October 3, 2004
Sigh – The Cub world waits for next year… again.
by Pete Khazen
So the end has finally arrived. The mathematical hopes are over. The Cubs’ chances for a post-season are finished. The Cub world, which was hanging on by a thread, hoping for the best, and afraid to talk about the obvious bold writing on the wall, has been blasted like Oscar De La Hoya with a final body blow. It’s mathematically over now, and for a season that had such high expectations, it was a crazy roller coaster ride that ended just like it started, way back in October last year. And dang it, it has all ended leaving no chance for an I-55 NLCS match-up, where Brian Walton and I could’ve had it out on the Birdhouse.
With nine games to play, it was reported that the Cubs controlled their own destiny. After beating the Mets in the series opener, the baby bears had to go 7-2 in the final week and a half to clinch a playoff spot. It wouldn’t have even mattered what the competition would have done. Seven wins and the Cubs would be spraying champagne all over Wrigley. With six of those nine remaining games against the Mets and Reds, you would have liked their odds. But then again, they are the Cubs, and this is Major League Baseball. There are no guarantees. And in true devastating Cub fashion, the North Siders have gone 1-7 with one game remaining.
It all began to crumble on that fateful Saturday last week when the Cubs blew a 3-0 lead in the ninth with two outs against the Mets. Although I’m sure that Dusty Baker tried, he could hang any netting in time to keep the pieces of this collapsing team from falling. They dropped the next game, and returned to Chicago for a four-game series against the Reds with playoff hopes still clinging together.
The Reds series opener took Cub fans back to a high point on the roller coaster as the bats came alive and Dusty’s boys won 12-5. But like all roller coasters they came crashing down, losing the next three. The final two of those three games were emotional, 12-inning nightmares that lacked clutch hitting from the home team and had the same one-run anti-Hollywood ending. The players and fans were frustrated beyond belief, but still had hope entering the last weekend, only one game off the Wild Card pace.
As the Reds left town and the Braves came to visit for the final weekend, the Cubs could only hope for a sweep of the NL East Champs and some help from the Dodgers and Rockies. The Wrigley faithful carried signs of “We Believe”, “It’s Never Over Til It’s Over”, and most telling “Will Cheer for Runs”. But after being held to one run through eight innings, a ninth inning rally fell one run short, 5-4. The Cubs dropped their fourth straight Friday leaving the team, and their fans, on the brink of elimination.
Dejected by their fifth one-run loss in a 1-6 stretch, the team gimped into Saturday’s action against the Braves, a team licking their chops over a chance to return the knock-out favor from last year and send the Cubs packing to the off-season. The Cubs still had hope. It still was possible for at least a tiebreaker playoff if they could win their last two games and get a load of help. But in a game telling of the season, the Cubs took a 6-2 lead only to give it up and lose 8-6. They left men on base. They had someone thrown out at the plate. They failed to advance runners in key situations. They made blunders in the field and made gestures at one another for those mistakes. They scored most of their runs with the long ball. They argued with the umpires and threw tantrums in the dugout. Above all, they lost a game they probably felt was in hand and desperately needed to win. The Cubs finally put all the pieces of the puzzle together; all the ugly pieces to a season that most players and fans would soon like to forget.
The end of this season is rather unsettling, mainly because nothing happened like anyone anticipated. It’s almost like the Cubs expected to be in the 2004 playoffs with a chance for redemption the second the 2003 NLCS slip away, but they didn’t realize what it took to get there. Like FOX’s latest clever commercials for the 2004 post-season, not even the regular season can be scripted. Anything can happen. There are no guarantees.
Cub fans, though rightfully dejected and upset after a disappointing season, can only be thankful that the ride is over and the sinking feeling in their stomach is no more. Sure, there is one game left to play with which, hopefully, the fans and players can end the season with some dignity and class. And sure, we have to suffer through the playoffs watching all the other teams compete - most notably the Cardinals, who have done everything this year so far that we expected out of our Cubbies. But we do have next year to look forward to. There’s always next year.
There is much to speculate and write about regarding what looms in Chicago’s off-season. Will Sosa be back? Will Nomar be back? Will the Cubs steal Renteria from the Cards? What will happen with Alou and Clement? The questions are endless, but one thing is for sure... This team will be back next year and hopes will be high again, and maybe a little more realistic. There is nothing in life quite like baseball and there is no experience quite like being a Cubs fan. Although the NLDS hasn’t even started this year (sigh), this Cub fan is already saying, “Just wait ‘til next year”.
