of most small/low market franchises? Pretty much, although check the Orioles & Rays for starters when you get a chance. The key is expectations; I had none going into this year, thus, it’s hard to be disappointed. When the Cubs started hot, that was cool; I figured it wouldn’t last. Every time they play well, I’m happy; most times, they’re simply an average team, by choice that is. Grabbing Dansby was awesome, but then what? Sure, Bellinger has been a nice surprise, but he’ll be playing elsewhere very soon, right? Why? Well, I’m sure we’ll be given the BS message that the time isn’t right and we’re still in whatever the term this year that means REBUILD mode. I wouldn’t be shocked Stroman is gone too. Welcome to the state of the Chicago Cubs franchise.
It’s not fun, let me tell you. We’ve been here before though; plenty of years with zero to low expectations. Like I said, it’s not fun. I like it when we were expected to compete for it all every year, like the Golden Era from 2015-2020, when we made the playoffs 5 out of 6 years and finally brought home the Holy Grail; feels a lot longer away than that. The Golden Era wasn’t enough though; simply making the playoffs wasn’t enough. I get needing to try to find ways to get to the top of the mountain again; we all want that. But to blow it up? And then choose not to rebuild it because “the time isn’t right”? Talk to me about getting mad NOW, please.
The Cubs are 43-50. Push that winning percentage out to 162, and we’re talking 75-87; surprised? I’m not. Plus, if/when we trade away our best players, that percentage will probably dip. Sure, blame the players and manager, but it’s the front office to thank, right? But I’m not mad any more; I’ve moved past that stage. Not sure what’s next, but it feels comfortably numb. But hey, we still have Wrigley Field, and not this, or 108 years of futility will stop us from cheering our boys on, right? Go Cubs!
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