Cubs: The Curse of Bad Baseball
Yo, Cardinals fans: do you feel sorry for the Cubs?
Even just a little?
OK, dumb question …
Let the new century of futility begin. The Cubs’ shocking departure in the first round of the NL playoffs was just more of the same.
Figures that an ex-Cardinals player and manager, Joe Torre, would take the Cubs down this time. Torre’s Los Angeles Dodgers made it look easy, sweeping the dreadful Cubs in three games.
The North Siders haven’t won a World Series since 1908, and I have to admit that I thought this year’s collection of high-priced talent would change the course of history.
I’ve never fully bought into this idea that the Cubs are cursed. I get tired of hearing about Bartman, the Billy Goat, the Black Cat and all of the other ”Greatest Hits” from the Cubs’ sad October playlist. It gets old. And it seems foolish. And the Cubs for some stupid reason enjoy perpetuating this “curse” craziness. For instance, why did the Cubs bring in a Greek Orthodox priest to sprinkle holy water in their dugout before Game 1? It was a silly, senseless, attention-drawing stunt. Why put that stuff into the players’ heads and make the Cubs start thinking of all the past postseason failures?
The 2008 Cubs were put together with a lot of money, with more than $500 million in new player contracts over the last two-plus seasons. The 2008 Cubs seemed to be a good investment; they led the NL in runs scored this season, and they had strong starting pitching, and a fearsome closer, and they played sound baseball in the field, and on the bases.
But it all fell apart in three games to the Dodgers.
Just as it did last season in a three-game sweep by Arizona that sent the Cubs home after the first round in 2007.
In going 0-6 in the last two seasons, the Cubs scored only 12 runs and batted .218. They went 7 for 51 with runners in scoring position in the six losses. Key performers such as Alfonso Soriano (3 for 28) and Aramis Ramirez (2 for 32) were MIA. And even though Derrek Lee stroked some hits, he failed to drive in a run in the six losses.
After the Cubs were thrashed by the Dodgers in Game 2, Cubs manager Lou Piniella was overheard challenging a few of his players, including Soriano and Ramirez. Piniella used the word “cojones” in the conversation.
Apparently the cojones — and the bats — didn’t make the trip to Game 3 in LA …
It’s obvious that the postseason pressure got to the Cubs — again. During the regular season, they had the best onbase percentage in the NL, but hacked at everything the Dodgers lobbed at them in the three games, and struck out 24 times. They played atrocious defense. And starting pitchers Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden wavered when the Cubs needed a lights-out performance from them.
The 2008 Cubs became the ninth team in the last 14 seasons to lead their league in wins, only to get eliminated in the first round.
It makes me appreciate Tony La Russa even more. The Cardinals manager has had his problems in the Championship Series and the World Series, but he’s done a masterful job of getting his Cardinals through the first round. La Russa’s NLDS record is an astoundingly good 20-5. He lost only one NLDS, in 2001 to the Arizona Diamondbacks that had Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson making four of the five starts. And in that one, the Cardinals weren’t eliminated until the bottom of the ninth inning of the fifth and decisive game.
I thought Piniella would make a difference; he seemed tough enough to push the Cubs through all this “curse” nonsense, once and for all.
But Lou is building his own history of stunning postseason failures.
True, his 1990 Cincinnati Reds defeated La Russa’s mighty Oakland A’s in a four-game World Series sweep. But since that triumph, Piniella’s postseason record is 15-25.
Not only is Piniella 0-6 as the Cubs’ manager in the posteason, but he’s lost eight straight postseason games and 10 of his last 11.
Piniella’s 2001 Seattle Mariners won 116 games in the regular season, only to get ejected in five games by the Yankees in the ‘01 ALCS. And during Piniella’s eight-game postseason losing streak, his teams have scored only 16 runs.
What the heck is going on here?
How do you win 97 games and send eight players to the All-Star Game, as the Cubs did this season, only to show up for the postseason and look so lifeless?
The Cubs franchise is 18-50 in the postseason since winning that World Series in 1908.
So despite spending about a half-billion dollars to try and buy a pennant and a World Series title, the Cubs have won exactly the same amount of postseason games as the Cardinals over the last two seasons:
ZERO.
“The organization tried the Greek priest,” Piniella told reporters before Game 3. “I don’t know what the hell else to do.’’
How about an exorcism?
Thanks for reading…
-B
Well the Cubs have had their chance the last two years. Time for the re-tooled Cards and the ever present Astros to take back control of this division. I have a hard time believing the Cubs will come back next year and win 97 games. Post season ball is a lot about you’re team leaders and the Cubs don’t have a Pujols to demand the high standards backed up by clutch play. The division will be there for the taking next year. Cards need to sign Burnett (like they say you never have enough starting pitching) and then sign Lopez and get him working on his 2nd base fielding. I don’t like the FA choices at SS this year, so I could live with Cesar for another year.
Do I feel sorry for the Cubs? NOOO! My heart just is not there. In this world you earn everything you get. If they had fielded the same team over the last 100 years…maybe I might feel sorry for them. But their inept ability to win crosses many GOOD players, TEAMS and eras. Do I feel sorry for their fans? Yes. But only because as a fan I can relate to disappointment. But I can’t relate to THEIR disappointment, which must be excruciating. I cannot imagine what it must be like to be a die hard Cub fan who consistenly watches their beloved Cubbies die some way, shape or form every time they make the post season and then have to deal with lame duck excuses like the Cubs are cursed. The Cubs have become “weakly mental” because of their inept play on the field. And I suppose the two go hand in hand. I do think they have the right field boss in Pinella to help them with their mental game and who like TLR makes no excuses. The Cubs fielded the best team in the NL this year. They proved they were one of the best teams in baseball over a 162 game schedule. The only thing they continue to prove in the post season is; THEY CAN’T WIN!! Curse or no curse it’s just their tradition I guess.
LaRussa MAY have luck in the Post Season but, his regular season antics, using Isseinghausen and Franklin, are embarrassing to The Cardinal Nation. He pulls set up guys out to face same side batters but, allows Izzy and Franklin to get shelled because they are the so called closers.
Do I feel sorry for Cub fans? No, not one bit. The Cub fans I’ve been around are extremely smug and act like they’ve won back to back to back World Championships.
Small, correction too. The Cubs had 7 All-Stars plus a joke (Fukudome).
thats what they get for paying millions to players that never made to high school.
Do I feel sorry for the Cubs? Maybe a little. Hard for me to say as a Cardinal fan, but right now I am happier that the Phillies are beating the Brewers 5-0. The Cub players, for the most part, acted with a little more class on the field than the Brewers. The arrogance of Ryan Braun and the shirt-pulling antics of the team turned me off to them completely and I used to like the Brewers. Did anybody ever find out if they untuck their shirts after a loss? Oh, wait, when they lose they didn’t put in a hard day of work. In year’s past I might have been happy for the Cubs making it to the playoffs, because their fans were fun to be around in the stadium(s) but they have (had) become as arrogant as the Brewers. I know we can’t compete with the salaries the Brewers and Cubs are handing out like candy, but I hope we do something productive in the off season to help out the team that played beyond expectations to make for an exciting and entertaining season. I will be there next year cheering the Cardinals on.
HA! Feel sorry for the Cubs? Are you serious???? Um, NO! Maybe the Cubs should try sacrificing a goat at home plate in Wrigley Field. Just throwing ideas around.
And, time for Milwaukee to check out of the playoffs!
all I have to say is: hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Agreed, they are the cockiest fans on the planet whose team has never done a thing! Love it! I mean seriously, how do you get swept 2 years in a row in the first round?
Not even one little bit am I sorry for the Cubs or their obnoxious fans. I am exposed to these people on a regular basis and their attitude made me go from disliking the Cubs to hating them and their fans. Note to Cubs fans. Win something, then run your mouth. Heck, just get to the WS. You know what all your 97 wins and potential got you? A seat on the couch next to the 4th place Cardinals…
In a word- no.
I love it, absolutely love it.
The Cubs suck.
@ dp1616:
Yeah, those two World Series appearances in the last four years are really embarrassing. LaRussa’s “antics” are clearly not working.
You’re an idiot. Try being a Royals fan.
OR A CUBS FAN!
HA HA! The Cubs suck!
So much for the NL Central…….
I love it! The stupid flipping of the glove, the hop, Zambrano’s attitude and Jimmy’s mouth. I said all season they hadn’t won anything yet, and they won’t! Ha!!! Jimmy gonna come crawling back to us now (where he has a ring) and say he’s sorry for cheating on us with the neighbor….
Agreed, Bernie, the Cubs are not cursed. As you wrote, they have spent a little over 500 million in player contracts, and sent eight players to the allstar game, there is no excuse for not making it out of the playoff’s first round.
The Cubs just played bad baseball. They weren’t able to advance runners, played poor defense, and they got nothing from Zambrano and Harden, two pitchers who seemed an automatic to come through. To win in the playoffs you have stay patient and stay cool, calm and collected. The Cubs didn’t stay disciplined at the plate. In game 2 Zambrano clearly lost his poise, quit blaming it on a curse, the Cubs just played bad baseball.
the comment about the Brewers payroll, its only in the $80-90 mill range, the Cardinals actually outspend them by 10-20 mil. everything the brewers have is either homegrown (and not yet ready for the big bucks, when they’ll all most likely leave town) or was picked up on short term trades (Sabathia) or not-too-big free agent deals (Suppan)….they won’t be a very good team next year, especially pitching-wise….the cubs will be the only real competition for the Cardinals in the Central IF Mozeliak/DeWitt improve the team in a meaningful way.
Wow, for all the money the Cubs paid in salaries, you mean they only played three more games than the Cardinals?
What a pathetic bunch of losers!
I feel sorry for the Cubs’ fans, not the Cubs. Their fans really deserve better then the excuse they’ve been given for baseball there. The Cubs should have done better then that this year, but it’s like I thought when the Cards went on to win the series in 06. I’d rather sneak into the playoffs and then get hot (early prediction: Dodgers), then be the leader the entire season and tire out. In 04 and 05 the Cards won 100+ games each time, but then failed in the postseason cause they ran out of steam. 06, they barely get in but still have enough juice to make it a good series.
Cubs fans, I do feel for ya. You deserve better then the team you’ve got. Maybe next millenium…
I had some passing thoughts about the most recent Cubs …um…er…shall we say “letdown” and I thought I’d share them with the most knowledgeable sports crew around.
…Billy goats, black cats and Bartmans’ aside, the true cause of the Cubs home-field disadvantage became apparent when I tried to log on to the Chicago Tribune (team owners) website and it came up “Error on page”.
…Mark Cuban awoke from a four day drunk and was heard to say “I tried to buy the WHO…?”
…Thanks to the Cubs infield training video hosted by Bill Buckner, Game 2 had more balls popping out of leather than Chris Farley in a Harley Speedo.
…The film crew hired to follow the Cubs through the playoffs has been reassigned to a new project, “Once In A Hunnert Years.” This fantasy reenactment of the 2008 Cubs World Series victory will help fool most Cubs fans and keep the dreams alive. The sequel, “We Did It Again!” is anticipated to open for Christmas 3008.
…Leo Hildenbrand, the 104–year old fan that threw out the first pitch for the September 20th division clincher against the Cardinals, has been signed to replace Dempster in the starting rotation. When asked about the unusual move, Lou Piniella responded with, “Dempster walks seven…Leo doesn’t walk at all.”
…The Eagles top-selling compilation, “Hell Freezes Over,” has been rereleased as “Cubs Win Series.”
…Pfizer has released a new drug, “Chiagra,” to cure the Cubs “projectile dysfunction.” The disclaimer states that any Cub batter popping up for more than four hours should seek immediate medical attention.
…The Cubs were angered to hear the dugout manager was going to stop serving beer after the seventh inning of all clinching games. What would they wash their shots down with?
Bob Coleman
Cardinals Fan
I find it amusing that fans of a fourth place/rate team like the Cardinals would rip on the Cubs….after all the cards could not even win enough games to represent the division as a wild card team.
One reader thinks that the division is wide open for houston and st.louis…lol he must be drining too much of that cheap budwiser beer….
Intruudir, I take it you’re a Chicago resident who has nothing better to do than read the St. Louis media sources since you probably can’t even resolve a web page for one of the Chicago publications.
Do us all a favor, please: don’t start name-calling (a fourth place/rate team? Please!) unless you have something legitimate with which to back it up.
Do you honestly think that by winning the NL Central two years in a row, the Cubs have actually accomplished anything noteworthy? I can think of several years the Cardinals won the NL Central and didn’t finish the job (most recently 2004) but didn’t whine, moan, and make accusations and excuses like the Cub fans do so well as of late.
I’ve been a Cardinals season ticket holder for better than 20 years now, have seen some amazing things (’87, ‘04, ‘06 World series appearances to name three) in those years, and can remember how after the most recent loss in the 2004 World Series to Boston in game 4, two Red Sox fans sitting next to me accepted congratulations and couldn’t stop gushing about how amazing and gracious the St. Louis fans are, and how we should be proud of how we conduct ourselves even in defeat.
It’s a shame I can’t think anything remotely similar about Cub fans.
I’ve been rudely treated in Chicago many times when visiting Wrigley Field and only wish I could see the four guys who repeatedly cursed and yelled at me while at a Cardinals-Cubs game late in the 2006 season (which the Cubs won) so I could laugh at their idiotic antics.
I hate to say it, but the Cubs and their fans got exactly what they deserved… an early exit, and NOTHING to show for the season.
The Brewers probably wished the same on themselves with their ridiculous “shirt untuck” antics following victories this season!
Show some class, man-up, and play the game hard with integrity! Don’t bad-mouth other fans! Accept and embrace them! Friendly ribbing, sure, that’s great, but you don’t need to curse and be rude, especially in front of children.
Karma is a strange but very powerful thing.
100 years of Cubs futility proves it.
God bless the Chicago Cubs…I knew they wouldn’t let me down.
Cubs Lose! Cubs Lose!
Absolutely not! I have to work up there during the week. They can’t act like they have been there before(brewers also, aka “untucking”), so they don’t. They are rude and obnoxious to say the least! These people were securing their WS tickets,,,after being down 0-2!
“Hey Chicago what do ya say, Cubs are gonna lose today” No Cubs no, No Cubs
No, etc……”
shirsch, that was very well said. I remember after we were swept the cubs fans came to busch during the 2004 season to remind us of that failure. Then after we actually won it after 2006 they came back again to remind us that it was a new season and we hadn’t done anything yet. Just a bunch of idiotic hyprocits!
I’ll take our chances with LaRussa/Duncan and Pujols next year against both the Brewers and Cubs.
How funny would a Dodgers/Red Sox World Series be with ManRam hitting the Series winning home run…in Boston?
I feel kind of sorry for the players… they’re stuck with the insufferable Cubs fans. I had a guy at work come up to me in the cafeteria (don’t know him) and lecture me on how the Cubs fans were orders of magnitude better than Cards fans, because of all they have suffered.(Trade ME!) My sister (we both grew up in the Chicago area- I saw the light in 1969)lectured me on how the Cards have everything handed to them on a platter. The Cubs have SO much to work against to win (this was in ‘04, I think). Sheesh.
Nothing will work for the Cubs until they stop concentrating on black cats, billygoats, and Barkman and start concentrating on the three “b’s” that matter in the postseason: baseball, baseball, and baseball. The true championship caliber team OVERCOMES mistakes (or doesn’t make them in the first place), and doesn’t let an over eager fan (back to the fans again) steal their karma for a decade. They forget about it, come back and win. At least one.
Most telling statistic: Cubs have won as many games in the 2006-2007 post seasons as the Cards. What difference does it make to win the division if you can’t win a single game in the Playoffs?
Here’s to the NEXT 100 years!!!!
I thought I heard Lou Pinella, before the playoffs, say that the Cubs he didn’t want to talk about “all this curse stuff” and then he allows the organization to have the priest sprinkle holy water. Bad move IMO.
The stat Bernie mentions that 9 teams in the last 14 years that had the best regular season record went down in the 1st round, ties in with what I’ve been telling Cubs fans all morning. What needs to happen, and what seems to often happen, is that the Cubs need to have one of those seasons where no one really expects much from them, get on late roll, and then sneak up on people in the playoffs. They don’t seem to handle the “favorite” roll very well.
Krusty,
I got your point, but I think you mean the total number of post-season wins in 2007-08.
The Cubs sure have spent a lot of money the past couple of years, only to get smacked in the face with a broom!