To: The Cubs
From: The Fans
To Whom It May Concern,I am a long time Cubs’ fan; I know there’s several of us, and we can be found all over the country. When the team takes the field in any baseball city, the stands are littered with your hate, jerseys, and t-shirts. There’s no doubt about it, your team has fans from coast to coast. Not only are we numerous, we are a very loyal bunch. It seems, that in order to be a Cubs’ fan, you have to be diehard; there’s no room for casual fans among us.
Having said all of that, I need a favor: Could you please make it a little easier to be a loyal Cubs’ fan? It seems that most other teams (with the exception of the Pirates) start the season with at least hope of reaching the playoffs. I work with people who support the Reds and they told me on opening day that their team had a legitimate shot to win the division. They were then able to provide reasons why the Reds were going to win. I wanted to counter them with reasons why my beloved Cubbies would win, but even I couldn’t believe it.
Several reasons raced through my mind until logic chased them all away. I thought about using our mentally unstable ace of the rotation, Zambrano. I was quickly reminded that all he’s nothing more than an out of shape box of explosives with a world of potential. We’ve been hearing about his Cy Young winning potential for years now and I for one, have given up.
Then I thought about throwing some of the big names that Jim Hendry brought in through free agency. Unfortunately, the biggest name of the bunch was…Marlon Byrd?! I know, I know, he made the All Star Team. Fortunately for Mr. Byrd, every team gets on representative, and he was the diamond in the deep rough known as the 2010 Cubs.
2010 also brought us the first real taste we got of a talented player named Jake Fox. He dominated AAA baseball, leading the Pacific Coast League in average, homeruns, slugging, and RBI’s. Maybe I bought into him a little early, but the fact that he could play 5 positions and had some pop in his bat lead me to think that the team may have been onto something. Your answer? You traded him to the Oakland A’s for a pitcher named Jeff Gray has pitched 9 innings and given up 9 runs since then. For the record, rookie SS Starlin Castro looked amazing in the games he got to play last year. Maybe you can send him to the Mariners for a foam finger and a box of popcorn.
But alas, it’s a new season. There’s a group of highly talented free agents floating around out there, including players like Carl Crawford, Adam Dunn, and Brandon Webb. Do me a favor and bring in at least one worthwhile player if you don’t mind. Part of me (the part that has been a Cubs fan since 1996) has set myself up for disappointment. You probably won’t sign any of the three guys I listed above, but I fully expect to see Randy Winn, Marcus Thames, and Jeff Larish setting on the bench at the friendly confines next year.
But all in all, how can we not be excited about 2011? We finally get to see Cubs' legend Ryne Sandberg manage the team! Wait, what do you mean you passed on Sandberg? You must’ve picked up Joe Torre or Joe Girardi then, right? No? Oh, that’s right, you handed the reigns to…Mike Quade. Oh well, I didn’t offer any reasons why the Cubs were going to win in 2010, nobody will notice when I’m eerily quiet in 2011.
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