The 2008 Cubs – So Far

A couple of thoughts on the Cubs’ season so far. First, one does not want to get overly excited. And I am not. But there is a reason for it. Last night I started watching a videotape that I have of the play "Bleacher Bums." Bleacher Bums is set in the summer of 1977. In 1977 we had not won a World Series for 69 years or a pennant for 32 years. We still have not won a World Series or even a National League pennant, but it is different today than it was in 1977. It is different because we have been in the postseason. Obviously, we have not gotten far enough, but we have been there, and that makes just getting to the postseason different now than it used to be.

1984 was different than today because it was the first time. That was great. And 1989 was different because we had only been there once before, and in 1989 we pulled away in September (just about a first for doing that {in my lifetime}), and we were just one series win (four out of seven) away from a pennant and the World Series.

1998 was different because it was, effectively, the first time in the postseason for my kids and that was great. Of course, we didn’t do anything (though who knows what might have happened if Tapani had been able to get that ball past Javy Lopez), but in ’98 just getting to the postseason was pretty darn exciting.

But we didn’t move on, which meant that 2003 was a big deal (especially because, like 1989, we won it in September). And in 2003 we won the first round. That was fantastic. But then.

By 2007 it was nice to be in the postseason, but just being there was not enough any more. We needed to actually do something, something more than just being there. So it was exciting to be there, but it wasn’t as exciting as ’84 or ’89 or ’98 or even ’03.

Which means 2008 is exciting, but it is only partly as exciting. You know that you have to go beyond just getting into the postseason. And the postseason is a whole new season – each time. It does not matter how many games you have won before. You start at zero – again. (Also, the stupid White Sox winning the World Series in 2005 means that just getting to the World Series is not as big of a deal as it would have been in 2003 or before.)

In sum, and I know this sounds weird coming from a Cubs fan: It is great how well we are doing, but we have been to the postseason before. Just getting there is not enough. We have to win those new seasons, too. And only one out of four (or eight, depending on how you count) is going to make it.  There is a long way to go – and a lot to do – to get too excited now.

P.S. Yesterday's game was pretty exciting, though. The Cubs scratched out three runs on just six hits and two walks. (Hitting into three double plays didn't help, and how could Alfonso Soriano get the only two walks?) Carlos's fourth home run of the year was the difference. (Carlos has gotten a hit in his last seven starts and has the best batting average of anybody on the team with more than 40 ABs.) Kerry pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to save it.  Cubs 3, Reds 2. We haven't done that well in one-run games, so it was good to win a close one. Go Cubs Go.