AUTHOR: stejaycubs TITLE: The Curse of the Cubs DATE: 11:12:00 AM ----- BODY:

Black cats. Walking under ladders. Smashing mirrors. Billy Goats? Somehow, that doesn't strike fear to me as a curse. And neither should it to the many Cub fans all over the States, and overseas. Why? Because it is a fabrication to explain the bad choices of the front office and management system. Did a goat create the logic of a college of managers? No. It was probably more accurate to guess the lineup of a Cubs team 2 months in advance than predict who would be the Cubs manager in the next series. Did the billy goat blow the 1969 season, when the Cubs had the best chance of winning the World Series in decades. No. Did the billy goat make the Cubs choke in the 1984 postseason. No. It is the poor running of a proud franchise that did these things. Heck, the issue of not having lights to play night games made the Cubs undoubtedly the biggest joke of the century in Major League baseball. Lets name drop if I may..... Ernie Banks....Ron Santo.....Ralph Kiner.....Billy Herman.....Fergie Jenkins.... Ryne Sandberg....Billy Williams.....Ken Holtzman.......Randy Hundley.......Bill Madlock.....Rick Sutcliffe...Leon Durham.....Bill Buckner..... Gary Matthews......Lee Smith....Bruce Sutter.....Mark Grace....Shawon Dunston....Andre Dawson.....Greg Maddux.....Sammy Sosa......Kerry Wood.......Derrek Lee. These are not bad players. For some, they spent the prime of their Hall of Fame careers at Wrigley Field. Most teams, better run teams I should say, would have had at least 3 rings from that contingent. Not the Cubbies. Not even one. One of the best second basemen to ever play the game, arguably the best never won a ring because of the management of the Cubs. Possibly the greatest ever shortstop, definately the best slugging shortstop ever never won a ring because of the Cubs. Some others, heroes such as Santo, Madlock, Grace, Lee, Jenkins etc never even came close to a ring with the Cubs. Lee still may, but even from an optimistic Cubbie, not likely. Possibly the best finesse pitcher ever to step onto a mound, in Maddux had to move to Atlanta to get a ring. Even Sammy steroid-suspicion Sosa and his 63 HR in a season couldnt even come close to a World Series berth. I say, leave the poor goat be. Lets call it the curse of Wrigley, after the real fathers of the most embarrasing spell in professional sports.

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