I made a Pit thread. Flame me all you want. Heh.
Being a Cub fan for more years than I care to admit, I don’t think the Tribune wants the Cubs to win. If the Cubs win they will all want raises next year. The Tribune is run like a bank, only the vice-presidents and above make the big bucks. They don’t want to pay any more than they have to to fill up Wrigley. Sorry, just have to be a cynic.
People, it was not a kid. Y’all must be thinking of the Yankees in…what year was it? '98? Anyway, this was an adult.
“Y’all must be thinking of the Yankees in…what year was it? '98?”
Rilchiam, myself being an Orioles fan, PLEASE don’t mention Jeffrey Freakin’ Maier again! It was '96… but I’m ok… I’m not bitter… :mad:
Sorry, 6…
And I’ll echo what other people have said, in this and the other threads. It does not have to be over. The Cubs have got to dig in. This has been a hell of a note, but…
…I might go so far as to say that if the Cubs can’t overcome what happened tonight…
…maybe they don’t deserve to win.
I think they can overcome it. Like I said before, Dusty will get them motivated for tomorrow. That’s why he makes the big bucks!
Yeah, this almost made me feel sorry for the Cubs. I still can’t quite get myself to root for them, though, because I’m Cardinal.
The local news in Chicago was nuts tonight. They must’ve showed two dozen replays of that foul ball, if not more. They really went over the line in my opinion - I question the prudence of identifying the guy so clearly (he probably has to go to work tomorrow, you know?), and more importantly, the ABC reporter I saw INSISTED on calling it fan interference to the point where one of the anchors had to embarrass him on the air by explaining why it was not fan interference at all.
The inning probably would’ve gone differently had Alou caught the ball. But nobody made Gonzales drop the grounder, and the fan with the headphons didn’t give up the bunch of hits after that either. I’m sure the Cubs will come to play tomorrow, but some of the fans just seem to be looking for excuses in case they lose. 
That’s because us Cub fans are 90 percent scar tissue. 
All Chicago is loving that fan in the LF stands:
http://insiders3.ezboard.com/fchicagocubsfrm2.showMessage?topicID=7400.topic
But if Alou caught the ball, that would have been two outs and the batter would not have subsequently walked. And Gonzalez, needing only the out at 1st, probably would not have dropped the ball.
The “fan” (if he be a Cub “fan”) is only 26 and is not a long-suffering fan such as many of us (including me) are. I think the ball meant more to him than anything the Cubs could do. At least he fumbled the ball and did not even get that.
Hey, I’m rooting for the Cubs, of course, as I have been for most of my 66 years of existence, but a curse is a curse. It really was not the fan but the ghostly hand of “Billy Goat” Giannis that knocked the ball away from Alou. And you think Gonzalez fumbled that ball? No way. Again, it was that ghostly hand.
As your probably know, “Billy Goat” died in 1970 without ever lifting that curse. His nephew supposedly lifted the curse twice, but he had no authority. He didn’t make the curse. And even after purporting to lift the curse, the Cubs didn’t let him bring a goat to Wrigly Field, not once, but twice, during post season series, and the Cubs lost, of course. Finally, the Cubs relented in 1998 and allowed the goat in. "Tweren’t any use. The curse is still there.
Ah, and now we know the name of the Cubs fan. I’ll bet Hewitt Associates stock takes a beating today:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/Sports/chicago_fan031015.html
It’s not a real Chicagoan anyway – he’s not a 312, just an 847.
He made out like a bandit, though. The Cubs management gave him a new coat and a 3-week vacation on an ocean villa in Miami Beach, where he will be treated like a king.
Really?
Did they also rent the moving van for his move to Florida?
I’m only slightly kidding.
But Prior also pitches differently. He was tiring, and it’s just as possible he gives up two more hits and a homer and the Cubs lose 4-3. The play changed the game, but the Cubs still blew it on their own.
As far as I’m concerned, his apology today tells me that not only is he a fan who very much cares about the game, he feels terrible about what’s happened. I guess it’s just more fun to pile onto him for something nearly anybody would’ve done in his place.
I’m not going to get into refuting curses. If your team can’t get over a psychological block regarding a goat, no way are they going to beat a professional baseball team. The Cubs have plenty of talent and strong young pitching, and they should still be contenders for the next couple of years at least.
Yes Prior was tiring, and the Cubs may have lost anyway, but not in the 8th, and a relief pitcher may have sufficed. We will never know. However, that play certainly was the turning point.
**
I used to attend many Cub games when I lived in Chgo many years ago, and all the fans will shy away from a foul ball that a Chgo fielder could possibly catch. Personally, I don’t believe the apology. He practically knocked the ball out of Alou’s glove. How could he not have seen either Alou or his glove?
**
I guess some people just don’t believe in curses.
That’s BS. I guess you happened not to see the 8 or 10 other people pushing, shoving, and reaching to grab that ball? Maybe in seats closer to the infield, where it is expected that a fielder will make a play on a ball in the seats, would people be more aware of the situation. But in a situation in the outfield where such plays aren’t usually a concern, where the player has to jump up to get just his glove over the wall, the first thing that pops into your head as a loyal fan is, “wouldn’t it be great to have a souvenir game ball from the NL pennant-clinching game.” All this crap about the guy “risking life and limb for a $10 baseball” is idiotic. To a Cub fan, it would much more. Who wouldn’t want a game ball from the Cubs’ NL pennant-winning game? Apparently, lots of people did, as the guy wasn’t the only one there grabbing for the ball. If he wasn’t there, it would’ve been somebody else.
Think about it for a second. Alou (and his glove) are below the wall, and certainly below the seating area. On top of this, if you’ve got a baseball falling out of the sky at you, where are you going to be looking? UP!*
Exactly. He said he never saw Alou, because he was only looking up, probably along with about 30 other people around there. It would have been better if they paid more attention to the actual playing of the game, though.
** I said fans used to shy away. I guess they don’t any more. Actually, I did not see any pushing or shoving. Only several fans reached out, I don’t think it was even 8 but that’s besides the point.
Take a look at the action again. Alou’s gloved hand was above the wall and this fan nearly knocked it out of his glove. What, a baseball coach and player has tunnel vision? If he’s looking up, he cannot see what is happening below “up.” Moreover, he wasn’t looking up when he was trying to catch the ball, which was at his waist level. And after he knocked the ball away from Alou, he was searching the floor for the ball.
Just stopping by to argue with this claim. Being good and then failing in the clutch is much worse than never nearing greatness. Year after year having your hopes up again and again and always being dashed is far worse than just knowing your team is going to suck yet again.