If I were a Cub fan, I’d want to do things like the Red Sox too. (Wow, after the decades of losing, I STILL am not used to the idea that the Sox are so successful that they’d be a “role model.”)
Big Mike, I understand your attitude toward Theo Epstein and the Red Sox moves so far in the off-season. However, I feel compelled to stress to you that even with the actions taken by Theo so far, much of Red Sox nation is very concerned that the team has done too little so far and may fail to improve the team enough by 2010 spring training. That’s why sports columnists like Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe ripped Theo for attempting to lower fans’ expecations with his remark about 2010 being a “bridge” year.
You’ve gotten me very curious what the hell the Cub fan base is like in 2009. Does anyone expect anything at this point? I know knowledgeable fans like you can cite more reasons to be skeptical, but, I just get the sense that no one in the Chicago media or any sizeable segment of fans are really expecting the Cubs to do much in this offseason, or, during next season, or, the season after that.
My feeling is that even with the years suffered by thousands of Sox diehards, there has been something good about the dynamic connection between Red Sox fans and the team, and the people who run it. When John Henry, Larry Lucchino and Tom Werner bought the team in 2002, you can bet your ass they felt the intensity of the fans’ interest – and, role – in the team’s evolution. I’d argue that the fans helped create the undercurrents that motivated this new ownership group to build a winning organization – the organization that fired Grady Little even after the team had reached Game 7 of the 2003 ACLS. The drive to win – and bring a title to New England and its fans – helped prompt the Sox to sign Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke before the 2004 season and, of course, each played critical roles in 2004.
So, my question for you, Big Mike, is: which comes first, the fans and media expecting a lot more OR the team suddenly insisting on more? Which is it — the chicken or the egg?
I’d argue that both are important and tend to come together. So, who was really paying close attention to Jim Hendry’s manuevering at the winter meetings? Is anyone among Chicago’s sportswriters holding Hendry and the Cubs accountable? (Maybe I’ll suggest Benny Jay for this job!) By the way, I agree with you that Hendry ought to strike a deal to move Milton Bradley SOON. If the team has to eat even more of his contract, so be it! Just get it done! God, I can’t believe it, I’m even getting pissed at the Cubs!
So, back to the Red Sox, I’m, predictably, not quite as impressed as you with the team’s winter moves. I’m not really unhappy, either, but, they have to get Jason Bay re-signed, and, do more to upgrade their offense.
I’m telling you, Big Mike, the Cubs and their fans have to start expecting a lot more, or, they might as well put that Disney World sign up for life at Wrigley Field.
