The Pecan Park Eagle

The Kershaw Game

October 14, 2016

High Drama: WIth the tying and winning runner on base for the Bationals, Clayton Kershaw prepares to come in and close victory for the Dodgers in Game 5 of their NLDS.

High Drama: With the tying and winning runs on base for the Washington Nationals, Clayton Kershaw prepares to come in and close victory for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of their NLDS.

It was just plain great and exciting baseball – and there was no distraction at our house that Game 5 of the Los Angeles Dodgers-Washington Nationals in their 2016 NLDS action was hurt at all by the fact that it took 4 hours and 32 minutes to play the thing out. We learned later that the big scoring 7th inning alone took over an hour to play, but we were so caught up in the drama that we either didn’t notice – or plain and flat – didn’t care.

It will always be remembered in MLB Playoff History as “The Kershaw Game” for the fact that Dodger ace Clayton Kershaw, then a mere single day’s rest and several thousand miles away removed from a 140-pitch winning start in Game 4 back in LA was now stepping up on his own to whisper into Dodger Manager Dave Roberts’ ear during the 7th inning of Game 5 that he still had enough left in the tank to get the club through the storm for one inning, if it came down to that need in the 7th, 8th, or 9th. At the time, Washington pinch hitter Chris Helsey had just banged a 2-run homer to bring his club back to a 4-3 deficit to the Dodgers in the bottom of the 7th. LA itself had just bombed Washington in the top of the 7th to take their first lead in the game at 4-1. The Nationals had led the game, 1-0, from the bottom of the 2nd until the 7th inning LA rally. Now the Nats were showing signs of their own comeback run at the lead and, as Kershaw noted later, he wanted his manager and then current Dodger reliever Kenley Jansen to know that he had his teammate’s back, if needed.

Jansen got out of the longer-than-one-hour 7th without further damage and he shut the Nats down in the 8th, but things got dicey in the bottom of the 9th. By that time, LA still clung to a 4-3 lead and Jansen was tired and on his way to a personal record 51 pitch game. When Jansen then walked two Nats with one out in the bottom of the 9th, Dodger Manager Roberts brought in Kershaw to pitch to the dangerous lefty hitter, Danny Murphy. Kershaw got Murphy on a high infield pop fly and then struck our pinch hitter Wilmer Difo to end the game and wrap up the NLDS for the Dodgers. The fading smile into sorrow on the face of Nats Manager Dusty Baker said it all for Washington players and fans. And the jubilant celebration of the Dodger players on the Washington home floor just burned the reality of their elimination into painful quiet consciousness.

They Thrill of Victory. The agony of Defeat. They always play out each year looking pretty close to expected behavioral templates. It’s the electric joy and quiet agony of the specific participants that brings the same scripted play to life at the end of all competitive roads.

The 4-3 Dodger win in Game 5 of the 2016 NLDS set an MLB Payoff Game record time of 4 hours and 32 minutes. The 7th inning alone took up 66 minutes and was long enough time for Washington Manager Dusty Baker to set a new playoff series record for the most pitchers (6) used by one manager in a single playoff game. The game may have been too long for many millennial minds, but those of who are more disposed to the juices of high drama, the enjoyment of arcane record establishment, and unusual player moves like the Kershaw insertion into highest moment of high baseball drama. That is the stuff that dreams are made of – and some us simply love allowing ourselves the splendid opportunity for getting lost in the flow of epic struggle – a struggle that really is – the real heart – of real baseball – from start to finish. – And that condition, friends, is the purist condition that needs to remain unfettered, from here to eternity.

If we can shorten baseball in ways that do not destroy the opportunity for moments like last night’s Game 5 to unfold as it did, I’m for it. We should also look at ways to shorten the amount of time delay that is now caused by commercial breaks – and not ruin the game for the sake of getting more commercials into each telecast.

For this old baseball dinosaur, “The Kershaw Game” will remain as a reminder of what we are trying to preserve for the love of baseball as high drama. For some of us, it is the game that plays out closest to the dramatic works of William Shakespeare.

____________________

Bill McCurdy

Publisher, Editor, Writer

The Pecan Park Eagle

Houston, Texas

Tags: The Kershaw Game
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2017 ASTROS ST MYSTERY INVITEES

October 13, 2016

“Game of Baseball like ancient Chinese Monkey Puzzle. … Impossible to ignore. … Impossible to resist. … Impossible to master.” ~ Charlie Chan

There already has been a lot of early talk about what the Astros need to do to resolve the mysteries of their missing roster pieces. As Astros fans, we talk about little things like: Where’s the starting pitching going to come from? How come our relievers can’t get anybody out? Why do we strike out so much? Why can’t we find a catcher who can both hit and catch? Where are all the good high average batters who can hit from the left side? For that matter, where are all the average hitting batters who can hit from the left side?

In response to these questions, and as a matter of fantasy and merriment, The Pecan Park Eagle is proud to present our list of “2017 Free Agent Spring Training Mystery Invitees” – a list of 18 recruited and recreated ballplayers that we scouted this morning as potential mystery solvers to some of the questions that are already beginning to water log on our “River of No Return Into the Further Reaching Hinterlands of the Territory We All Have Come Know as a Place Called ‘Wait’ll Next Year’!”

To find these potential answers, we scouted Baseball Almanac for the surnames of all MLB players who share their last names with those of famous fictional detectives from literature, movies, or tv. Then we selected 18 of them to reincarnate in 2017 by the full name of their fictional detective identity doppelgänger for possible mystery solvers for next year’s Houston Astros, if any of them perform well enough next spring to make the team. The following is a tabular presentation of our magical mystery reincarnation talent list we signed today for the Astros consideration in 2017. Sorry we didn’t get around to advising Reid Ryan or Jeff Luhnow before we took this bold step, but those of us who who work as digital Google bird dog scouts don’t have time to stop and get club approval before we take action in behalf of our favorite teams.

The list:

2017 ASTROS ST MYSTERY INVITEES: Original MLB Names/Transformational New Famous Detective, Now MLB Player Identities

POS.	MLB PLAYERS	MLB ERA	NEW NAMES	CAREER STATS
P	BOB SPADE	1907-10	SAM SPADE	25-24, 2.96
P	DAZZY VANCE	1915-35	PHILO VANCE	197-140, 3.24
P	TIM DRUMMOND	1987-90	BULLDOG DRUMMOND	3-5, 4.29
P	BARNEY WOLFE	1903-06	NERO WOLFE	21-39, 2.96
P	TOMMY BOND	1876-84	JAMES BOND	193-115, 2.25
P	DICK MARLOWE	1951-56	PHILLIP MARLOWE	13-15, 4.99
P	SKIPPER FRIDAY	1923	JOE FRIDAY	0-1, 6.90
C	HAL SMITH	1955-64	FRANK SMITH	.267 BA, 58 HR
1B	BOB WATSON	1966-84	DR. WATSON	.295 BA, 184 HR
IF	JOHN KANE	1907	MARTIN KANE	.220 BA, 7 HR
38	CHAD TRACY	2004-13	DICK TRACY	.274 BA, 86 HR
3B	ED CHARLES	1962-69	NICK CHARLES	.263 BA, 86 HR
SS	JIM MASON	1971-79	PERRY MASON	.203 BA, 12 HR
LF	TOMMY HOLMES	1942-52	SHERLOCK HOLMES	302 BA. 88 HR
CF	WILLLIE McGEE	1982-99	TRAVIS McGEE	.295 BA, 352 SB
RF	BILLY QUEEN	1954	ELLERY QUEEN	.000 BA, 2 AB
OF	CAMERON DREW	1988	NANCY DREW	.188 BA, 16 AB
OF	MICHAEL BOURN(E)	2006-16	JASON BOURNE	.266 BA, 341 SB

We regret that we could not find any MLB players in history who may have carried the family names of Chan or Columbo into this prospectus. Both would have been great mentors to Astros Manager A.J. Hinch as bench managers. With Charlie Chan sitting by his side through a full season, can we even imagine the amount of wise sayings Manager Hinch could have piled up in a single season. Can you imagine what Chan may have said to 1986 Boston Red Sox Manager John McNamara when that World Series grounder found its game-losing way through the legs of BoSox first baseman Bill Buckner?

How about a touch of Charlie Chan-ese: “Some times ground ball like bar of soap dropped in shower. By time hand reaches ground to retrieve, soap already slips by. Even worse outcome when soap bar dropped in locker room shower after losing game by slippery error on ground ball”

And Columbo! – In Columbo, Hinch would have been helped to see that “one thing” he hadn’t thought of in tense game times and made a better decision.

A Columbo to Hinch Example: “Oh sure, Chief, you can leave Gregerson in there to pitch to Robinson Cano with the winning run on third and nobody out. …. There’s just one thing. …. Make that two. …. He just peed in his pants and … his right arm just fell off.”

Enjoy the Dodgers at Nationals game today, folks. – Let’s get this one decided and start the 2016 World Series!

____________________

Bill McCurdy

Publisher, Editor, Writer

The Pecan Park Eagle

Houston, Texas

Tags: 2017 ASTROS ST MYSTERY INVITEES
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Angry Cubs Answer: Hell No!

October 12, 2016

angry-cub-logo1 In yesterday’s column, The Pecan Park Eagle raised the question: “Is It Deja Vu All Over Again for the Cubs?”

https://bill37mccurdy.com/2016/10/11/is-it-deja-vu-all-over-again-for-the-cubs/

Late last night, the Chicago Cubs delivered their answer to that question at AT&T Park in San Francisco. After falling like timber to the axe of Giants lefty Matt Moore for 8 innings, the Cubs entered the 9th inning with a reprieve, even though they got there trailing 5-2. Moore had limited the Cubs to a solo homer by catcher David Ross in the 3rd and one other hit that had figured into an unearned run in the 5th. He also had struck out 10 and walked only 2. Because of a Giants error, Cubs runner Javier Baez was able to score from 3rd for the Cubs’ 2nd run on a another RBI by David Ross – a sac fly to right field in the aforesaid 5th.

The big Cubs break came when Giants Manager Bruce Bochy decided to remove starter Moore from the game because of his high 120 pitch count. And here’s how things went from there:

Top of the 9th: Cubs Batting, Derek Law now pitching for the Giants, Giants Lead, 5-2

(Giants Manager Bochy brings in Derek Law to pitch in relief of starter Matt Moore)
Kris Bryant hits a ground ball single to left
(Giants Manager Bochy brings in Javier Lopez to pitch in relief of Derek Law)
Anthony Rizzo walks; Kris Bryant moves to 2nd
(Giants Manager Bochy brings in Sergio Romo to pitch in relief of Javier Lopez)
Ben Zobrist doubles to right: Bryant scores from 2nd; Rizzo reaches 3rd; Zobrist on 2nd
Giants Lead shrinks to 5-3
(Cubs Manager Joe Maddon pinch hits Chris Coghlan for Addison Russell)
(Giants Manager Bruce Bochy brings in Will Smith to pitch for Sergio Romo)
(Cubs Manager Maddon replaces PH Coghlan with Willson Contreras)
Contreras singles to center; Rizzo and Zobrist score from 3rd and 2nd
Game now tied: Giants 5 – Cubs 5
Jayson Heyward bunts into 1-6 force out of Contreras at 2nd
Heyward advances to 2nd on E6 DP attempt throw
OUT 1
(Giants Manager Bochy brings in Hunter Strickland to pitch in relief of Will Smith)
(Bochy also brings in Gorkys Hernandez to play LF as part of double-switch)
Javier Baez singles to CF; Heyward scores from 2nd base
Cubs take the lead, 6-5
David Ross grounds in to 4-6-3 double play; inning ends on OUT 2 & 3
Going to bottom of 9th, the score is Cubs 6 – Giants 5

Bottom of the 9th: Giants batting, Aroldis Chapman enters game for Hector Rondon as Cubs’ 5th pitcher of the day

Chapman strikes out Gorkys Hernandez, Denard Span, and Bernard Belt in succession. Game over. Cubs win Game 4 of NLDS, 6-5, and win series, 3 games to 1. Hector Rondon gets the win and Aroldis Chapman gets the save

Post Game 4 commentator Pete Rose provided us with this dimply eloquent explanation for the Giants’ late collapse in their efforts to win a 4th consecutive “even years” World Series. Remember, the Giants won previously in 2010, 2012, and 2014. Pete said that the Giants elimination this time was due to a “stinko bullpen.”

We also should save some room for the truly eloquent reason that SABR colleague Jeff Share expressed in an e-mail this morning why Giants Manager Bruce Bochy also deserves a huge serving of the blame: “Even the best managers screw up when they go to the ‘book’ too often,” Jeff Share says.

Bottom Line: The Cubs will not repeat their 3-2 deep six playoff loss to the 1984 Padres with the 2016 Giants, but they must still beat the winner of the now tied 2-2 series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals to reach their first World Series since 1945 for a chance to win their first big one since 1908. Like them or not, and we do like the Cubs in this little digital corner of the cyber universe, all outcomes remain possible.

____________________

Bill McCurdy

Publisher, Editor, Writer

The Pecan Park Eagle

Houston, Texas

Tags: Angry Cubs Answer: Hell No!
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Is It Deja Vu All Over Again for the Cubs?

October 11, 2016

goat-face

The last time the Cubs came close to reaching the World Series came in 1984. The Cubs blew a 2-0 won-games lead over the San Diego Padres in what was the last year of the “best of 5” NLCS, allowing the baseball-busting fathers to move on to The Show:

The 1984 National League Championship Series (NLCS)

Chicago Cubs versus San Diego Padres

A Game Line Table on How It Played Out:

GAME	DATE	SITE	GAME WINNER	SERIES STATUS
1	10/02/84	WRIGLEY FIELD	CUBS, 13-0	CUBS UP, 1-0
2	10/03/84	WRIGLEY FIELD	CUBS, 4-2	CUBS, UP 2-0
3	10/04/84	JACK MURPHY STADIUM	PADRES, 7-1	CUBS UP, 2-1
4	10/06/84	JACK MURPHY STADIUM	PADRES, 7-5	TIED, 2-2
5	10/07/84	JACK MURPHY STADIUM	PADRES, 6-3	PADRES WIN, 3-2

As of very late last night – and into the wee small hours of the morning for those of us who watched the game on TV east of the west coast – the Cubs have recorded the same game pattern in the 2016 NLDS that they demonstrated in the 1984 NLCS of 1984. The 2016 NLDS is still governed by the old “best of 5” game plan.

The 2016 National League Division Series (NLDS)

Chicago Cubs versus San Francisco Giants

A Game Line Table on How This One is Playing Out:

GAME	DATE	SITE	GAME WINNER	SERIES STATUS
1	10/07/16	WRIGLEY FIELD	CUBS, 1-0	CUBS UP, 1-0
2	10/08/16	WRIGLEY FIELD	CUBS, 5-2	CUBS UP, 2-0
3	10/10/16	AT&T PARK	GIANTS, 6-5 (13)	CUBS UP, 2-1
4	10/11/16	AT&T PARK	5:30 PM, PDT
5	10/12/16	WRIGLEY FIELD	IF NECESSARY

Could it really happen to the Cubs again? And, if it did, how is your own mind prepared to interpret such a calamitous result?

The answer, we suppose, again depends upon how each of our minds are wired to perceive why things happen.

If the Cubs crash again, never winning another game against the Giants. how will we explain that result, first of all, to our own minds – and then to everyone else, if we even deign to try?

Whether you travel the trail of superstitious billy goats – or walk the straight and mathematically considered path of relative probabilities – and how they are affected by random and intervening variable effects – have fun with arrival of your conclusions.

In the end, it is what it is – whatever we each conclude it to be. Or so it seems.

Let’s simply enjoy these last few sips of the 2016 baseball season before we start congregating around that off-season hot stove talk that suffices to keep us warm for about four months each winter until we again reach that sweet spot moment the following early spring – when we once more hear the popping sounds of baseballs spanking leather – and of bats pounding baseballs.

____________________

Bill McCurdy

Publisher, Editor, Writer

The Pecan Park Eagle

Houston, Texas

Tags: Is It Deja Vu All Over Again for the Cubs?
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Memory Lane: 1980 NLCS Game 5

October 10, 2016

nolan-ryan

The 1980 Houston Astros

The date was October 12, 1980. The Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros were in the process of finishing Game 5 of the National League Championship Series at the Astrodome. The winner of today’s game will advance to the World Series with historical stakes mixed into the ceremonious grab bag. If the Phillies win, it will only be their 2nd appearance in a World Series. They lost to the Boston Red Sox in 1915 and are hungry for their first title in history after an absence in The Show that now spans 65 years. If the Astros win, it will their first World Series appearance in the 18 years that have passed since first 1962 season.

The wonderful Bill Virdon manages the Astros. Dallas Green is the skipper of the Phillies. Future Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan and and 2nd baseman Joe Morgan play for the Astros, but “Little Joe” is in the twilight time of his career as a veteran back up guy. On the Phillies side, future Hall of Fame 3rd baseman Mike Schmidt and future all-time hit leader Pete Rose are the biggest names.

Going into the bottom of the 7th, the score is tied 2-2. Larry Christenson has now entered the game for the Phils as the 3rd reliever for starter Marty Bystrom, following appearances by Warren Brusstar and Lonnie Smith. Starter Bystrom pitched the first 5 and 1/3 innings and was charged with both Astros runs. Astros starter Nolan Ryan is still in the game and looking good.

Let’s pick up the play-by-play now for the rest of team innings in which scoring took place:

Bottom of 7th, Larry Christenson pitching, Astros Batting, Score: Astros 2 – Phillies 2.

Terry Puhl singles to RF
Enos Cabell sac bunts Puhl to 2nd base on a 3-4 putout at 1st; OUT 1
Joe Morgan retired on a 5-3 ground out; Puhl holds at 2nd; OUT 2
Jose Cruz walks; runners at 1st & 2nd
Denny Walling singles to RF; Puhl scores; Cruz to 3rd; Astros lead 3-2
Art Howe batting; a wild pitch scores Cruz from 3rd; Walling to 2nd; Astros lead 4-2
(Ron Reed replaces Larry Christenson as the Phils pitcher)
Art triples to RF; scoring Walling; Astros lead 5-2
(Dave Bergman pinch runs for Art Howe & will replace him at 1st base on defense)
Alan Ashby lies out to LF; OUT 3

Bottom 7th Totals: 3 Runs; 3 hits; 0 errors; 1 LOB; Score: Astros 5 – Phillies 2

Top of 8th, Nolan Ryan pitching, Phillies Batting, Score: Astros 5 – Phillies 2

Historical Note. The Astros begin the top of the 8th inning under these jubilant home fan conditions: The Astros now have a 3-run lead with Nolan Ryan pitching, courtesy of their 7th inning 3-run production; they are only 6 outs away from their first ever World Series appearance. What now follows is the reminder of baseball’s most important redundant lesson. ~ The games are won or lost on the field in real time. They are not won on paper, or in the cells of the brain that contain our fondest wishes, nor are they assured by the record and reputation of whomever you have playing for you. All that matters is what happens – and doesn’t happen – in the only time zone that carries with it the real rewards and consequences of all human endeavor. It’s called “the present”, but that only real time zone we have, is probably better described in these terms: “The here and now is that infinitely small point in physical possibility where time and space intersect to dictate what is possible – and what is not. And no sport proves that point any better than baseball. Think of Bobby Thomson’s 1951 “Shot Heard Round the World Homer” as an example. If Branca’s pitch arrives a nanosecond sooner or later, or one thousandth of an inch higher or lower, it may never have left the yard at the Polo Grounds. And who normally remembers a foul ball strike two or a high pop fly to short left field over time in the larger scheme of things?

Larry Bowa singles to CF
Bob Boone reaches 1st on an infield single to the pitcher; Bowa moves to 2nd
Greg Gross reaches 1st on a bunt single to 3b; bases now loaded
Pete Rose walks; Bowa scores from 3rd; Boone moves to 3rd; Gross moves to 2nd; bases remain full; Astros lead 5-3
(Joe Sambito replaces Nolan Ryan for Astros on the mound)
(Keith Moreland pinch hits for RF Bake McBride)
Keith Moreland retired on 4-6 force out at 2nd; Boone scores from 3rd; Gross to 3rd; OUT1; Astros lead 5-4
(Ken Forsch replaces Joe Sambito as Astros pitcher)
(Rafael Landestoy replaces Joe Morgan as Astros 2nd baseman)
(Ramon Aviles of the Phillies pinch runs for Keith Moreland at 1B)
Mike Schmidt strikes out; OUT 2
(Del Unser pinch hits for Phillies pitcher Ron Reed)
Del Unser singles to RF; Gross scores from 3rd base; Aviles advances to 2nd base; Astros-Phillies Tied, 5-5
Manny Trillo triples to LF, scoring Aviles from 2nd & Unser from 1st; Phillies lead, 7-5
Gary Maddox flies out to LF; OUT 3

Top of 8th Totals: 5 runs; 5 hits; 0 errors; 1 LOB; Score: Phillies 7 – Astros 5

Bottom of 8th, Tug McGraw now pitching for Phillies, Astros Batting, Score: Phillies 7 – Astros 5

(Del Unser now playing RF for Phillies)
Craig Reynolds reaches on an infield single to 2nd base
(Gary Woods pinch hits for Astros pitcher Ken Forsch)
Gary Woods strikes out; OUT 1
Terry Puhl singles to RF; Craig Reynolds to 3rd on play
Enos Cabell strikes out; OUT 2
Rafael Landestoy singles to RF; Reynolds scores from 3rd; Puhl to 2nd; Phillies Lead 7-6
Jose Cruz singles to CF; Puhl scores from 2nd; Landestoy moves to 3rd; Phillies-Astros Tied, 7-7
Denny Walling hits into a 4-6 force out of Cruz at 2nd to end the inning. OUT 3; The Game is Now Tied at 7-7

9th Inning Summary. With the game now tied at 7-7, and Frank LaCorte of the Astros now pitching, the Phillies were held scoreless in the top of the 9th. The Phillies did get runners to 1st and 3rd in the top of the 9th, but LaCorte got pinch hitter George Vukovich on a 2-0ut 6-3 grounder to retire the side and save the tie. As a result of the Vukovich pinch hitting appearance in place of Tug McGraw, Dick Ruthven came in to pitch the bottom of the 9th for the Phillies. The Astros didn’t know it yet, but they had seen their last base runner for the day when Jose Cruz singled in the bottom of the eighth. Ruthven got both Dave Bergman and Alan Ashby on 4-3 ground outs in the bottom of the 9th – and then sent the tie game into extra innings by inducing a fly ball out to CF by Craig Reynolds.

Top of 10th, Frank LaCorte pitching a second inning for the Astros, Phillies Batting, Score: Phillies 7 – Astros 7

Mike Schmidt strikes out; OUT 1
Del Unser doubles to RF
Manny Trillo flies out to CF; Unser holds at 2nd; OUT 2
Gary Maddox doubles to CF; Unser scores from 2nd; Phils lead, 8-7
Larry Bowa lines out to 2B; OUT 3; Phils Lead, 8-7

Bottom of 10th, Dick Ruthven still pitching for the Phillies, Astros Batting, Score: Phillies 8 – Astros 7

(Danny Heep pinch hits for RF Gary Woods)
Danny Heep hits a pop fly out to shortstop; OUT 1
Terry Puhl lines out to CF; OUT 2
Enos Cabell flies out to CF; ) OUT 3

Game Over. Series Over. Season Over. For the Astros, that is. The Phillies will go on to defeat the Kansas City Royals, 4 games to 2, in the 1980 World Series, winning their first title and ending the 65 year skein that had passed since their first appearance, a 4 games to 1 losing match with the Boston Red Sox in 1915.

Philadelphia Phillies	ab	r	h	rbi
Rose 1b	3	0	1	1
McBride rf	3	0	0	0
Moreland ph	1	0	0	1
Aviles pr	0	1	0	0
McGraw p	0	0	0	0
Vukovich ph	1	0	0	0
Ruthven p	0	0	0	0
Schmidt 3b	5	0	0	0
Luzinski lf	3	0	1	0
Smith pr	0	0	0	0
Christenson p	0	0	0	0
Reed p	0	0	0	0
Unser ph,rf	2	2	2	1
Trillo 2b	5	1	3	2
Maddox cf	4	1	1	1
Bowa ss	5	1	2	0
Boone c	3	1	2	2
Bystrom p	2	0	0	0
Brusstar p	0	0	0	0
Gross lf	2	1	1	0
Totals	39	8	13	8

Houston Astros	ab	r	h	rbi
Puhl cf	6	3	4	0
Cabell 3b	5	0	1	0
Morgan 2b	4	0	0	0
Landestoy 2b	1	0	1	1
Cruz lf	3	1	2	2
Walling rf	5	2	1	1
LaCorte p	0	0	0	0
Howe 1b	4	0	2	1
Bergman pr,1b	1	0	0	0
Pujols c	1	0	0	0
Ashby ph,c	3	0	1	1
Reynolds ss	5	1	2	0
Ryan p	3	0	0	0
Sambito p	0	0	0	0
Forsch p	0	0	0	0
Woods ph,rf	1	0	0	0
Heep ph	1	0	0	0
Totals	43	7	14	6

Philadelphia	0	2	0		0	0	0		0	5	0		1	–	8	13	2
Houston	1	0	0		0	0	1		3	2	0		0	–	7	14	0

Philadelphia Phillies	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO

Bystrom	5.1	7	2	1	2	1
Brusstar	0.2	0	0	0	0	0
Christenson	0.2	2	3	3	1	0
Reed	0.1	1	0	0	0	0
McGraw	1.0	4	2	2	0	2
Ruthven W (1-0)	2.0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	10.0	14	7	6	3	3

Houston Astros	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Ryan	7.0	8	6	6	2	8
Sambito	0.1	0	0	0	0	0
Forsch	0.2	2	1	1	0	1
LaCorte L (1-1)	2.0	3	1	1	1	1
Totals	10.0	13	8	8	3	10
E–Luzinski (1), Trillo (1). DP–Houston 2. 2B–Philadelphia Unser (1,off LaCorte); Maddox (2,off LaCorte), Houston Cruz (1,off Bystrom); Reynolds (1,off Bystrom). 3B–Philadelphia Trillo (1,off Forsch), Houston Howe (1,off Reed). SH–Boone (1,off LaCorte); Cabell (3,off Christenson). IBB–Rose (2,by LaCorte). CS–Rose (2,2nd base by Ryan/Pujols). SB–Puhl (2,2nd base off Bystrom/Boone). WP–Christenson (1). IBB–LaCorte (1,Rose). U–Ed Vargo, Jerry Crawford, Bob Engel, Terry Tata, Doug Harvey, Bruce Froemming. T–3:38. A–44,802.

Baseball Almanac Box Score |

____________________

Bill McCurdy

Publisher, Editor, Writer

The Pecan Park Eagle

Houston, Texas

Tags: Memory Lane: 1980 NLCS Game 5
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Bill Gilbert: Astros September Disappoints

October 7, 2016

Bill Gilbert's Season's End Report on the 2016 Houston Astros MLB Season. - Stay tuned for further columns by Bill Gilbert here at The Pecan Park Eagle. As he writes them, we will publish them for some best looks available on how the Houston Astros currently stand - at any point in time. And thanks again, Bill, for another great season writing series.

Bill Gilbert’s Season’s End Report on the 2016 Houston Astros MLB Season is here today. – Stay tuned for further columns by Bill Gilbert at The Pecan Park Eagle. As he writes them, we will publish them for some of the best looks available on how the Houston Astros currently stand – at any point in time. And thanks again, Bill, for another great season writing series.

Disappointing Finish for Astros in September

By Bill Gilbert

For the second straight year, the Houston Astros faltered in the final month of the season. The team had four straight winning months before logging a 13-16 record in September (and the first two days of October.) They didn’t come close to challenging the Texas Rangers for the West Division lead in September, finishing 11 games behind and also dropping to third place in the Division, two games behind Seattle. While they remained in contention for a Wild Card until the final week of the season, they finished 5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for the final Wild Card slot.

After the team’s success in winning a Wild Card in 2015, the 2016 season has to be considered somewhat disappointing. It’s not unusual for a team to regress somewhat after a season in which they make a large forward jump. For example, the Minnesota Twins won 83 games in 2015, up from 70 in 2014, but dropped to 59 this year, a decline of 24 games. The Astros record of 84-78 in 2016 was only 2 games worse than their 86-76 record in 2015. With their strong nucleus of young players, the chances of success in the next few years are good.

What went wrong in September? It was a combination of things. Their two best starting pitchers, Lance McCullers and Dallas Keuchel, were injured and didn’t pitch at all in September, requiring the use of rookies and minor leaguers to start 12 games. This put a strain on the overworked bullpen which was largely ineffective in the month. Doug Fister, their best starting pitcher in May and June, was totally ineffective in September with a record of 0-4 and an ERA of 11.74. The staff ERA was 4.85 in September compared to 4.06 for the season.

On September 22, following a successful road trip to the West Coast where they took 5 of 6 games from Seattle and Oakland, the Astros were very much in contention for a wild card. However, they then lost three straight games at home against the Los Angeles Angels which essentially removed them from serious contention. The bullpen was the primary culprit. In one game, closer Ken Giles came in to save a 6-4 lead in the 9^th inning but he gave up 6 runs to lose 10-6. The next night, the Astros took a 4-1 lead into the 8^th inning but five ineffective relievers were all scored on as the Astros lost 10-4.

The offense was down a little in September but not to the extent of the pitching. Jose Altuve, batting .351 entering September, hit only .269 for the month, lowering his average to .338. Jake Marisnick, Jason Castro, Colby Rasmus and A.J. Reed all batted less than .200 for the month.

For the season, performance was down slightly from 2015 in most categories. Here are the numbers:

HITTING

CATEGORY	2014	2015	2016	COMMENTS ON 2016
BATTING AVERAGE	.242	.250	.247	MLB AVG. IS .255
OBP	.309	.315	.319	ASTROS DECLINED IN 2016
SLG	.383	.437	.417	ASTROS POWER DECLINED IN 2016
OPS	.692	.752	.735	MLB AVG. IS .739
RUNS PER GAME	3.88	4.50	4.47	MLB AVG. IS 4.48
HOME RUNS	163	230	198	BIG DIP IN 2016
STOLEN BASES	122	121	102	DECLINING IN IMPORTANCE
STRIKEOUTS	1,442	1,392	1,452	HIGHEST IN AL*

* EVEN WITHOUT CHRIS CARTER ON THE ROSTER IN 2016.

PITCHING

CATEGORY	2014	2015	2016	COMMENTS ON 2016
E.R.A.	4.11	3.57	4.06	BIG REGRESSION IN 2016.
WHIP	1.34	1.20	1.29	MLB AVERAGE IS 1.32.
RUNS PER GAME	4.46	3.81	4.33	MLB AVERAGE IS 4.48.
STARTERS’ E.R.A.	3.82	3.71	4.37	BIG PROBLEM AREA.
RELIEVERS’ E.R.A.	4.80	3.27	3.56	STRENGTH UNTIL SEPTEMBER.

From the above numbers, the biggest problem the Astros have is starting pitching. In 2016, the Astros didn’t have a staff ace like they did in 2015 with Cy Young Award winner, Dallas Keuchel. If Keuchel can regain something close to his 2015 form, it will solve their biggest problem. Lance McCullers should be a capable No. 2 starter if he can recover from his elbow injury. The Astros have several promising young power pitchers in the minor leagues but they may not be ready in 2017. Rookie Joe Musgrove made 10 starts after coming up late in the season and should compete for a spot in the rotation next year.

Collin McHugh (13-10, 4.34 ERA) did not have as strong a season as in 2015 but is a capable No. 3 starter. A case can be made that rookie Chris Devenski was the team’s best pitcher in 2016 with a 2.16 ERA as a spot starter and long relief man. Another 2016 rookie who may be a candidate to start next year is Michael Feliz, a hard thrower, who compiled an 8-1 record with 95 strikeouts in 65 innings. However, he was inconsistent, with an ERA of 4.43 over 47 relief appearances.

In the first half of the season, the team was carried by three players, Altuve, Carlos Correa and George Springer. Altuve led the AL in hitting (.338) and hits (216) and drove in 96 runs while scoring 108. Correa (.274, 20 HR, 96 RBI) and Springer (.261, 29 HR, 82 RBI) did not reach the levels that some had forecast but were very productive players that should be around for a long time. Luis Valbuena was having his most productive season when he was shut down with a hamstring injury in July. Evan Gattis came on strong as a power hitter and led the team with 32 home runs.

Top prospect, Alex Bregman, was promoted in July and, after a very slow start, began producing at a high level and added another productive bat to the lineup (.264, 8, 34). Later, veteran Cuban player, Yulieski Gurriel, joined the team and in a limited sample showed promise for the future.

This still leaves three holes in the bottom of the lineup where the 2016 occupants batted .220 or below with tons of strikeouts. At first base, highly rated prospect, A. J. Reed, was promoted in June but never got untracked as a hitter (.164). He should get another chance to produce next year. Catcher, Jason Castro, is a free agent and creates a dilemma for the team. He is sound defensively but hasn’t produced offensively for the last three years, (.210 while striking out in 37% of his at bats in 2016.) Other than Gattis, The Astros do not have another proven major league catcher.

There is also a need for another outfielder. Carlos Gomez was a bust and was released during the season, Jake Marisnick is solid defensively but has a weak bat and Colby Rasmus won’t be back. Players promoted from the farm system (Preston Tucker, Tony Kemp, Teoscar Hernandez) have not shown enough to be considered as full-time players.

The Houston minor league system had an exceptional year in 2015 with six teams reaching post-season playoffs. However 2016 was not as strong as only two made the playoffs (Double A Corpus Christi and High Class A Lancaster) and neither was a winner.

The outlook for 2017 is promising with a couple of big ifs. Keuchel and McCullers must come back from their injuries and the Astros must find a way to be more successful against the Texas Rangers (4-15) in 2016, a pattern that has existed for several years.

Bill Gilbert

billcgilbert@sbcglobal.net

9/6/16

____________________

Bill McCurdy

Publisher, Editor, Writer

The Pecan Park Eagle

Houston, Texas

Tags: Bill Gilbert: 2016 Astros September Disappoints
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Bumgarner’s Actions Speak for Him

October 6, 2016

“To Be – Or Not To Be,
That’s NOT – my question,
Nor my answer.”
…. Madison Bumgarner

During the ESPN post-game interview with Madison Bumgarner of the Giants last night, the writable storytelling words were few to none. The interviewer first asked the lights-out Giants ace and complete game, 3-0, winner over the Mets last night in the NL wild card play-in game “what he wanted his legacy to be once he retired from the game. Bumgarner flashed a brief “deer-in-the-headlights” look, followed by a quiet sigh. The question came on the heels of several other insight-seeking interviewer queries in which Bumgarner struggled with words in ways he never faced in the game against Met batters.

In the game, Bumgarner gave up only 4 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 6. Noah Syndergaard of the Mets was overpowering for 7, surrendering only 2 hits and 3 walks while striking out 10 with lightning bolts from Valhalla.

“Why are you asking me all these complicated questions right now?” Bumgarner finally blurted out in frustration, in words close to those recalled here.

“I just mean – how do you want to be remembered?” The field reporter re-rephrased. And as I write these words, I’m hoping that Bumgarner wants for something a register above my inability to recall the name of his last night interviewing nemesis.

And, yes he does!

“I’m a winner.” Bumgarner answered immediately. “That’s all anybody wants to be.” And those words alone became the re-quotable substance of Madison Bumgarner’s post-game recordable insight. That’s also all that made it into writer Mike Fitzpatrick’s Associated Press game written account as a Bumgarner quote in the Houston Chronicle this morning.

And so what? The guy’s a great pitcher – not a great preacher, actor, or politician. We already know that Billy Graham, Charlton Heston, or Barack Obama could not have lasted nine against the New York Mets and their ace, “Thor” Syndergaard on Wednesday. So, why should we put unfair expectations on a guy like Bumgarner – even if his parents did hang a first name like “Madison” upon him at birth. A name like “Madison” almost buries a kid in the expectation that he will someday be eloquence itself.

Well, guess what? Madison Bumgarner is the personification of eloquence. He just expresses himself with the ability to throw mostly unhittable baseballs. And that was the eloquence he spoke during the game and, in our opinion, the reason he shall be remembered as an exceptional winner under great big game pressure situations.

We fans and media simply have to remember that not all great pitchers, or baseball players in general, for that matter, come packaged with the intellect, insight, and capacity for both spoken and written expression that simply oozes from the soul of a guy like Larry Dierker. If MLB or the Hall of Fame ever gets around to setting up a Baseball Culture Communications Committee for the sake of reaching the public without the middle man non-athlete media handling the production and distribution phases of all print and digital subjects, Larry Dierker would make a great Board Chair for that not-so-little energizer group activity.

Meanwhile, have a nice Thursday, everybody! – The MLB Playoffs are upon us full blast today!

____________________

Bill McCurdy

Publisher, Editor, Writer

The Pecan Park Eagle

Houston, Texas

Tags: Bumgarner's Actions Speak for Him
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Questions Facing Astros in 2016-17 Off-Season

October 5, 2016

“Actually Winning” is the thing that eventually determines the continuity of big crowds at the ballpark. Guess which season this not-so-big Astros Saturday game crowd was taken? Try 2014.

Roster Questions and Comments Facing the Astros and GM Jeff Luhnow in the Winter of 2016-17:

(1) What’s the starting rotation for 2017? Once you write down Keuchel, McHugh, McCullers, Musgrove, Fiers, and Fister, where do you go from there?

Comment: There’s not a name on that list that’s neither too hurt, too Jekyll and Hide, maybe still too hurt, too young, too erratic, or too over-the-hill.

(2) Is Keuchel repairable? Is McHugh’s erraticism correctable? Will McCullers still have it? Is Musgrove ready? Is Fiers worth keeping? Does Fister have anything left in the tank?

Comment: Musgrove gets our only positive vote; the other questions are unanswerable at this time and we don’t know enough about Peacock or other home-grown prospects to comment on other in-house options.

(3) Who’s on first?

Comment: Singleton’s already getting paid to do what he apparently cannot do – that is, hit big league pitching. Reed swings like a big tub of goo. And White is battling back to mediocrity with the stick. How about schooling the hitter Gurriel at the out bag during the winter?

(4) What positions look set, going into next spring?

Comment: Our takes are the obvious: Altuve at 2nd; Correa at short; Bregman at 3rd; and Springer, in either right or center, depending on how we fill the other holes. Marisnick can’t hit; Tucker is starting to be a health and hitting for average question; and Hernandez is also flirting with Mendoza. Kemp doesn’t bring enough bat or tools of strength to the lineup beyond speed and Rasmus isn’t worth what he got paid in 2016. Again, do we have any pipeline talent that’s ready to compete for the outfield – and are any of them left handed batters?

(5) What do we do at catcher next year?

Comment: We’ve got a power-hitting guy without a lot of athleticism or baseball-savvy nuance to his defensive work; and we also have a strong handler of pitchers who can’t hit a lick himself. We need the athletic defensive guy and pitcher-Svengali, but we also need one who can hit – and neither Castro or Gaddis can do both. Do we spend the money looking for one outside the organization? There may not be any. The kind of guy we seek doesn’t exactly grow on trees.

(6) Where do we find a few good lefty bats for our lineup?

Comment: We have no ideas to offer, beyond – it would be nice if they played outfield, catcher, or first – or were comfortable filling the DH spot.

(7) What’s the plan for using the winter helping Giles to hone control of his skills for being the closer?

Comment: Giles has great stuff. Considering what the club gave up for him last winter too, his full development of control over his talent should be another primary off-season goal.

(8) Who fills the short and late relief roles that too often failed us in 2016?

Comment: Good question. Relief was spotty again in 2016. And, if the earlier guys can’t hold leads, the 9th inning closer isn’t going to be used enough to really matter.

(9) Where do we get the talent to fill the holes the Astros obviously have – the holes that stand in the way of winning? Do we continue to play the “suck it up slowly from the farm system” card? Or do we do what the Rangers so fearlessly do in winning AL West division championships? They go out and buy it when it becomes available – while the Astros and others are still home “debating” whether the money is worth it to the ripple losses those kinds of acquirements cause to the revenue stream plan.

Comment: Maybe this off-season needs to be a doubleheader question period – one in which the Astros ask themselves not only (1) what do we need?, but also (2) how do we go about getting what we need to be a real contender – and not simply trying to sell our team product as a convincing pretender?

____________________

Bill McCurdy

Publisher, Editor, Writer

The Pecan Park Eagle

Houston, Texas

Tags: Questions Facing Astros in 2016-17 Off-Season
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Near 3,000 Hits, Close but not always a Cigar

October 4, 2016

In fairness, the cigar in this instance depends on how you look at it. If you mean, did it keep most of these players out of the Hall of Fame? No, it did not. A few of the guys who’ve come within 200 hits of a 3,000 career hit total aren’t there, that’s true, but the reasons for it lay elsewhere.

First base here is the list itself. It includes mostly retired players, and most of them are now deceased. The two still-active players appear to be on their ways to crossing the 3,000 hit line before they are done. In current times, that number sometimes may be the cigar of difference between a few guys getting in, or staying out of, the Hall of Fame, especially if a player has a sub-.300 career bating average and is in need of another number that glows in the dark.

The Following Chart Is Courtesy of Baseball Almanac.com

Players, Career Hit Totals, & Position on All Time Leader List:

Sam Rice	2,987	31
Sam Crawford	2,961	32
Frank Robinson	2,943	33
Adrian Beltre	2,942	34
Barry Bonds	2,935	35
Willie Keeler	2,932	36
Jake Beckley	2,930	37
Rogers Hornsby	2,930
Al Simmons	2,927	39
Zack Wheat	2,884	40
Frankie Frisch	2,880	41
Omar Vizquel	2,877	42
Mel Ott	2,876	43
Babe Ruth	2,873	44
Harold Baines	2,866	45
Jesse Burkett	2,850	46
Brooks Robinson	2,848	47
Ivan Rodriguez	2,844	48
Charlie Gehringer	2,839	49
Albert Pujols	2,825	50
George Sisler	2,812	51

The 15 former players shown above in blue type are all inducted members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The 4 former players shown above in red type are currently not members of the Hall of Fame. And, who knows, Barry Bonds may never reach induction because of his prominent role in the steroids era scandal. Ivan Rodriguez may reach induction as an excellent defensive catcher and a very good hitter. Harold Baines and Omar Vizquel probably are examples of two very good major league ballplayers who, without some kind of political movement by informed and passionate backers, lack the field accomplishments and big market media memory to reach the Hall of Fame on their own.

Adrian Beltre and Albert Pujols, the 2 active players in bold black type are simply passing through the “near miss” territory beneath the 3,000 career hits or more line. Both should make it beyond 3,000 and eventually be inducted into the Hall of fame.

____________________

Bill McCurdy

Publisher, Editor, Writer

The Pecan Park Eagle

Houston, Texas

Tags: Near 3000 Hits Close but not always a Cigar
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Time for the Legend to Live or Die

October 3, 2016

One of the Innocents at Minute Maid Park
With His Sign from 7 Years Ago
2009

The number “1908” means something on the north side of Chicago that it means nowhere else, even if those of us in the other hinterlands of the international baseball culture think we get it at first mention. Unless we grew up as fans of the Chicago Cubs – in Chicago – on the north side – as fans of the only club we’ve ever followed – with no chance of affixing our hopes to some other club playing for big stakes in some big deal sport they eventually won – and as fans of the same Cubs that our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great grandparents followed – from Wrigleyville to Skokie – or thereabouts – without ever, ever seeing our Cubbies win a World Series – let alone, play in one – we don’t know jack about the deepest pure meaning of “1908”.

Do we really ever(s) think we should tinker with the chance possibility that all the people of our baseball world understand the figuratively earth-shaking possibilities of what is most likely to happen now, if the Chicago Cubs next reach and then win the 2016 World Series? Here at The Pecan Park Eagle, we think that the question is worth more than the few summary lines we tossed at that contingency yesterday in our last series column on the American League Wild Card race.

In the beginning of the 1903-t0-2016-forward World Series history – 1908, to be exact – the Chicago Cubs were at the top of their game – winning their second World Series in a row over the same club – the Detroit Tigers. The Cubs played in the new World Series a year earlier, losing a tough one to their south side rivals, the Chicago White Sox. – In the fall of 1908, however, three consecutive World Series appearances (1906-08) – and two consecutive wins in a row – looked pretty darn good and seemed to bode well for the National League title town that seemed to be now so well-planted on the north side of the Windy City.

Something happened. The Chicago Cubs stopped reaching the World Series at all for a few years after 1908. By 1914, a fellow named Charles H. Weeghman built Weeghman Park on the north side as home to his new Federal League club, the Chicago Federals/Whales, the NL Cubs had returned to the World Series in 1910, but had lost to the Philadelphia Athletics, adjusting their overall record in the big one to 2 wins and 2 losses.

When the Federal League failed after two seasons, Charles H. Weeghman purchased the Cubs and moved them into his Weeghman Park in 1916. Weeghman’s Cubs captured the 1918 NL pennant in 1918, but then lost the World Series to Babe Ruth in his last hurrah for the AL Boston Red Sox. That loss dropped the Cubs World Series record to 2 wins and 3 losses. And 1908 was getting easier to remember. The last Cubs’ World Series victory was now ten years old.

The Wrigley family purchased the Cubs franchise and properties prior to the 1920 season and renamed Weeghman Park as Cubs Park. The cozy park at the corner of Clark and Addison was renamed Wrigley Field by the Wrigley family in 1926.

The Cubs returned to the World Series in 1929, around the time of the great stock market crash that plunged the world into an era that we still remember today as the Great Depression. The Cubs’ 1929 loss to the Philadelphia Athletics further demoted their overall World Series record to 2 wins and 4 losses – and 1908 was growing as an indelible memory on the north side as the birthdate of a now 21-year old fully grown one-generation nemesis reminder.

“What’s going on?” was the question on the minds of 42-year 0ld northsiders who had themselves been 21 years old in 1908. “We won then! Why can’t we win now? Are we cursed – or something?” And then some quietly wondered: “Was that questionable put out of Merkle 0f the Giants by Johnny Evers of the Cubs for failing to run out a game-winning hit that would have beaten the Cubs behind our failure to win since that 1908? – Maybe, we do have a curse on our back!”

The idea of a possible “1908 curse” certainly was reinforced in 1932. The Cubs returned to the World Series, only to be swept in four games by Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees. It was a legendary moment in Wrigley Field when credence grew around the idea that Babe Ruth actually “called his shot’ on a home run he blasted off Cubs pitcher Charlie Root. If that happened, the idea of a “1908 Curse” could have grown in plausibility with north side fans: “If the baseball gods were there to help Babe Ruth beat us with an announced home run this year, in 1932, it makes even more sense to believe that the baseball gods are punishing our Cubs for the chicanery that Cubs second baseman Johnny Evers pulled on Merkle and the Giants twenty-six years ago – back in holy-moley 1908. – And the punishment is – what? – we don’t get to win any more World Series title for a while! – And if so, how long is this curse supposed to last? Isn’t 26 years enough suffering? – C’mon, baseball gods, give us a break! We’ve lost 4 straight World Series matches since 1908 and our overall record has now slipped to 2 wins and 5 losses! How much punishment do we actually deserve?”

Not nearly enough, apparently. The Cubs go on from 1932 to lose again in 1935 to the Detroit Tigers in six games and again in 1938 to the New York Yankees in another four game sweep. The Cubs were now 2 and 7 overall in World Series appearances, with six of those seven losses coming since 1908 , and with 1908 now a date that all north siders knew as the fact that “the Cubs haven’t won a World Series in thirty years.” Only really old people of 50 or over even remember 1908 that well – and most of them with even faint childhood memories of same are beginning to think that losing is normal for the Cubs and that 1908 is some kind of younger child early north side bedtime story.

Then, just when everybody thought it couldn’t get any worse, here came the abyss.

Seven years later, the Cubs failed again in what probably was their best chance to win a World Series and bury the memory of 1908. Facing the Detroit Tigers in 1945, the last year of MLB lineups crippled by “stars off to war”, the Cubs fell a game shy of winning in a seven-game failure, but that wasn’t even the most grim outcome of defeat seizing a prize from the jaws of victory in behalf of the Cubs. After 1945, the Cubs fell off a high cliff into the abyss of losing. They haven’t even made it back to a World Series since 1945, a fact that many north side Chicagoans now attribute to bar owner Billy Sianis’ “Billy Goat Curse” when Cubs owner Phil Wrigley barred him from bringing a goat into the World Series at Wrigley Field to place a curse on the Tigers. Angry about his rejection, Sianis placed the curse on the Cubs, declaring that the Cubs would never win another World Series for as long as his goat remained banned from games at Wrigley, even when he had a ticket.

Since 1945, the Cubs have had a couple of close calls, but they have never been back to improve upon their longstanding 2 win and 8 loss World Series record. If the current NLC champion Cubs make it to the 2016 World Series, two time frame numbers to two landmark dates now occur: (1) It has been 108 years since the Cubs last won a World Series in 1908; and (2) It has been 71 years since the Cubs even appeared in a World Series back in 1945.

Every Cubs fan from 1908 who actually saw the Cubs play is now long dead; and almost every Cubs fans who could have seen the Cubs even play in a World Series is also now pushing up daisies.

So, how has this club been able to keep a fan base on the north side amidst all the losing, curse or not?

What’s happened, intended or not, is that north siders have settled into celebrating the Cubs as “”Lovable Losers” and romancing Wrigley Field as the NL’s “Shrine of Baseball Nostalgia.” In Chicago, people have their own time machine back into childhood. All they have to do is call in sick or take the day off legitimately and go spend the day at a Cubs game at Wrigley Field. Day games are more nostalgic, but the night games work too. So, sometimes, you don’t need an excuse to make the trip honestly.

The WGN national cable broadcasts certainly have supported and probably promoted the expansion of the “Lovable Loser” Cub image, as did the daily presence for so many years of TV voice and personality of the late Harry Carrey sell the deal with language that mangled worse as the game moved on each game to the revered singing by Harry of “Take Me Out to The Ballgame” during the 7th inning stretch. – To fans who never had known anything else, it became OK to lose. – Winning, of course, would have been fine, but, of course, nobody on the north side had ever seen it from the Cubs, so nobody was surprised or too disappointed when it didn’t happen.

But what happens now?

If the Chicago Cubs win the 2016 World Series, 1908 will still be an historical reference in Cubs history, but it will lose its joyful stinger as that date that celebrates not only the Cubs last World Series win, but also their true birth as Baseball’s “Lovable Losers”.

Living Cubs fans will now have a personal experience with watching their team “win the big one”, and, like the sharks that all fiery allegiant baseball fans truly are, their taste for all the jaws-like thrusting that comes after the first swallowed bite becomes insatiable. Cub fans, like the rest of us, will no longer be satisfied with settling for “Lovable Loser” talent on the field – or a trip to Wrigley Field as enough entertainment in itself for the money.

Expectations about winning are the death of easy-does-it “lovable losing”.

Be careful of what you dream of, Cub fans. You are standing on the brink of all that comes with it. And what comes with it – is a sign that reads this way in our minds under all like passages from innocence. – It reads: “You can’t go home again”.

____________________

Bill McCurdy

Publisher, Editor, Writer

The Pecan Park Eagle

Houston, Texas

Tags: The Chicago Cubs as Lovable Losers, Time for the Legend to Live or Die
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