Well, it’s taken Tonyonball a little while to digest that the Cubs actually won the World Series. At first, it seemed like the most improbable thing that could possibly happen, then a few days later something even more improbable happened…so the Cubs win seemed much more likely. In a few months, the Chicago Cubs will be congratulated by President Trump on winning the World Series. What a time to be alive…I guess.
As a lifelong and diehard St. Louis Cardinals fan, this Cubs victory was a little troubling, but not near as much as expected. They are a fun team to watch, and despite the media slurping Maddon a bit too much, there is really very little to hate. The only player who can be seen as a bit salty would be John Lackey, and he just spent two good years endearing himself to the Cardinal fans so we don’t even have that! Instead of hating the Cubs, most St. Louis fans (Tonyonball included) more just hate all of the publicity of the Cubs. Yes, they are great. Yes, they appear to be poised for a long run of success. Yes, every few years there is a team that appers to be set up the same way (the Nationals recently, the Royals seemingly every 5 years). Also, do you have to pimp every fly pall (Baez)? And since when did Ross become some sort of Hall of Famer (lifetime stats: .229BA/.739OPS/106HR/314RBI). But hey, “Seems like a nice guy.” – David Spade. And just because the Cubs won 103 games with the most talent in the league (by far if you listen to every sports pundit), that does not mean Joe Maddon should automatically win the Manager of the Year Award. The Cardinals won 100 games last year, and have pieced together winning teams and deep playoff runs for the last 4 years and Matheny hasn’t sniffed the MOY Award. Come to think of it, maybe there are some things to hate about the Cubs. If Tonyonball sounds bitter, it’s because he is apparently incredibly bitter…
All that said, the World Series was one of the best Tonyonball can remember. Not the most well played, there were plenty of errors, baserunning mistakes, and questionable pitching moves (why did Chapman pitch for 2-1/3 innings in game 6 when the Cubs were up by 5 runs?). Perhaps it’s a prisoner of the moment situation, or maybe it’s the history of both franchises, but there just seemed to be something more compelling about this World Series than the last dozen or so. That includes the David Freese World Series of 2011, and the Mad Bum World Series of 2014. When Davis hit that two run homer in the 8th inning of game 7, ITAP in Soulard erupted (full of a bunch of baseball fans, not Cubs or Indians fans, just fans of drama). There was more on the line, more celebrities around (which makes everything more exciting, just look at the election, how are we going to continue living in America if Cher moves away? Oh no! All of these celebrities are voting for candidate X, I must vote for them, we all have the same day to day issues right? I mean, if they like this candidate, it must be the right choice. I always turn to Miley Cirus when I’m wondering about US foreign policy – political talk over.). It was nice to see Bill Murray that overjoyed, and Charlie Sheen just being Charlie Sheen. He’ll coldcock you, SHEEN!
The Cubs future is very bright. They have Rizzo, Bryant, Shwarber, Baez, Hendricks cost controlled until 2022. They have Heyward locked up until 2085 for just under the GDP of Micronesia (wait, is that a positive thing?). The only chink in the armor could be the pitching. Hendricks is great, one of the most fun pitchers to watch. Tonyonball can’t help but wonder how in the world he keeps getting guys out by throwing right around 90MPH. He locates well and no one can seem to square him up. Its masterful watching guys routinely roll over to the second baseman or shortstop. However, Lester is still very effective, but probably has two good years in him before he goes full Wainwright (sorry Cardinals fans, he’s an average pitcher these days, living on rep only). Lackey is a year or two beyond Wainwright, and the Cubs middle relief/bullpen was exposed fully in this series (hence Chapman going 2-1/3 innings with a 5 run lead in game 6). If they can either lure some free agent pitchers (rarely a good idea), or develop some young talent, the sky is the limit. Until then, they may be an American League team playing in a bunch of softball games (average score 8-6).
Well done Cubs, now let’s see how those young players handle success. Don’t sleep on the Indians either, they were missing several of their best players and still ran through the American League. Francisco Lindor, that kid is fun to watch.
-Tonyonball
