Wrigley's wrath

I came to the realization a long time ago that as a Cubs fan, I was in for my share of heartbreak. As beautiful as Wrigley Field is, from the bright green ivy to the blue skies covering the field for the 1:20 games to the attractive females that pack the bleachers every game, the Friendly Confines have an ugly side as well. It’s no coincidence the Cubs are 0 for 94 thus far when it comes to winning World Series titles in the park on the corner of Clark and Addison. There’s something that’s hidden in the building that makes the Cubs just shrivel up like a scared turtle during big games. And it showed up again on Wednesday night.

I’m not blaming the Cubs’ 7-2 loss in game 1 of the NLDS entirely on the Wrigley mystique. There’s some fault for Ryan Dempster, who allowed the deciding play of the game, James Loney’s fifth-inning grand slam, after walking the bases loaded earlier in the inning. Give some to Alfonso Soriano as well. The Cubs leadoff man (and guy I say is the #1 tone setter of the Cubs attack) went 0-5 and left three guys on base. And we can’t forget the bullpen trio of Marshall, Marquis and Samardizja, who made a comeback nearly impossible after allowing a run in each of the final three innings. But it’s hard to deny that the game being played at Wrigley didn’t have an effect.

Cubs fans, and I am as guilty as the rest, are programmed to fear for the worst while we hope for the best. Tonight, as the Cubs took a 2-0 lead, the crowd was going crazy, as they have all season. But the second Loney’s fly ball left his bat, it was an obvious goner as soon as it was hit, the crowd died. No more cheering for outs. No more “Let Go Cubs” chants. They even booed Soriano after he struck out the following inning.

I’m not sure how it is in other cities, but I’m guessing if this were to happen in say the Bronx, things would be a lot different. The Cubs were down 4-2 with five more innings of at-bats left. They were facing a pitcher they’ve had some success against. And they led the Majors in come-from-behind wins this year. If all those applied to the Yankees, I’m guessing their fans would still be cheering their team on, intimidating the opponent, and expecting that at the end of the day, they would win. Cubs fans on the other hand die at the first sign of downfall, almost as predictable as Derek Lee grounding into a double-play (Which he did again tonight). Of course this negativity rubs off on the team, and I feel its one of the reason the team tends to choke in post-season games at home (2-7 in playoff games at Wrigley since 1998).

Thankfully, this was only game one. The Cubs have to win three of the next four to save their season, and Thursday will be the biggest game of the year. If they win, I like their chances. But with a loss, get out the fat lady, because it will be over. Carlos Zambrano, a player who has been affected by the Wrigley mystique before, is on the hill for the Cubs. If it’s early season Z, I like our chances. But as a Cubs fan, I know better than to think that way.



-Thanks for the shout out Ben. I’m enjoying the reading the blog, and good luck on getting the soccer team together. Happy Jew Year to you as well.