What Was I Thinking?: A Midseason Cubs Retrospective

For a guy who's not running a Cubs blog, I write entirely too much about Chicago's National League Baseball Club. Seeing as how we're at the All-Star Break, baseball's traditional mid-way point even though we're more than half way done, I thought now would be a good time to take a look back at all the melodrama, foolish optimism and frequent shoulder and elbow surgeries that come along with being a Cubs fan. I won't go game by game, but here are the highlights and lowlights of what I was feeling at the time.

We'll start at the top...

Opening Day -- The frustration was almost immediate.

"By my estimation, the Cubs 2007 season was 12 minutes old before I was totally pissed off. They were a great 12 minutes: Soriano swung mightily at the first pitch of the season, Thunder Matt was silenced, Derrek Lee was caught stealing and Hagwilt (Zambrano) kicked things off with a lead-off walk. Just what I had expected."

But it wasn't what I expected. Never would've guessed that Big Z would have an ERA north of 4.50 and go a middlin' 5-4 over the first two months of the season.

4.19.07 -- It's tough to make lasting judgment too early in the season, but this post represented a first for me: recapping a loss before it had officially become a loss. After watching the Cubs fight back to take a one-run lead in the seventh against the Braves, then give back three runs in the bottom half, I wrote the following:

"Scott Eyre came on and pitched pretty well initially. Got two quick outs then got hosed on a close 2-2 pitch that should've ended the inning. Of course that led to a walk and then the next batter grounded to former Gold Glover Caesar Izturis who played paddycake with the ball, allowing the runner, some random pinch hitter who I can't remember, to beat it out at first. (Aside: If you're not going to play something close to Gold Glove defense, Izturis, you're worthless because you're bat isn't winning any games.) From there you can just assume the rest. This is the Cubs afterall. Consecutive hits, three runs, Cubs load the bases with one out and threaten in the 8th but ground into a double play, Bob Wickman is summoned from his bowling league and Chicago ultimately loses."

The big reveal, of course, is that I didn't even wait for the Cubs final six outs to be recorded. No need, really, the Cubs don't win games like that, but I never would've guessed that they would actually load the bases. Shocking.

4.20.07 -- I jokingly try not to jinx Rich Hill--3-0, 0.67 ERA, 0.57 WHIP at the time--by claiming his hot start is just pure luck. Turns out it was. He's 5-6 now.

4.23.07 -- A bit of optimism! Not sure what I was thinking here, after the Cubs had just lost 2 of 3 to the Cardinals:

"Despite all that, I don't feel too bad about the Cubs after this weekend. They've been bad, but if they can pick up a couple of wins against the Brewers they'll have survived April. Two wins and they're knocking on the door for second in the division."

Where did that come from?

4.26.07 -- The best/worst news of the season thus far. The Cubs are right in the thick of things when you take the statistical approach (which I rarely do.)

"On one hand, this could be an encouraging sign. Eventually, these stats will have to show up in the won-loss ledger, right?

On the other, it really depresses me as it confirms something I've long suspected, the Cubs are bad because they're the Cubs."

This will come into play again later...

5.15.07 -- Leading the Mets 4-0, Scott Eyre enters the game to earn the pen's 10th loss of the season:

"Then the bullpen got involved. I'm seriously considering just calling them the baby-killers for the rest of the season because it's the only thing I can think of that's more distasteful than actually watching them pitch."

Almost the worst of times.

5.17.07 -- Make that 11 losses for the bullpen after blowing another 4 run lead.

"After celebrating at the plate, Ruben Gotay tugged his crotch and spit a large glob of tobacco juice on my heart, which was lying halfway between the mound and home and I didn't even mind. Felt like I deserved it."

This was probably the worst of times.

5.24.07 -- Jonah Keri validates my statistical analysis of the Cubs from a month earlier by noting that, according to Baseball Prospectus' Adjusted Standings, Chicago is actually leading the NL Central.

Except they ain't cause they're not. I hate statistics.

5.28.07 -- I was always a Michael Barrett fan, but even I could see through the haze and realize that Sweet Lou wasn't high on the Cubs backstop...

6.06.07 -- ..the great Dugout Punch-out doesn't help Barrett's case, but Lou does get kicked out on purpose hoping to jump-start his lethargic club.

"The Cubs have played six of 17-straight games and they're sitting at 3-3. Ending up above .500 at the end of that grueling stretch is essential."

Believe it or not, they do, going 9-8, but Barrett continues to struggle...

6.13.07 -- ..so much so, that I decided to stage an intervention and try to get Michael back on track...

6.21.07 -- ...alas, it's not enough as Barrett is shipped to San Diego and my Baseball-Reference sponsorship is rendered useless.

6.26.07 -- The season, perhaps, turns as the Cubs allow six runs in the 9th, but somehow fight back to win.

"That's the beauty of my little Cubs versus me stance: when they win, I win. It doesn't happen very often, but last night's game might have been the best of the season so far. The Cubs rolled for 24 outs, then I missed the disastrous last three, only to wake up in time to see a come from behind win.

I want to declare this game the sort of game that turns a season. The Cubs are within three games of .500 and streaking, but I think I'll just take note of it as the first time this season I felt like I watched an actual baseball team and call it a day."

7.2.07 -- The first half see-sawing mercifully ends.

"Who the hell are these guys? The Cubs don't do this, win games on squeeze plays, get out hit by the best team in their division and still win. It's absurd and these last 10 games have been about as good a stretch as I can remember as a Cubs fan.

All to get to .500. One game short of the halfway point of the season and the Cubs are perfectly average. I'm not trying to be Mr. Doom & Gloom, I'm ecstatic like everyone else, but let's realize where we're at. This little surge got the Cubs back to where they should've been all season. That's all. Now we're even, and Piniella knows it.

As Sweet Lou says, "Let's see if we can extricate ourselves from the .500 mark."

One week removed from that post, the Cubs are still in the same position. Trying to extricate themselves from the .500 mark, 4.5 back of the Brew Crew and I'll take that.

The Cubs probably deserve to be a .500 club, but early on they weren't even getting that so I guess I'll call the first half a wash. Chicago is within striking distance. They're alive. Lily and Marquis have been okay, Zambrano's rounding into form and some young guys are contributing.

My only concern--aside from the bullpen of course--is if somebody needs punching is Koyie Hill man enough to do it?