Where's the disconnect?  Kerry Wood's wife told Len and Bob this year they were looking forward to spending the rest of his career and lives in Chicago.  Hendry recently and publicly told Cubdom that it's longest tenured player will not be resigned.  What the ....?

Woody says he'll take a 1 year deal.  His wife wants to stay.  It appears the Cubs organization is the disconnect here.  There are other "stuff" that Wood suggested are afoot at Wrigley that proved to be his swan song.  I'm not sure what that stuff is and I've been a huge fan of Hendry.  This is really not right.

I know it appears Hendry and the Cubs are putting Wood's best interest in mind here.  What do they know about his best interests?  Doesn't he know his best interests better than they do?  The guy wants to win a championship here for the fans, the organization and himself.  I believe in that order too!  That is in his best interests.  That is what he feels drawn.

Obviously we are not privy to all that is going on within the organization, but I have to say this is a poor decision.  I sincerely hope I'm proven wrong.  I hope Woody gets a big contract and I hope he goes on to win a World Series.  Do you think it will mean as much to him as if he could do it for the Cubs?

Sleep on that Hendry! 

    

The holidays are right around the corner.  If you're like me, you're waiting until the last minute to buy gifts.  What are the Cubbies shopping for next years team?

Apparently it's pitching and high priced pitching at that.  Is that what the Cubs need though.  It didn't appear the pitching was that terrible in the playoffs.  The offense was!  How do we find some players that can hit in the post season seems to be more pressing. 

But, the Cubs brass get paid a pretty penny to put the team together.  I suppose you must start over again and think about how you make the playoffs and not put the chicken before the egg, so to speak.  A bolstered pitching staff would once again give the Cubbies front runner status to win the division.  I, as other jaded Cubs fans, wonder if they do make the playoffs again, will Soriano and Ramirez be taking their winter breaks early again?  Will another 3 and out happen?

What will happen is that if the team gets off to a fast start, room on the bandwagon will get tight again.  However, many fans will be whispering in the bars around Wrigley, that's great but will they win one game in October?

    

The Cubs brass will be developing a game plan for the off season.  The question being asked is what needs to be done?  They will need to sign the players they want to keep, Dempster and Wood for starters.  For a team that won 97 games, there certainly is a lot of chatter from fans that the team needs a big overhaul.  More so than one would think. 

The two guys that didn't show up in the playoffs that probably should be sent on their merry way would be Aramis and Soriano.  Two years in a row, those two did nice things during the regular season and took a nap for the playoffs.  There lies the dilemma.  Two of the best players might not be post season caliber at this point in their careers.  But, they are the ones that have to stay because of contracts and regular season production.  There are even fans calling for D. Lee's departure.  He got hits in the post season and a gold glover.  Wow, the fans are restless.

Actually, the fans are desperate.  They are asking for irrational decisions and I know the top brass won't make them.  It's an interesting time for the organization.  The burden to win it all from the fan base is very heavy.  The team is in the midst of being sold, if Major League baseball will get its act together.  Rumor has it Selig is holding up the sale because he wants his old boys club to remain while trying to hold off Cuban and the 1.3 billion dollar bid that's by far the best offer.  Pretty pathetic if you ask me.  This is a business, right?

The Cubs are actually in good shape besides what most of the fans think.  The team needs some tinkering and the players, if they make the playoffs again next season, must step up!

Cheers!

    

As the news of the Phillies blowout win found it's way to me today, my thoughts turned to how this could have been the Cubs year.  As the Phillies now sit on the verge of winning it all, Cubs fans must have to wonder again how it all went wrong.  In fairness, we must tip our caps to the Rays or the Phillies when the series is finished.

As the year finished and now after watching most of the playoffs, it's hard to understand that the Cubs couldn't compete with any team.  But, alas, they couldn't and didn't show up for one of the most highly anticipated playoff appearances in recent history. 

The sense of urgency and the stench of desperation from Cubs fans will linger throughout the 2009 season.  Even if the Cubs win 100 games and make to the playoffs, fans will still be wondering if they will win 1 game.  Are the players playoff caliber players or merely regular season statistic padders?  One thing is for sure, Cubs fans will be spending lots of cash once again to see what happens.

The question to an uncertain future is when will the Cubs win a playoff game?  Because to win a World Series a team has to start with win number 1.

    

The Cubs announced Jim Hendry has signed an extension for 4 more years.  I applaud the move as he's done a great job of bringing a team together that competes year in and year out.  As a Cubs fan, that's all I'm asking for.  Well, that's not completely true.  I'm asking for 1 playoff win and after that a World Series title.

I use the Atlanta Braves to show that winning it all sometimes takes a lot of time.  Hendry has put together a team which should be able to compete for a division title for years to come.  That's all we can hope for year in and year out.  Keep putting the team in position to make the playoffs and hopefully sooner rather than later, the team will show up for one.

Cheers Jim and keep up the good work!

    

As the mourning of another season has subsided, it allows one to reflect on the happenings of this past week.  Believe it or not, I have many White Sox fans as friends and for the most part many do pull for the Cubbies to finally win one.  There are a few that I know that sent, heinous text messages, mocking the Flubbies end to what was a special season.

What I realized after I went on a tirade of epic proportions against those Sox fans that dared pounce on our misery to make themselves feel better was that there must be some issues they are not confronting.  I'm not sure what these issues might be, but there is something there.  I've talked with some staunch White Sox fans and no one can tell me exactly where this rage comes from or why it's there.  Maybe someone reading this can shed some light on it. 

Anyone who stands to revel in someone else's misery is pretty pathetic.  But it's there.  As sports fans, we get very passionate.  The problem is that when we get passionate, we should still be respectful whether it's sports, politics, schools, or anything else we enjoy having healthy competition.

Respect is earned but as Americans and Chicagoans, I think it's inherently earned.

Cubs 09 - Hopefully!  

    

There is no other way to describe the 3 game sweep/beat down that has finished the Cubs season in abrupt fashion.  A team that in many ways dominated the National League all year fell flat, seemingly even before the playoffs began.  There were warning signs before playoffs that many fans included yours truly that looked past or simply ignored.  Runs were down and the pitching wasn't as sharp.

It can't be contributed to fatigue since most everyone was rested.  The quote that I thought was most insightful was from Soto who said there were out hustled.  That's a big problem because that meant the Dodgers wanted it more.  Even more disturbing is that there was a lack of impetus to work harder than the other team.

In the end, as a fan, I'm appreciative of a fun season in which the team played well and made it to the playoffs.  The rub is that the expectations for this team were much greater and the effort that was given seems to be less than the fan base was dreaming about which would lead to a World Series appearance in the least.

This abrupt end leads to a day of mourning for the death of our season.  Invariably, Cubs fans will take this one on the chin, as we normally do, and will wait until next year to start dreaming once again that the organization and team will bring a championship back to the north side.

It was an epically pathetic display of baseball.  The sad part is that all Cubs fans say there's always next year.  But, for some fans that isn't true.  After 100 years, unfortunately, some of our fans won't see next year or a Cubs World Series appearance.

Lastly, the notion many fans are saying is that it will never happen.  Never is a long time.  The law of averages tell us that if the Cubs continue to make the playoffs year in and year out, we are bound to win it all just by shear chance.

To Cubdom:  Keep your heads up and never ever give up!

    

Full fledged anger is running wild in Wrigleyville.  I've talked with many fans today after Black Wednesday and Cubs fans are angry.  They are visibly upset as they see a lack of passion and heart for a team supposedly ready to end the 100 year stint of misery.  "Here we go again!" was a common line used last night and this morning.

I suspect the anger is directed to the players for the most part, but the underlying issue for many fans is the belief that our time has finally come.  This team had survived adversity and was built to go far into the playoffs.  That very well might be the case, but Cubs fans do not want to wait until next year.  Their fuse is short this time around and it's officially been lit.

Today's game is a must win despite what the players say.  As a Cubs fan, I will reiterate what I've been hearing all morning, JUST WIN!  We don't want to hear about effort or excuses of why it didn't get done.  The players get paid a lot of money to win.  Now's the time to prove it.

JUST WIN!

    

The wild card has won the World Series enough times that counting them out is a big mistake.  The Cubs have their own demons, like 100 years of futility, but the Brewers had demons as well.  They were a team that had missed the playoffs for a very long time.

The Cubs had a chance on Sunday to at least push the Brewers to another game to decide their fate.  Two things happened in which could be a big plus for the Brewers, if the Cubs meet them in the next round.  First, they have made it to the playoffs.  A big monkey off their backs and might play a bit more relaxed.  Their pitching and hard hitting lineup could be well suited against any team.  Second, they clinched against the Cubs.  That memory will give them confidence if they meet again.  Remember when they Cubs swept them at home in August?  They were a team on the ropes.  Using the boxing analogy, they are no longer on the ropes, but in the middle of the ring, standing tall and not afraid to go blow for blow.

Did the Cubs inadvertently allow a sleeping giant to wake up?  It's certainly possible and the Brewers might just stand in the way of the Cubs making it to the World Series.  Will we look back on the final game in which Cubs fans felt meant very little, and think it was a game we could have kept the Brew Crew out of the playoffs?  Well, time will tell.

To the Cubbies, stay healthy and hungry my friends!

    

Anyone who's been to Wrigley knows that parking can be a huge headache or just plain expensive.  If money is no object, I say congrats in these tough economic times.  You should just find a parking lot close to the ball park and pay there.  The costs could be anywhere from $50 to $100 and higher.  It doesn't matter what lots you park in too much because traffic will be tough but even worse during the playoffs.  Pay extra for easy out!

If money is a little tight or you'd like to save it for food and drinks in the ballpark, take the CTA train (check the web site at http://www.transitchicago.com/maps/maps/200806N.html) in from somewhere to Addison station on the Red Line is the easiest solution.  If you intend to drive, and you'd rather not take a train or bus, parking is available south and west of Wrigley Field.  Look west of Wrigley to Ashland as there as some spots to be had from time to time.  Also, go south on Southport to Diversey.  Usually there are lots of freebie spots here.  The only problem is that it's a 20 minute walk.  If you don't mind it, you'll be cheering it up with many other rowdy Cubs fans along the way.

Let's go Cubbies!