My Friends,
I've been a Cubs fan all my life, from the time my dad
took me to my first game on a cold Saturday morning, sat us down in our Bears seats in
the general admission upper deck at Wrigley Field and said, "Koufax is pitching," through my teen years
when I was a kid with a paper route and figured that if I could scrounge $5
together I could afford to (and my folks would let me) take a couple CTA buses
to and from the park, buy a bleacher ticket for a buck and still have cash left
over for a hot dog and Coke (in those paper cups filled with big chunks of
clear ice chipped off a block, no doubt from Jefferson). I'm old enough to
remember the peanut vendor who looked a little like Ernie Banks singing,
"Things go better with . . . PEANUTS!" So I've paid my dues and know
the heartbreak that comes with rooting for Cubs laundry.
I'm among the wary fans apprehensively anticipating the arrival of Kerry Wood
to bolster what has up to now been a pretty good bullpen. The only truly weak
link this season has been Scott Eyre, who I think is just 2007-speak for Felix
Heredia, taking up space on the staff solely because he's left-handed. But at
least in Eyre's case we know he was once better, as recently as last year, and
might find it again. I don't know what the story was with Heredia. He must have
had Polaroids.
Getting back to Wood, if he truly is "recovered" from the shoulder
problems that have plagued him, a few solid months with his 95-mph fastball
might just be enough to seal the postseason deal. But why do I feel like I'm
waiting for Gadot, or Guffman, or whoever that guy is that we all get excited
about seeing but never shows up? While us Cubs fans are hoping they’ll be
adding the early 2006 season version of Roger Clemens, in the back of my mind
this nagging voice keeps whispering, "Dave Dravecky."
Speaking of Christopher Guest films, the wacky Tommie Harris brought another
one to mind in a quote I saw last week in Fred Mitchell's column. When asked
about the recovery from his leg injury was going Harris replied, "I'm 100 percent
right now, but I play at 110. So I have 10 percent to go."
As Nigel Tufnel once said, "Eleven. Exactly. One louder."
And, lookie there! Lance Briggs found 7,200,000 reasons not
to be an idiot and signed his tender. Shocking, isn’t it? Maybe his agent ought
to think about a marketing deal for Briggs with that hockey team in Rosemont.
He’d fit right in as the Big Bad Wolf.
Go Cubs. Go Bears (more on them to come . . .)
LBF
7/30/2007