CUBS WIN! ~ CUBS WIN! ~ CUBS WIN!
1) Woulda’ Land
Cubs Left Fielder and Series MVP Ben Zobrist and Center Fielder Dexter Fowler woulda’ been playing for the 2016 Astros, but they both got away by different past routes.
Zobrist Prior Astros Connection:
- June 7, 2004: Drafted by the Houston Astros in the 6th round of the 2004 amateur draft. Player signed June 16, 2004.
- July 12, 2006: Traded by the Houston Astros with Mitch Talbot to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for Aubrey Huff and cash.
- January 10, 2015: Traded by the Tampa Bay Rays with Yunel Escobar to the Oakland Athletics for Boog Powell (minors), Daniel Robertson (minors), John Jaso and cash.
- July 28, 2015: Traded by the Oakland Athletics with cash to the Kansas City Royals for Aaron Brooks and Sean Manaea.
- November 2, 2015: Granted Free Agency.
- December 8, 2015: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago Cubs.
Fowler Prior Astros Connection:
- December 3, 2013: Traded by the Colorado Rockies with player to be named to the Houston Astros for Brandon Barnes and Jordan Lyles.
- January 19, 2015: Traded by the Houston Astros to the Chicago Cubs for Dan Straily and Luis Valbuena.
- November 2, 2015: Granted Free Agency.
- February 25, 2016: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago Cubs.
2) Coulda’ Land
Cubs 3rd baseman Kris Bryant coulda’ been playing for the Astros this year too, but the Astros took pitcher Mark Appel ahead of him as the top overall 1st round pick in the 2013 draft.
Bryant Prior “Almost an Astro” Connection:
- June 8, 2010: Drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 18th round of the 2010 amateur draft, but did not sign.
- June 6, 2013: Drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 1st round (2nd pick) of the 2013 amateur draft. Player signed July 12, 2013.
3) Shoulda’ Land
The Astros shoulda’ had all three of those starting field players in their own starting lineup this season. Had that been the Houston club’s local parallel universe reality governing MLB history in 2016, the Cubs most likely would have been awakening this morning to the prospect of 109 years and counting “since 1908” …. but that’s not the universe we live in this morning. Hind sight, as per usual, is always 20-20!
The reality is simple to state: Cubs Win! ~ Cubs Win! ~ Cubs Win!
And congratulations to great people like Bill Hickman and all the other fans of the doggedly patient Chicago Cubs! – You deserve the rest of the day, week, month, and year off to celebrate something you’ve been hoping to live long enough to see in your own lifetimes – and now it’s here! The focus on “1908”, “Bill Goat Curses”, and going to see the “Lovable Losers” * play at Wrigley Field on a quiet June afternoon are now officially over, done with, and put to bed for all eternity. The new shine now belongs to the 2016 new Champions of the World Series and all of baseball – The Chicago Cubs!
Oh yes, and this is very important too, that target that now rides on the backs of your Cub uniforms, is now your official legacy, courtesy of the other 29 big league baseball teams. Wear it proudly and honorably, but watch your backs in 2017. Next year is a long-missing, brand new ballgame for the Cubs. Now you must prepare to defend what you have sought to regain for 108 years. – And since 108 years from now is 2124, the Cubs must do all they can to make sure that it doesn’t take til then to re-experience the ecstasy of last night’s sweet, sweet victory the next time.
In 2017: The guessing’s all done ~ The mysteries are few ~ The rest will come gunning ~ All aiming at you!
GO CUBS! ~ BE THE BEST CHAMPIONS THAT EVER COULD BE!
- “Lovable Losers” never has been a term of use by bedrock Cubs fans. It’s another of those so-called journalistic word concoctions that some writer came up with on a dull day in Wrigley – probably in August – to explain to his or her own mind as to why any fans would show up to watch any of those past season teams that were stuck in the mire of going nowhere by late in the season. The faces of baseball passion and undying hope apparently went unrecognized by the writer’s need for a “fresh” story angle on a team of losers..
_____________________
Publisher, Editor, Writer
The Pecan Park Eagle
Houston, Texas
Tags: An Astros " Woulda', Coulda', Shoulda' "
The Pecan Park Eagle 
November 3, 2016 at 2:08 pm |
108 years since the Cubs won the World Series, 108 stitches on a baseball ….. Coincidence?
99 bottles of beer on the wall ……. Houston Astros?
Lord, help us!
Congratulations, Cub fans.
November 3, 2016 at 6:38 pm |
Congrats to the Cubbies and their fans! My 68-year old father-in-law has been a lifelong Cubs fan, yet he never had the pleasure of seeing his team play in a World Series – let alone win one – until this year.
Now the longest World Series victory droughts belong to the Cleveland Indians (going on 69 years) and our hometown Astros (going on 56 years).
November 4, 2016 at 10:51 am |
Thanks, all, for the congrats. In looking at headlines of newspapers from around the country, I thought the one which best captured the sentiment was the Boston Herald, which proclaimed: “Pigs fly. Hell freezes over. CUBS WIN!”
Bill Hickman