Published: October 09, 2008 10:56 am            

Windy City World Series delayed until ‘next year’

I guess I should have seen this coming.

I, like legions of other blue-clad Cubs fans, thought this was the year. It was going to be perfect. One hundred years on the nose after winning their last World Series title, the Cubs finish with the National League’s best record.

The “next year” that Cubs fans have been waiting for and speaking of for a century was finally at hand. With the White Sox backing in to the postseason, there was talk of a Windy City World Series. Holy Cow and Hey, Hey it was going to be great.

The term “planned sick days” was starting to be tossed around water coolers in the Second City like one-liners from “The Office.”

A freind of mine living in the northern suburbs had a waiting list of people hoping to crash on his couch for the week of the series.

There was just the small matter of beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in a divisional series and then whichever unfortunate team won the Phillies-Brewers series in the league championship series.

A best of five series with the Dodgers, whom the Cubs had defeated five times in seven games during the regular season, would be a mere formality in the march to a championship.

With the first two games in Chi-town, the Cubs would hold a 2-game lead before the Dodgers and Yankee cast-off Joe Torre knew what hit them.

Right?

Nope.

Like I said, I should have seen this coming.

Not only did the Cubs not win the series, but they did not win it in a very unimpressive fashion.

The North Siders were swept out of the postseason by a Dodger team that just seemed to want it more.

The Cubs looked as though they were going through the motions in a spring training exhibition game.

Alfonso Soriano batted a combined 1-for-14 in the three-game series, while the Cubs’ newly acquired $12 million man Kosuke Fukodome was 0-for-10 at the plate.

Aramis Ramirez was on fire compared to those two with a 2-for-11 series.

Derek Lee was a lone bright spot going 6-for-11.

The Cubs starting pitching, which in the regular season was stellar, struggled against L.A. and Manny Ramirez.

Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden combined to pitch 15 and1⁄3 in the three games.

The moment I realized that it wasn’t going to happen, was in the top of the fifth inning of Game 1.

With a 2-0 lead, Dempster, who had been almost unbeatable at Wrigley Field all year, walked the bases loaded and then promptly gave up a grand slam to James Loney to give the Dodgers the 4-2 lead.

I should have shut the T.V. off then and saved myself the misery.

But I, like the legions of others, tortured myself and watched the train wreck.

Though this time there was no Steve Bartman moment on which to hang the blame. There was no goat to hold in contempt.

All we had to blame was bad baseball.

Of course, cameras panned to Cubs fans with looks of disbelief on their faces. Hey, can you blame them?

This team that had given many new hope, looked like so many other Cubs teams before them had. Average at best.

I should have seen this coming.

What would baseball be without the lovable losers and their long suffering fans?

Hey, there’s always next year.



Jay Rickertsen is the Assistant Sports Editor at the Clinton Herald and can be reached at jay@clintonherald.com

        

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