Good God I love opening day. I love baseball. In a few short hours I'll be getting in my seat for a roller coaster ride I swore I'd never ride again after last year.
There I sat in my parents kitchen in Plymouth, MN last October minutes after the Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Cubs out of the playoffs. I had tears in my eyes. This was just another in a long line of red flags my girlfriend at the time, Andrea should've recogninzed. She should've said to herself, "this guy is crying because his team lost in the playoffs, maybe I should look for someone more stable". Well, as mentioned before, she agreed to marry me so she obviously didn't learn her lesson. Then again, what are the chances of this year's Cubs team making me cry again? Slim I'd say. There is no way this season can be a bigger gut punch than last year...right? Right?
Uh...
The answer to that question is no. There is no way last season's finish can be topped. No way. Ask any Cubs fan who lived and died with the team last season. Ask them if it was worse than 2003 (where an overachieving Cubs team came within 5 outs of the pennent). There is no comparison. The 2008 Cubs were expected to win the pennent. They had the best team in the National League (record wise). Home field advantage throughout the NL playoffs. This was the team expected to finally break though.
I suppose the 1984 Cubs finish was gut wrenching enough. There are factors that can be pointed to for fans to use as excuses. The fact that the Cubs lost home field advantage because they didn't have lights at Wrigley Field (thus giving the Padres three straight home games to close the series out). There's also the fact that the first four games of that series used collegiate umpires due to an umpire strike with Major League Baseball.
I have a copy of the 1984 Cubs division clinching game in Pittsburgh and Game 1 of the NLCS along with an end of season "wrapup show". The consensus that I've come to with that team was that Cubs fans were just happy to be in the playoffs. Something that wasn't the case in 2008.
When the Cubs went out with a whimper last season, I put all of my Cubs gear into a closet (wearing only my hat in the last month or so). I went through "Cubs-Detox". I promised myself and Andrea I wouldn't think or talk about them until spring training. For the most part, I succeeded in this department. The plan was a success. I didn't get too worked up over the offseason. I put the Cubs out of sight out of mind (even playing with the Red Sox, Twins, and even the Giants when I fired up the PS2). I just needed a break.
Well so much for that.
I woke up this morning with my stomach in knots again. I'm back in the roller coaster car and without even realizing it, the car is making it's way up the first hill and there is nothing I can do about it. I'm just going to enjoy the ride and hope it doesn't make me cry again.
On paper though, this team shouldn't make me cry. They have one of the most lethal lineups in the NL and along with a deep pitching staff, shouldn't have a problem winning their third straight division championship (something this franchise has never done). Never forget though, this is the Cubs we're talking about...in my gut I'm terrified of a sub .500/4th place finish. There is no rhyme or reason for this fear but you gotta embrace these things as a Cubs fan. Last season I was positive they were going to win the World Series. For the 100th conseceutive season, they did not. Oh well. Like the old saying, hope springs eternal.
Baseball is back and I'm ready to do it all over again.
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