Or: Another Baseball Philosophy Blog
There's an old saying - being a Cub fan and expecting them to win is a lot like praying to God and actually expecting an answer.  Well, it's not actually an old saying, but it could be.

I was browsing through the Facebook photo album of our writer the Uncouth Sloth, who has the most ridiculous Cubs collection I've ever seen (for a needs-to-be-updated reference point, start here, or better yet, find him on Facebook and see the up-to-date basement o' glory).  He's got a basement full of it -- he's got a royal blue Cubs couch and matching recliner!  He's got walls covered with pictures, autographed bats, baseballs, pennants from every playoff team, he's got a commemorative brick, he's even got a seat from the ballpark!  It'd be enough to make the greatest Cub fan weep in awe.

It doesn't take much of a study of that amazing basement to realize that Rob's life-long passion has been the Cubs.  But, although he's been a Cubs fan since he was a kid, as the years have passed he's become a husband and father, a responsible citizen, and a pillar of morality (yes, Rob, really).  Yet, if his epitaph says anything but "life long Cubs fan," I think his family and friends will be surprised, confused, and perhaps even disappointed. 

Like many of us, Rob has invested his time, his money, and, most importantly, his heart into the Chicago Cubs.  I doubt he would disagree when I say that he lives and dies by how well the Cubs play.  I also do not think that he'd disagree were I to write that he expects the Cubs to win, even when he knows that they won't.

Atheists and even many -- but not necessarily most -- religious-types would probably suggest that praying to receive an answer is an exercise of futility.  God, were He to exist, would not work that way.  And yet, I doubt you'd find many people who actively pray without holding some kind of hope of seeing any kind of result, coincidental or not.

Certainly, there are Cub supporters out there who react with incredulous scorn toward those who actively and openly display an emotional response to such an apparently scientific game.  If you think about baseball from an emotional, instinctive place, then they look upon you as though you should have died off with your neanderthal brethren thousands of years ago.  Seriously.  If they could set their phasers to Obliteration and blast you out of existence, they would.  That is not an exaggeration.  They believe that baseball -- and the outcomes of baseball -- should not only be viewed through a very clinical, scientific scope, but if you actually respond to poor outcomes in an emotional way then you are apparently missing the point and you are a pitiful, contemptible creature.  And under no circumstances should you ever "expect" anything -- if you follow a team with the expectation of seeing a championship, then you are an indescribable fool.  The team owes you nothing, they say, and you should expect nothing.  We've seen these free thinkers on the net, and perhaps you've even met one or two at games or bars, although that type tends not to escape their home basements too often and people without the social skills to make real friends rarely go to pubs. 

On the contrary, I think it's an extremely human reaction for us to expect certain results based on our efforts.  It's just unfortunate for us that, in the world of sports, we could cheer ourselves hoarse, spend ourselves poor, and watch until we go blind, and yet our efforts have no direct effect on the final score.

Still, it is not wrong to expect results, to hope for them, and to feel crushed when they are not delivered.  It's just a part of faith, where prayers are made with hopes that they will be heard, in spite of the overwhelming evidence that they aren't.  In the green cathedral that is Wrigley Field, where baseball is practically a religion to some, and a divine comedy to others, there is a reason why fans are called "the faithful." 

I would just caution us all to be careful -- baseball, as with life, has never promised its faithful any kind of reward.  And in baseball, the only "fair" that exists is the one that rests between the two chalk lines that mark the playing field. 

Expect to win.  Expect to sometimes be emotionally crushed.  Expecting anything else marks you as not being a fan, or a part of the faithful.  Instead you're just an observer.  And that's fine too.  The field is big, and the stands hold tens of thousands.  There's room for everybody, and we'd all benefit from remembering that.

Rob wrote a fine piece the other day, skirting the issue of Cub bloggers who manage to walk the precarious tight rope between a ridiculously inflated sense of self-importance and a throbbing, pulsing insecurity complex.  Kind of harkens back to the old saying, "If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself."  Who knew that Cubs bloggers could turn it into such a finely honed art?  They've managed to feel both vain and bitter at the same time when comparing themselves to the same person!

At GROTA, we've thought often about being more of an insult blog.  It's a winning concept - identify a stupidly written article (and there are so many out there), rip it to shreds, call the writer names that I'd never use in a face-to-face scenario because it would get me punched (or sued), and profit.  Epic win for everybody.  The problem is that it requires a tremendous amount of energy that I simply do not have.  You would have to strap me to a chair and force open my eyes with toothpicks to get me to regularly read any of the blogs involved in this fiasco. 

Maybe it's a winning concept, but then again tabloid journalism often is.  And in this case, Cubs blogs are the equivalent of British tabloid op-ed pieces (often featuring writers with scowling pictures above their articles, looking angry and absurd), which feature ridiculous, contrived opinions expressed solely with the intent of evoking a titillating response from the reader.  The only problem is that I get the feeling that these idiot bloggers actually mean most of what they say.  They actually don't see a problem with the way they act, and they seem to feel a legitimate sense of surprise -- and uproarious anger -- if anybody does to them what they do to others (see an article I wrote this past year in which I merely quoted the things people were saying about me and responded to them -- you'd've thought I unapologetically ran over their children on live TV).

In this case, as you probably know, the target of the bloggers was at first Paul Sullivan.  These dopes ask: "how dare he call an idiotic ex Cub an "idiot" (when I've called Sully and others names far worse) and actually get paid a good living for it, while I work in a cubical and stay up past midnight every evening just to blog!?!"  And later the target became Julie, who is associated with Chicago Now.  The dopes ask in her case: "how dare she latch her fat ass onto a multi-million dollar organization and get wide-spread traction for her work while I slave my fat ass off for maybe a thousand hits a day?!?!"

Well, folks, Paul Sullivan had the right to call Milton Bradley an idiot on his Twitter stream.  It wasn't a big deal.  He's also not obligated to let you shit-disturb on his page.  Why should he?  Does he owe you anything?  Did you save his life back in 'Nam, only to be betrayed now by his ruthless Twit-Block?  The bloggers who objected to Sully's name-calling also had the right to act -- that's right, "act" -- pissed and write a thousand word flaming diatribe against him.  But shame on us (even me) for drawing attention to their ridiculous reaction.  In making such a big deal out of this, we've given them all the reinforcement they'll ever need to keep acting cantankerous. 

Meanwhile, if bloggers have the right to call Sullivan an idiot, then they also have the right to call each other -- and Julie -- names.  She obviously doesn't like it, no matter how loudly she protests that she doesn't care, but that's probably part of why they do it.  (I think they also like to call her "fat" because it's an easy misdirection of their raging jealousy.  Remember, every Cubs blogger arrogantly thinks he or she is the best, and therefore is insanely jealous of any Cubs blogger who is widely recognized as being better.  And Julie is better.  Deal with it, champ.)

Sullivan has quietly ignored them.  That was probably the right response.  Not only is this shit way, way below his level, but there's nothing more infuriating than a calm response to an emotional attack.  Julie, meanwhile, has made a pretty big deal out of the way she is treated by those dopes, which will just stoke their fire.  That was probably not the smartest move on Julie's part.

I write this from my own experiences, of course.  This blog has had a handful of run-ins with the sites responsible for this current round of drama.  I swore off reading one of the blogs in particular after its head writer failed to wrap his mind around Rob, who follows the Cubs from an emotional stance, not a clinical one (I sort of think he -- the blogger, not Rob -- has Asberger's or something equally debilitating).  Said blogger voiced an apparently sincere desire for Rob to drop a toaster while standing in a filled bathtub.  I therefore assume he doesn't actually feel offended by Sullivan's use of the word "idiot," but I wouldn't know for sure.  I am continuing in my sincere effort to never again read another of his written words.  I think that's a lot easier than butting heads with he and his site repeatedly.  I don't deny their right to exist and to spout fascist-level hatred at every opportunity, I just choose not to actively participate.

As for the guys on the other end of this debate, I personally believe that, like their debating rivals, they are sincerely unpleasant, petty people.  Fortunately for them, a few are also actually pretty funny, hence their dips into the mainstream, which I'm sure has evoked all kinds of jealousy from the bloggers who think they're more deserving.  (Sorry, champ, if you were more deserving you'd be on Kap's show, too.)  Their problems are many, mostly surrounding their total lack of a sense of the appropriate.  Sadly for the blogs they are associated with, sooner or later the ridiculous, flaming insults they launch will overshadow the content of the actual writers... assuming that hasn't already happened.

So, on one end we've got a group of Cubs bloggers who have no sense of the appropriate and, if given enough rope and time, will someday hang themselves with their words.  On the other end we've got a group of Cubs bloggers who have no sense of the appropriate, mixed in with an overwhelming fight response to any criticism levied their way. 

Sounds like the kind of match that the dating websites could only dream of.  May their entanglement last forever, but GROTA and all sensible blogs will likely bow out. 

Have at it, boys and girls.  We'll be here, talking about the Cubs, for better or worse.

Cub Blogger Nation has evolved, or devolved over the years, depending on your point of view.  It appears that some of our best and brightest, and I sincerely mean it when I say it, have done their best to close the gap between themselves and what we'd call the 'legitimate media', which means the Sun-Times, Tribune and Herald, WGN radio, and the collection of TV outlets.  They've met, befriended and betrayed, variously, Len Kasper, David Kaplan, Paul Sullivan, Bruce Miles, and others. 

I mean, I see it.  I'm not going to name names today, but I have met, broke bread with, sat at games with, and have followed the exploits of nearly all of the principals in last week's Cub Blogger Catfight.  They are closer to the media action than we are here.  They are closer to Chicago in proximity, they know people who know people, and if I had the combination of a) proximity, b) time, c) connections, I would do exactly the same thing. 

I was jealous when a few of them got to be on Kaplan's show last month, I won't kid you.  In fact, once upon I time, I considered myself to be equal to those guys in terms of notoriety, but due to the reasons cited above, plus some notable and unfortunate lack of focus in my personal life, I have fallen off the grid a bit.  Yes, when I started writing about the Cubs starting in 1998, it was initially a journaling exercise, but after a few initial successes, I saw perhaps a future in the media surrounding the Cubs for myself. 

And it may still happen, to a certain extent, someday, but there have been some decisions I have made, which many of the principals know about, that have caused me to separate from the inner circle of Cub blogdom that seems to have some connection to the "legit media".

What that means, for me, is that I don't get to do fun stuff like go on "Sports Central".  But what that means, for you, that we don't have any affiliations with anyone that may serve to color our viewpoint of what we REALLY feel is important; simply, the chances that this God-forsaken franchise will ever win a Pennant and/or World Championship in our lifetimes.

I come out here to express my views on how close, or far away, the Chicago Cubs are from winning it all in any given year.  So does Kurt and AJ, and whomever else comes along in the future.  Now, sometimes, we'll hear something said or written by another blogger, or a member of the media, that is so contrary to the real picture that we may comment on it.  That concept seems to be the core concept that is driving many of the most well-known Cubs blogs. 

They've gotten too close, in my humble opinion.  We here are unbeholden, and our only bias is to the success of the Cubs baseball team.  Whether the announcers say dumb stuff or the game recaps and trade rumors in the paper are dumb, really doesn't matter much to us.  This is all about the Blue W on the White Flag, nothing more or less.

This is where you can always go to find out what a small group of rabidly observant Cub fans notice about the team.  End of story.  Go Cubs!!

I’ve actually been thinking about this topic for about two weeks, and to be honest it would have probably been slightly more appropriate before the recent stretch of divine intervention, but I digress…

The 2008 Cubs were the best Cubs team I’ve ever seen. (Considering the amount of bickering that has been going on recently I’m sure this will be debated, but statistically speaking and seemingly intangibly speaking, they were one of the best.) They could beat any team and no matter the defecit, they were in every game. Almost straight through from April to September, the 2008 Cubs ran in to few glaring issues that ever threatened their chances of winning the division and they ended up clinching a week before the end of the season. That’s when the fun ended.

From one of the greatest offenses in club history to one of the biggest eggs laid in playoff history, that team took a nose dive. But that didn’t even seem to be the worst part. Nor was the worst part that they were so dominant all year and were being discussed as the easy National League representative in the World Series. The worst part wasn’t that pretty much the entire team, with a few notable exceptions, was expected to come back in 2009. The worst part wasn’t even the fact that I had accepted that we sh*t our pants in the playoffs, not even that mattered.

No, the worst part was that I was convinced that no matter how good the 2009 Cubs were, the entire season would just be one giant pressure cooker set to implode in October. I was sure that from April through September it wouldn’t matter how big our lead was, or how dominant our run differential was. The only thing that would matter would be 3 games in October.

Think about it this way: on June 22, 2008 the Cubs were 20 games over .500, had a 4.5 game lead and a +112 run differential! That team was unstoppable. I truly felt in my heart that last year was going to be the year. As we all know, it wasn’t.

Exactly 1 year later we are 3 games over .500 and only 2.5 out of first place. Oh, and our run differential? +12. Exactly 100 runs less than where we were last year at this time. That’s not going to last. This team is virtually the same lineup. They will hit. And the playoffs? No one’s talking about the playoffs; no one is saying this is a lost season unless we get out of the first round. All of the pressure right now is on having a successful season and making the first round. You could even almost make the argument that stumbling and sputtering through the first 2/5ths of the season could be the best thing to happen to this year's team. Now the pressure isn't about “Yeah, you’re winning, but what about in October? What you’re doing now doesn’t matter until you win a game in October.” The pressure is about now. It’s about a division race in the middle of the summer. Something the 0-for-October team from last year didn’t have to deal with.

I'm not being naive, either. This team is by no means perfect and currently has plenty of holes. They’ve frustrated and infuriated me all season, but this division is still there for the taking. They are the best team in the division, and I don’t think many would disagree that even in third place it is still theirs to lose. The two teams ahead of us whom we beat by 7.5 and 11 games last year? They got worse.

Look, (imagine Uncle Lou here) the point is there’s nothing wrong with a little adversity as long as you learn something from it. At this exact point last year The World Champion Phillies were coming off a 5 game losing streak (in the midst of a 1-7 stretch), only 7 games over .500 and a 1 game lead in the division. I bet anything they’d say the adversity and challenges they fought through the entire season are what propelled them to be the last team standing at the finish line. Let’s keep this in perspective.  It couldn’t hurt. Go Cubs.

It has been a while since I have had the audacity to post a blog entry.  I apologize to my loyal blog followers for the absence(... I don't actually think I had any, but it makes me feel special).

To be honest, this Cubs season has been the type of vanilla that doesn't really inspire a worthwhile entry.  Sure, I could write an entry about any and every issue plaguing the Cubs over the season, but that is basically what every blog/sportswriter/analyst has been doing since the third week of the season.  However, something happened today during the course of the 6-5 victory over the White Sox that compelled me to jump online and write about it.

Over the course of this season the Cubs seemed to be stuck with a 2008 postseason hangover.  Instead of coming out of the gate inspired and with fire/revenge, they came out defeated, slumping and uninspired.  Something was just lacking; perhaps the "cubby swagger" that Lou always talks about.  Back in 2008, you felt like the Cubs could come back from any deficit at any time (see, e.g. Colorado comeback game, the ATL Edmonds/Reed HBP walkoff game, etc.).  I have never been labeled "cynical" when it comes to Cubs baseball: I'm always the guy in June that has to bring people down from the edge, I've never booed a Cubs player (that is another rant altogether), but at the same time I'm not a blind "kool aid" drinker.  Regardless, it just felt like that belief and swagger was lost somewhere along the way by the current Cubs roster.

Today felt like a page had been turned.  The Cubs were once again down by a reasonably large deficit late in the game.  However, something strange happened when the 8th inning came around: the guys that were supposed to step up did. 

I know that this game is just one of 162.  But I came away from this game with the hope that perhaps this team may have found a bit of that swagger that seemed to be lacking earlier.  Let's hope it continues. 

Just a few things this morning to occupy your thoughts...

In case you've missed it, I've been engaged in a heated debate with a Cubs "fan" in the Shout Box who has made repeated statements the past few days about:

1. how the Cubs "SUCK ASS" - direct quote
2. how Jim Hendry dismantled a winning team this off season
3. how this team will "break your heart"

And so on.

You know me.  I have a problem with this.  My problem isn't that he's worried -- can't blame him, the Cubs have lost 8 straight, are under .500, and look absolutely horrible right now.

No, my problem is that this Cubs "fan" is so short sighted that he can't see things clearly.  He's quit on the team.  IN MAY.  Anyway, since the Shout Box has locked up for 30 more minutes, I'm creating this thread to invite the anonymous guest to Man Up and talk with me about it in a place where he has to wear a handle ... the actual content section of the site.

So.  Guest.  Let's recap... first, you have given no indication to having "temporary" concerns about the Cubs.  You think they're done for.  You believe they have no chance of reaching the playoffs. 

Second, you got hot with me when I directly said the following...

if at the end of May you're taking THAT stance about the Cubs... what's the point?  why - or how - are you a fan?  if you give up on a team - any team - at the first sign of mediocrity
(and every team looks mediocre for long stretches in a 6 month season) then why follow the team to begin with?

Notice the first part of the question is "if."  The short answer would be "oh, well I don't think the season is lost, I just think they need to do something right now."

Instead you took the "you feel the same way as I do, you are a trite hack, how can you attack people for feeling differently than you do" and eventually hours later "I never said anything about giving up on the season," once you realized how horribly stupid your words looked.

So.  Here's another chance to clarify. I can't wait for your response.

This blog is not a public service.

Why We're Here
As mentioned on Friday - and expounded upon later by Rob - Wayne Drehs recently wrote a response column to a Bill Simmons article which itself was lamenting the devaluation of a Red Sox championship through the cheating ways of Manny Ramirez.  (Phew, that was a long sentence.)  In other words, this article is a continuation of Rob's response to Wayne's take on Bill's opinion about the Red Sox's title as impacted by Manny's cheating.  Lots of effect, single cause.

I wrote a brief response in the comments section of Wayne's article which I will expand upon now. 

What would I sacrifice for a Cubs championship?  For starters...

Wrigley Field
Years ago a very standard opinion was that Wrigley Field was holding the Cubs back.  The park was too small to hold enough people to spend enough money to build a winner.  The day games took too much of a toll for the players to remain at a level necessary to win in the playoffs. 

Since I first heard that argument, the Cubs have slowly begun to increase the number of night games at Wrigley while jacking up ticket prices and selling more than three million seats on a yearly basis - all things nobody anticipated.  So when this debate appears nowadays I take it to be more of a commentary about how Cub fans were conditioned to love Wrigley Field more than the team itself.  Anybody who would actually choose Wrigley over winning isn't a Cub fan but instead is a fan of a beautiful ballpark.  These people should buy and wear Wrigley Field jerseys, not Cub jerseys.  But I'm in it for the team.  I don't care what happens to Wrigley; they can rename it, they can spray paint Sears ads into the ivy, it doesn't matter to me.

Not to mention that if I knew with absolute certainty that a Wrigleyless Cubs would win the World Series I'd volunteer to blow it up myself.  But since we can never be certain of anything, then the question of Wrigley becomes one of income and that feeds into the second part of this article.

How much money?
One reason to keep Wrigley Field around is this simple truth: Wrigley without a competitive Cubs team is still worth two million seats a year.  Wrigley with a competitive Cubs team is worth more than three million, regardless of the cost of the tickets.  Based on the rabid fanbase and the relative unavailability of seats, the Chicago Cubs could -- and should! -- sell the most expensive tickets in baseball.  As a relatively poor Cub fan who has to spend hundreds upon hundreds of dollars to go to just one game a year, the actual physical cost of a ticket means nothing to me.

With that in mind, so long as they consistently put the majority of that money into the team -- giving the Cubs one of the most expensive payrolls in the game -- then I don't care what they charge for tickets.  $50 for bleachers?  No problem.  $1,000 for behind home plate?  Sounds like a party!  So while I wouldn't care if the Cubs bulldozed Wrigley Field for a new ballpark with all the modern conveniences, I have come to believe that they are more likely to win in Wrigley than anywhere else because -- for good or bad -- the ballpark is part of the attraction and that makes it a valuable tool in getting money to build a winner.

And anybody who argues that the organization has less incentive to build a winner because the ballpark is the attraction is nuts.  I wouldn't need complex flow charts and statistical analysis to tell you that a Cubs World Championship would be hugely, immensely profitable for the team owner.  As much cash as the Cubs generate now, it'll be even bigger and better once they win.  Guaranteed.

Cheat to win?  Isn't that sort of the point?
Poor Bill Simmons.  He's not sure how he'll be able to look his son in the eye someday.  A perfect season has been soiled for him.  His heroes are apparently the first team to ever win a World Championship by cheating!  Gasp!

I am extremely fond of pointing out that probably the vast majority of baseball players have been consuming greenies since the time of the Korean War.  There are legends enshrined in Cooperstown who got there because they threw nasty spit balls and were exceptionally good at hiding nails and sandpaper in their gloves.  Managers and players have actually spent real money on hiring people to put jinxes on their opponents.  In baseball they actually have a statistic to measure a person's success at stealing - and if you're a really good base thief you'll probably get into the Hall of Fame! 

I will not only be totally unsurprised if the Cubs cheat to win, I actually expect it.  If they don't have a guy in the scoreboard with binoculars and a transmitter along with another guy in the dugout with an ear piece then I will be shocked and disappointed.  You will never be able to show me with absolute certainty a team that won without cheating, it doesn't matter the sport or the level. 

But let's take it a step further.  What if, the day after the Cubs win the World Series, the FBI catches half the team in an alleyway buying steroids and HGH from a dealer?

Well, I'd be pissed off at their stupidity for getting caught, but I'd be relieved that it didn't happen until after they won.  And cheat or not they'd still be winners.

Erasing history
Obviously it's not possible to erase the Jordan years, or to remove from history the '85 Bears.  Obviously we can't change history.  But if the Cubs actually win a World Series then Cub fans would be losing connection to a huge part of our shared history and a very big part of our identities.

After all, we are known far-and-wide for our pain, heartbreak, and suffering.  The Cubs are well known for their history of being lovable losers.  It's as much a part of their identity as is Wrigley Field -- and one of the most annoying phrases in my vernacular.  But if the Cubs won, all of that would change.

It'd be like you looking back on when you were 12 and remembering how exactly it felt to be tortured by an older brother, teased by a girl in school, and forced into pointless labor by a distant father.  No matter how hard you try you probably won't be able to capture that exact feeling of righteous frustration.  Once the Cubs are winners -- and especially as the years go by -- we will lose connection with how it felt when they were hard-luck losers.

So yes.  It is possible to sacrifice history in the name of winning.  And since I am not exactly proud of the Cubs' history of losing I am perfectly content with that.  I can't wait for it to happen.

Of course it would be entirely fitting for the Cubs to follow this course -- keep Wrigley, charge an arm and a leg, and win at all costs -- only to win in unusual and unexpected circumstances. 

In other words, once the Ricketts Family steps in and begins to direct this team, watch what will happen.  The year Wrigley is shut down to be renovated -- in other words, the year the Cubs play in US Cellular -- that will be when they win it all. 

And even that would be perfectly okay with me.  Anything for a title.

or: Wayne Drehs IS Evil

Goatfriend Wayne Drehs of ESPN Chicago wondered aloud what we would give up for a Cubs championship.

Heh.  Well, those of you that know me know that I would give up nearly anything, but let's discuss some of you first.

Would you give up any of the recent Chicago championships?  The Bulls Six-Peat, the Super Bowl Shuffle?  What if the Hawks win the championship of Hockee?

For those of you who are not local, understand that Chicago is foremostly a Bears town.  No, I would not put Bears fans up against Cheeseheads, or Skins fans from DC, or the lunatics who root for the Raiders.  But there is solid Bear love in the city, and the 1985 Sweetness/Fridge/Ditka team still is beloved here.  If you are local, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.  Short of a Cubs World Series, anything the Bears do on any given day will trump anything the Cubs do on the 10 o'clock news.  Many of you reading this would even go as far as to put a Super Bowl over a World Series.  I get it.

How about the Bulls?  More specifically, how about Michael Jordan?  I don't think anyone out there would equate a single NBA championship to a World Series, and there aren't that many true Bulls fans, but during the 90's, it was bizarro Sports Chicago.  6 titles in 8 years?  Even non-fans were boggled by the sheer magnitude and opulence of it all.  We in Chicago had our very own Dynasty, led by our very own G.O.A.T., which of course is not a smelly animal that eats garbage and gets banned from parks, but the Greatest Of All Time, the closer of all closers.  For many locals, that's as good as it gets in Chicago, and I understand that, too.

Hockee, that there soccer crossed up with ice dancing?  Well, it was on life support here until quite recently, when ironically it took the demise of former owner Bill Wirtz to revive the sport in Chicago.  A small brave lot of holdovers have kept watch over the patient for the past thirty years, and as of this writing, the rebirth is in full bloom.  But even Lord Stanley's Cup cannot possibly compare with the Big Flag flying over the North Side, can it?

Then of course you have to discuss what else would you give up, or overlook.  Money, body parts, possessions, loved ones, other sacred memories.  Would you welcome known felons?  Certain cheats?  Swollen, puffy, enraged junkmonkeys who smash balls in pieces and can throw balls through bomb shelter walls?  Would you permit your organization becoming a laughing stock - a symbol for wrongdoing?  Would you care if the Cubs became the world's headquarters of PED's if it meant we won a title?  Who would you take in?  Bonds?  Sosa?  Tejada?  The Rocket?  A-Fraud?  Manny B. Manny a/k/a "Biaatch Tiaaats"?

Finally I have to mention Wrigley Field itself - the most famous "player" on the team, and one of the ten most famous sports venues on the planet.  Time has marched on and on, teams and cities and stadia have come and gone, and Wrigley endures.  Many of you were first introduced to the Cubs through the magic of Wrigley, on WGN and the SuperStation, and I know that there are just as many Wrigley Field fans out there as there are Cub fans.  A good 2/3rds of the bleacher crowd on ANY given day would watch howler monkeys run around in silk pajamas down there as long as the ivy was green, the beer was still cold and the Trixies still hot and dumb.  I understand if you feel that way; or, at least, that you love the park as least as much as you love the Cubs.  Hey, it's a nice park, no doubt.  What if the Friendly Confines itself was the Price that had to be paid?

Do you ask yourself that question, at least daily, if not hourly, every day of your life, even when the bitter cold of winter cuts through your new Christmas parka like a rapier?  Honestly, for your own sake, I hope not - but I know there's a few of you out there, because I'm out here, and contrary to what a few of you have told me over the years, I don't think I'm THAT much of an outlier.  I mean, I am going to be buried in my gray Maddux away jersey, in a Cubs casket, with the Cubs logo carved into my headstone, with Ryne Sandberg's "I did it the right way" quote from his Hall Of Fame acceptance speech as my epitaph.  Certainly there are others, right? 

Making the assumption that I am batguano crazy, would I give the Super Bowl Shuffle and the 6-Peat back?  Damn right!  In a heartbeat!

Would I give money?  I already give all I possibly can, between tickets, merchandise, and every cockamamie scheme they cook up, like the "forever pavers" and the "Cubs Club".  Would I give body parts?  Hey, I have two sons, my work is done, you want one of my nutts, go ahead, it's yours.  Want a kidney, too?  How about some nice fat cells to fill in your worry lines and crows feet?

Would I want to see the Cubs cheat?  Now, here's where we turn back to Mr. Drehs.  No, I don't want to sully the franchise.  But Wayne posed it thusly - "If nobody else in the world knew, but you, would you be able to accept cheating?"  If nobody else knew...if there would never be any public shame brought to the franchise?  If nobody else knew?  Well, how is that any different than Reggie Jackson sticking out his hip and Don Denkinger making an awful call and A.J. Eyechart running on a dropped third strike that wasn't dropped?  If only I knew...damn RIGHT I could live with that!

What about Wrigley?  Here's where I may surprise a few of you.  I have said in the past that I wouldn't give a rat's ass if they played every day at Troy Little League Complex in Shorewood if the Cubs won a pennant.  And, if posed the question, "would I choose a World Series or for the Cubs to play in Wrigley for all of perpetuity?"  I'd choose the World Series, 100 times out of 100. 

BUT...point is, in my wildest fantasies, when they finally do win the big one, and the crowd is going bonkers, and the seventh seal is finally broken open and the Four (now 6?) Goat Riders stampede in from Heaven, and the true Apocalypse finally commences, I always pictured in my mind's eye that THIS party would happen at Wrigley.

So, no, I wouldn't give up Wrigley Field for a Championship.  It just wouldn't be one without the other.  I think most of us, for once, can agree on that.

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