This is the Year

First appeared on June 5th, 2008
in The Lebanon Reporter

Good news Cubs fans, this is the year. No more will you be forced to utter “Wait till next year.” This is the year that 100 years of suffering and sorrow come to an end. This is the year that the proverbial monkey on the back of one of professional sports most storied franchises is granted a permanent vacation. Riding a 9 game winning streak, the Cubs are in first place in the National League Central and currently have the best record in baseball. No, you don’t need to read that again, the Cubs really do have the best record in baseball.
While in years past the Cubs have found themselves in similar positions, never before have we seen this level of dominance from the northsiders. Coming into the week Chicago led major league baseball in runs scored, they were also first in hits and first in runs batted in. They have the highest on base percentage in baseball as well as the highest team batting average and their slugging percentage ranked second overall. Getting dizzy yet?
Offense can only get a team so far you may be thinking and most retired players turned color analysts/prognosticators/experts will present the plausible argument that to do well in October a team must have solid pitching. With this in mind, the Cubs pitching staff has the most wins in baseball, the team is third in saves and fifth in strike outs.
Statistics aside, it has just been one of those years so far. One of those years where everything the Cubs touch seems to be turning to gold. Take the signing of a little known Japanese all-star in the off season for example. Kosuke Fukodome has been a pleasant surprise, leading the team in walks while also stealing the second most bases. His performance has ushered in Fukudome mania which has the bleacher bums at Wrigley affectionately wearing headbands that have opposing outfielders questioning if they have wandered into a Japanese dojo instead of the Friendly Confines. The Cubs also moved Kerry Wood to the bullpen. The end result of this is that the once formidable flame-throwing starter has found new life, leading the team in saves with 15 while striking out 34 batters in just 31 innings. When it became evident the Cubs needed a left handed bat with some power they resorted to pulling a centerfielder off the waiver wire, MLB’s scrap heap of discarded players. Even this gamble seems to have panned out for Chicago as, over the weekend, former Cardinal Jim Edmonds was stellar in the Cubs homestand versus the Rockies.
I realize it is only June and yes, I realize that there over 100 games left to be played. Cubs fans, and baseball fans in general for that matter, realize that 100 games is plenty of time for a historic collapse. And history has told us that if any franchise is capable of such a collapse it would be the bedraggled Cubs.
It has been 100 years since Chicago last won a World Series title and the last time they managed to make an appearance in the fall classic was the year the big one ended (1945). Their last appearance also marked the infamous curse of the goat. This purported hex has supposedly haunted the franchise since 1945, preventing them from winning in the post season. The good news for Cubs fans is that the warranty life for goat curses happens to be a convenient 63 years, this means the Cubs should be able to focus on baseball and shelve their voodoo dolls and incense sticks come October. But alas, if by chance all does not end well this season, Cubs fans can rest safe in the knowledge that there’s always next year.