Garrett’s Grumblings-Why The Chicago Cubs Need To Be Good, Dumb Excitement

Before I get into the subject of this column, let me make a few things that are going to be brought up throughout perfectly clear. First of all, I am not from Chicago, nor did I do this topic as a kind of ‘suck-up’ piece for at least two other individuals who not only live in Chicago, but also happen to work for this site. Also, as someone who lives in the Bay Area and has seen the World Series Champions be crowned both on the streets and from my house two times the past three years, I can tell you that I live in a permanent feeling of complete disdain for the San Francisco Giants and their organization. So much so that I find myself completely not caring who wins the damn title in the end, as long as it is not the team that not only disrespects their veteran Hall of Fame players like Willie Mays by making him say a few words of congratulations to a roided out asshole named Barry Bonds, whom no one but the ‘fine people’ of San Francisco liked. They also have a catcher who gets injured because he cannot correctly play his position, and his complaining about what went on during that play, which was done thousands of times by thousands of other catchers, caused a rule to be completely changed into something that I defy anyone to explain to me.

All this being said, despite my disdain for what the sport of baseball has become, I do come at this topic with a bit of experience. That experience would be living with a mother who happens to both come from Chicago and be a Cubs fan. I have been through the disappointment of 1984, when the Ghostbusters theme played on the San Diego stadium loud speakers as the Cubs once again walked off the field in disappointment after being eliminated by the San Diego Padres. I lived through the pain of visiting my mom during college and the vaunted ‘Steve Bartman’ game unraveled right before our eyes, to which she yelled out the frustration that anyone who lives with a Cubs fan has experienced. To put all of this mildly, despite all the talk of New York and San Francisco, there is no more devoted, and in turn disappointed, type of fan in the world of sports than that of a Chicago Cubs fan. Which is why the signing of Joe Maddon as their new manager last week can only be seen as a good thing not only for the state of Chicago, but also the sport of baseball in general.

The game of baseball has been in a state of flux for quite some time. In fact, I would argue that the sport in of itself has not fully recovered since the strike of 1994. In that time, Commissioner Bud Selig included Interleague play, and even helped Ryan Braun, a member of a team Selig has a vested interest in, get off with little more than a slap on the wrist for something he has punished more for less. Rules have changed. And, if ratings are to judge how people feel about the game right now, it seems most are like me in that they do not care about the post season.

The ratings for the World Series this year were abysmal. While Game 7 drew a very good 23 million viewers, the average tune in rate for the entire series was 13.8 million. Yes, the Kansas City Royals were a young and talented team who more than likely have not been to their last dance. But what do the numbers prove exactly? They prove, once and for all, that no one outside of San Francisco and Kansas City gave two shits over who was going to win. So how would this year after year of uninvested boredom be improved upon by Maddon getting the Cubs up to speed?

Take a look at any stadium in which the Cubs play during any random telecast. The sea of blue that takes over even a visiting stadium is at times stunning. The Cubs represent more than ‘the team who hasn’t won in 107 years.’ I feel, even more so than the Red Sox ten years ago, they represent a team ready to take the game by storm. Ladies in their 80s who are still waiting for that miracle year bet $5 that the year has finally come. Trust me, I know. Aunts and uncles, nephews and nieces, buy up the blue Cubs jerseys every single March ready to see the cast of characters GM Theo Epstein has put together for their run. People who aren’t even familiar with the rules of baseball are familiar with the Cubs quest to ‘win one for the gipper.’

What does all of this mean for Maddon and his new job? It means the man has a lot riding on his shoulders. We have heard for quite a few years that the Cubs have an outstanding farm system. A great arm here. A monster power hitter there. The pieces are there for the Cubs to break out. And with Maddon, the man who took the Tampa Bay Rays out of the franchise rut of constant 100 plus loss seasons right into the World Series in 2008, Epstein seems to finally have all the pieces together to make his run. As Maddon said at the press conference announcing his hiring, he is not there to rebuild. He is there to win.

Imagine, for a second, if Maddon makes good on his promise and takes the young talent in Chicago to the heights of a playoff run. It would become must watch television. All the old ladies who made that sure to be stepped on $5 bet would be watching, and friends of friends whose team were beat by the once laughing stock Cubs would now see their stadiums pack in more and more fans wearing blue jerseys. It would get the world of baseball talking again, and people who are not even familiar with the game would HAVE to watch and see if the team they heard about only from relatives and friends, were for real. The trend of plummeting baseball ratings would more than double. These are the types of things a sport in a boring rut needs.

Of course, just because a manager has success elsewhere does not mean that it will translate to their new digs. Joe Torre never went to the World Series with the Dodgers. Lou Pinella had problems winning in both Chicago and Tampa. But Maddon definitely has the tools to succeed. A farm system ready to break into the bigs. A general manager who has put all trust into him a dozen years after passing him up for Francona back in his Red Sox days. And a killer pair of black rimmed glasses. Will the highest paid contract a manager has ever received be enough to take the Cubs straight into the hearts of America? Absolutely not. There is a lot of work to be done there. But one thing is for sure: for the sake of not only baseball’s success, but the sports populace in general, I hope the formula they are concocting works.

Excitement for Dumb and Dumber To

I know I am just going to sound like an old fuddy duddy by saying this. But sometimes it is hard to believe that the 90s were twenty years ago. Was it really twenty years to the year when I went to see a movie that made me laugh until I cried called Dumb and Dumber? What was it about this movie that gave me faith in comedy and actually made me laugh, WITH Jeff Daniels of all people? These questions are always going to be thudding in my head like a Vinnie Paul drum solo, but one thing is for sure: I will be waiting with anxious breath as Daniels and some guy named Carrey step on that screen again. Maybe it is an overabundance of Hangover sequels, or Anchorman 2 being such a disappointment. But I cannot deny one thing: If the Farrelly Brothers can capture even the slightest hint of the lightning in a bottle that they captured last time, this will be a ride well worth waiting for. In a season when Oscar contenders are the norm, I say bring on the Dumb fun!