Down to Our Last Strikes / Game Three Chat

Has all of the sideshow bullshit before this series ever started against  the Dodgers crippled the Cubs?

Exhibit A: Before a pitch was thrown in the series, the good folks in City Hall decided to ban alcohol sales after the 7th inning in clinching games…

Exhibit B: Before a pitch was thrown in this series, someone thought it would be a great idea to have a priest bless the dugout.

On one hand you are assuming victory, on the other hand you are warding off evil defeating jinxes. In reality it has been a side show the Cubs could have gone without. The real side show should have been before the postseason ever started in the form of Piniella letting his players relax during the Mets series and going balls out against he Brewers. The “in essence” week off before this series has killed any momentum the Cubs had gained all season, and the rust has shown in the first two games.

We are all in…..every fucking chip left has to be in the pot in hopes we can double up and live to play another hand. Thank God Kosuke Fukudome has been eliminated.

Chat here during the game if you will be awake…late start for everyone but me here in California….Ill be here…hope to see you too.

A Needed Kick in the Ass Before the Game Two Chat

I along with half of Cubs Nation had an uneasy time last night….I went in search of what other Cubs fans were feeling…I got sat down and give a good talking to by Kurt  Evans from Goat Riders of the Apocolypse…Kurt says:

Forgive me if I am going to come off as a little harsh, and if you are disturbed by this post, then I can only ask you to think back about the things you have said about the Cubs in the past couple of hours and compare them in terms of disturbedness – if that’s even a word. (My spell check says it’s not.)

I also want to preference* myself by saying that I am not trying to be a dick.  I promise.

(*Inside joke)

To the lovely, wonderful Cub fans out there who have given up on this season because of one loss, what the hell is the matter with you?  What kind of fans are you?  How disturbed must you be, how damaged must the Cubs have made you for you to cut and run with the team needing two losses before the season is over?

Seriously.  I just saw the same game that you saw.  I felt the same frustration.  I cursed.  I wanted to bury my head in the ground.  I yelled at Dempster for reverting to the pitcher he was Pre ‘08.  I yelled at Soriano for his hack routine.  I yelled at Derrek for grounding into a double play.  I didn’t ridiculously give up on an entire season because of one stinkin’ loss.

I know I can’t expect Cub fans to be like me.  I hate the Pollyannas out there who cling to the bitter end, until the very last out of the final game even if the Cubs are being blown out.  Those people make me want to puke.  But as much as I hate Cub Fan Pollyanna, I can’t stand Cub Fan Nietzsche even more.  Oh yes, the world is a dark, dank place, the Cubs will never win, good things will never happen, please do us a favor and go sodomize yourselves with a splintering broom handle.  If I could quit the Nietzsches out there as readers, I would.  If I could magically ban their computers from reading this blog, I’d do it.

So the Cubs lost tonight.  Yes, it’s devastating.  Yes, any momentum they took with them into the playoffs evaporated tonight.  But it’s not the loss that will kill them in ‘08, it’s the fact that tomorrow night, they will be playing in a ballpark where the fans have sucked out all the oxygen.  Home field advantage doesn’t exist in a place where 25 players compete in front of 40,000 sad participants who are already lamenting a lost season before it even ends.  For Chrissakes, show some heart, it’s the least you’d demand of the players on your favorite team!

I’ve predicted that if the Cubs lost Game One, they could be swept, and the negative fans are the reason why.  I will stand by that prediction.

However, although the Cubs offense faltered, and although the Cubs starting pitcher failed, the biggest culprit from tonight’s loss won’t be out there tomorrow.  Ryan Dempster will be sitting in the dugout, starring vacantly onto the field, wondering what would’ve happened if he hadn’t soft served that pitch.

In the meantime, the fiercest, most competitive Cub in my lifetime will be on the mound.  He’ll be angry.  He’ll be ready.

As for those of you who have deep sixed the season, I only ask that you keep it that way.  Don’t watch the games.  Don’t bother, it’s all over anyway, right?  Don’t read the blogs.  Why would you, we’re hopelessly devoted to the belief that anything can happen in a 5 game series.  You wouldn’t waste your time, right?

Courtesy of Goat Riders of the Apcolypse

The Goat Rider web site is full of scorn for all of us….get behind the fucking team and have a little faith.

Thanks to Kurt and GROTA for the lesson…sorry I didnt contact you for re-print permission…hope the full credit and the links are enough for now….we are 100% behind you.

See you at game time here or the chat….and be sure to check out Goat Riders of the Apocolypse now and later and often.

NLDS Game One Chat

Ladies and Gentlemen…the moment we have been waiting for since September 20th has now arrived. The National League Division Series between the Cubs and the Dodgers kicks off in about two and a half hours. The tension is so thick you need an axe to split it.

Ryan Dempster gets the deserved nod today against Derek Lowe. I am too nervous to write anything meaningful. I hope to see you guys here at game time.