May 10, 2019: Missing It

One of my favorite lines (there are many) from the movie Office Space is when the consultants were talking to Peter. They said something like, we hear you’ve been missing work lately. He responded with, I wouldn’t say I’ve been “missing it”… Great, great movie, especially for someone like me who has worked in an environment like that for a good number of years. I’ve seen it all. This Friday’s Cubs game was kind of like that. I don’t like to miss any Cubs games, but this is one I did not mind missing. Who the heck wants to watch their team get their ass kicked 7-0? I love starting the weekend off with a win in that Friday afternoon series starter in Wrigley; the opposite is true. It sucks starting if off on this foot. The good thing was that I didn’t have to sit there and watch it…

I’m a glutton for punishment too. If I was watching it, I wouldn’t turn it off… no matter how bad it got. That’s the same for when I’m at a game; stay until the very last moment regardless of the result. I would sit there, on this Friday afternoon, and watch the Cubs game until the very last out… just stewing… getting pissed off that they couldn’t scratch one run across against this Brewers pitching staff that isn’t impressive. Yet, they’ve had our number lately, especially in Wrigley. Let’s hope we can turn the tide on that the rest of the weekend.

With the win, the Brewers pull into a tie with the Cubs on top of the NL Central. To quote a popular hockey term, we do have “games in hand” on them, up 2 games in the loss column. And yes, we are still percentage points ahead of them in the division; we’ll take it. Splitting the next 2 games leaves us in the same spot. Winning the next 2 games would be ideal. Now if the Pirates could beat the Cardinals a couple games.

It’s crazy really… to be watching the standings this closely this early. To know who the other teams near the top of the division are playing. There’s more than 100 games to go. At this pace, you could wear yourself out. Or, maybe like me, you can never get enough of this stuff. Hey, remember, this is the Golden Era of Cubs baseball, at least in my lifetime. There were too many seasons to count when watching the standings meant seeing how close to last place we were, or how many games below 500 we were. To be in it, every year the past 5 years including this one… you can’t ask for much more. Yes, another World Series would be desirable, but the success the Cubs are experiencing consistently in the past 5 years, is a lovely thing. Now let’s even up this series. Go Cubs!