October 11, 2016: Woke Up

posted in: Cubs | 2

In our group text for the night, the messages being sent were asking when will the Cubs offense wake up?  We were down 5-2, and down to our last 6 outs, and then I did the exact opposite thing.

Yes, I passed out.  I was still beat from last night… I had to be back at work tomorrow after having 6 days off… I had to be at work early… the Cubs were losing… this series was headed towards Game 5.  I slumped on the couch.  I wasn’t panicking… I just couldn’t believe that this series was actually going to go 5.  I did predict that after all, but after winning the first two games, in no way did I want this series to come back to Wrigley.  I still had confidence that we could win it, but the momentum would be stacked against us… the curse talk started… we’d have to listen to it for the next 2 days prior to Game 5.  This sucked.  I slumped deeper into the couch… then I woke up.  I am so happy I did.

It was the top of the 9th, and the score was 5-3, and we had runners on 2nd and 3rd, AND there was nobody out.  Whoa, whoa… what just happened?  Bochy was talking to Romo on the mound, and another pitcher was being summoned.  Let me rewind really quick to get caught up.  I saw the inning ending double play in the 8th, the leadoff single by Kboom, the walk by Rizz, then the double by Zorilla… I was up to the Contreras at bat now… I still wasn’t quite current.  I fast forwarded through the first pitch… the second pitch… I was current.  Willson singled to center on the third pitch, and the game was tied.  I jumped on the phone… again, screaming through clenched teeth with the family sleeping.  The Cubs came back and tied it at 5… it seems as though we were just here.

The difference between last night and tonight, is that we added one more run… the go ahead run.  After a Heyward horrible sacrifice attempt went oh so right when Crawford fired the throw into the dugout, we had a man on 2nd, and one of the Cubs hottest hitters at the plate.  It was Baez, and the pitcher was Strickland.  It was Strickland who threw at Baez in Game 2, remember?  I do.  You think Baez did?  He took a home run cut at that first pitch, a curve ball.  He fouled off a fastball, and then for some reason, an 0-2 pitch was thrown in the vicinity of the strike zone.  Baez slammed the go ahead hit into center field, Heyward came into score, and Chapman was ready in the bullpen.

He slammed that F’n door!  After seeing texts, Twitter, some San Francisco article about the billy goat, the first thing I thought when Chapman slammed that door is that it felt like he just ate the goat’s head.  Yes, he saved all 3 of the wins in this NLDS.  With Baez and Bryant’s performance, who will be the NLDS MVP?  Does it really matter?

Finally, the product is quite affordable in rate and if you want it canada viagra at your doorstep, online stores are offering it to us at budget friendly price. Sexually pass diseases pretense a higher threat than sexually persuade heart issue. tadalafil cheapest Look At This There are supplements on the market that can increase the risk of temporary vision impairment. cialis order Its name is cost viagra cialis “world kenpo karate association”. The one thing about this Cubs team, and the one thing that keeps me from getting to the ledge during these past 2 games, is that they do NOT give up.  They NEVER give up.  If you didn’t already know that from watching 162, maybe these 4 runs in the 9th inning to clinch the NLDS will prove it to you.  This Cubs team is the most talented team, the best team over 162.  You add in this quality… of never giving up, kind of like those Giants we just dispatched who won the last 10 elimination games, and you have a team to be reckoned with.  You have a team that has embraced the target and is squarely focused on the one thing we haven’t seen in our life times.

It’s amazing how one inning can do that…. How one inning can flip that confidence switch back on.  That confidence that I felt all year, heading into this postseason.  It’s a cautious confidence of course, and is easily shaken… but it was never lost.  And now, there are 2 seven game series that remain.  Here we are, for the 2nd straight year, sitting 8 wins from our goal.  Last year, we didn’t cut into that number at all; I have a feeling this year will be different.  Winning is a great thing.

So yeah, now I’m wide awake.  I don’t care if I haven’t slept enough the past 2 nights.  I don’t care that I have to go back to 1,000 emails tomorrow at work, or that I have to be up in 5 hours to put my suit on and head downtown.  I couldn’t care less about any of that right now.  I could go to work right now…

My wife reminded me I still need to walk our dog… and that she just heard gun shots outside….celebratory this time.  I told her, I would walk her… to Wrigley.  But not yet, not yet.

It’s back to the NLCS come Saturday at Wrigley, and those 103 regular season wins and this NLDS series win will be in the rear view mirror.  Those 8 elusive, historic wins still remain.  Who’s Next?  Right now, it doesn’t really seem to matter.  I couldn’t be happier at this very moment, but know the ultimate still remains.  I know this ride is far from over.  I hope that this victory propels us, that this win tonight was OUR signature postseason win, but somehow, I think we will need a couple more of these wins.  Buckle up Cubs fans.  Hang on for the ride of our lives.  Let’s Go Cubbies…..clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.

2 Responses

  1. gramps

    So, you dozed off….that explains the lull in the constant text flurry that had been flowing since the 1st inning. I thought you guys had fallen into the Harry Caray syndrome of “well we’re down 3 in the 9th inning, game over”. How come there’s no mention of Gramps in your wrap-up? Who got us thru with his bat and his arm? It was the old guy. I’m not done yet………

  2. MK

    What a damn game! What a beautiful comeback, series clinching, W! Not exactly the way we would have drawn it up, but the Cubs came out on top thanks to 4 runs in the 9th…who would have thought? Yes, I was feeling down, dreading having to sweat through a win or go home game 5. I could not believe the Cubs bats had gone silent again. I did not doze, though. I was still confident. Turned my rally cap backwards and got ready for the ride. The Cubs did not disappoint…1b, bb, 2b, 1b…game tied. The Cubs strung together some good abs and were back in the game. Dont stop now, get that lead! Baez steps up and comes thru…nlds mvp if there was one! Chapman locks it down with 3 straight Ks, and the Cubs move on to the NLCS for a second straight year. No sweep this year, at least not for us. Enjoy, celebrate, and focus on the prize ahead. I think we all needed a few days off…WHEW! Back at it Saturday night…GO CUBS GO!!!

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