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Oct. 9th, 2016
I guess it's time to bring this icon back
Oct. 9th, 2016 11:02 pmThough I'm not sure how readable it is.
The Cubs, after a brilliant season (103 wins!), won the first two games of the best-of-five National League Division Series. They're playing the San Francisco Giants, who in recent history have come back from a 0-2 deficit to win the series, so nothing is certain yet. The third game will be played on Monday, and I wonder just how many congregations in Chicago will provide game updates during Erev Yom Kippur services.
The Cubs have been here before, too. In 2003, they won the NLDS series handily, and were one game away from winning the National League Champion Series (a best-of-seven series), but lost two games in a row. (I do not blame Steve Garvey; I blame the Cubs.) The NLCS is the series where winning that is winning the pennant -- the thing that the Cubs haven't done since 1945. To quote Steve Goodman, "The last time the Cubs won the National League pennant was the year they dropped the bomb on Japan." After that, should the Cubs win, is the World Series, where the National and American League champions play another best-of-seven series. This means that the number 11 gets bandied about a lot, since it takes 11 wins to go all the way.
The last time the Cubs won the World Series was in 1908. My father used to say, "Hey, anyone can have a bad century." Well, it's been more than a century, and I think we're well overdue. The Cubs have put it all together this year, and they look great. On the other hand, the announcers have pointed out (several times) that of the 22 teams that won more than 100 games, only two won their World Series. One announcer also pointed out that between 1909 and 1944, the Cubs managed to win the pennant and lose the World Series seven times. Kind of like the Vikings, I suppose. (The Vikings have won their first five games this season, despite losing their starting quarterback just before the season started and their star running back in the second week of the season, so who knows what will happen there.)
So I'm hopeful, but not expectant. But I'll be watching all the games, either on regular broadcast or MLB.tv.
The Cubs, after a brilliant season (103 wins!), won the first two games of the best-of-five National League Division Series. They're playing the San Francisco Giants, who in recent history have come back from a 0-2 deficit to win the series, so nothing is certain yet. The third game will be played on Monday, and I wonder just how many congregations in Chicago will provide game updates during Erev Yom Kippur services.
The Cubs have been here before, too. In 2003, they won the NLDS series handily, and were one game away from winning the National League Champion Series (a best-of-seven series), but lost two games in a row. (I do not blame Steve Garvey; I blame the Cubs.) The NLCS is the series where winning that is winning the pennant -- the thing that the Cubs haven't done since 1945. To quote Steve Goodman, "The last time the Cubs won the National League pennant was the year they dropped the bomb on Japan." After that, should the Cubs win, is the World Series, where the National and American League champions play another best-of-seven series. This means that the number 11 gets bandied about a lot, since it takes 11 wins to go all the way.
The last time the Cubs won the World Series was in 1908. My father used to say, "Hey, anyone can have a bad century." Well, it's been more than a century, and I think we're well overdue. The Cubs have put it all together this year, and they look great. On the other hand, the announcers have pointed out (several times) that of the 22 teams that won more than 100 games, only two won their World Series. One announcer also pointed out that between 1909 and 1944, the Cubs managed to win the pennant and lose the World Series seven times. Kind of like the Vikings, I suppose. (The Vikings have won their first five games this season, despite losing their starting quarterback just before the season started and their star running back in the second week of the season, so who knows what will happen there.)
So I'm hopeful, but not expectant. But I'll be watching all the games, either on regular broadcast or MLB.tv.