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Ivy Envy Prepares Its Return

I don’t think any of the Ivy Envy writers anticipated this extended dead period on the blog.  I think it’s a pretty good indicator of how most Cubs fans felt after the October collapse of 2008.  For a few months, I couldn’t even stomach the idea of thinking about the Cubs.  But I’m happy to say that my hibernation is essentially over.   I pulled out my Cubs hat and wore it for the first time since early October.  Although, if the thermometer didn’t read -29 here this morning, I probably wouldn’t have bothered to put a hat on.  But I looked at all my hats and I made the decision to wear the blue hat with the red “C” on it.   To me, that says something.  I took my daughter out for breakfast today and two people commented on my hat.  Maybe we’re all “getting there”. 

And although it appears that Ivy Envy has been dead, the fact is that we have recently begun planning Ivy Envy’s coverage of the 2009 season.  Last year was a learning process for all of us and we have some ideas to extend Ivy Envy’s reach a little.  Expect to see

A Struggling Cubs Fan

There is one aspect of blogging that I have not been able to fully grasp. That would be timeliness. I could not pull myself together and organize my thoughts to write anything after the three-game sweep to the Dodgers. I would imagine that you were all experiencing the same feelings that swept through me.

How could this happen? How can a team look so consistently dominant for 162 games and then crumble in the playoffs? I have no answers. I don’t even want to talk baseball. I haven’t watched a playoff game since that Saturday night that Andy and I huddled around a campfire listening to Pat and Ron call the final Cubs game of the “magical” 2008 season.

So where do we go from here? Forget the Cubs, I’m not talking about them. We have the next four or five months to over-analyze the roster changes and line-up adjustments. This time right now, this is our time. Us Cubs fans deserve a good amount of time to forget analyzing this team and focus on ourselves. We got screwed over. Don’t tell me we aren’t owed anything. Look at what we’ve suffered through. If there is such a thing as fans that deserve a championship, it’s us.

 

I have gone through the gamut of emotions. For a very brief period of time, I decided I was done with the Cubs. I couldn’t take the heartbreak anymore. I can’t accurately say how long this lasted. It may have been

Here comes the offseason

 

How much longer?

It’s that time of year again. The leaves are changing and falling. The temperature is dropping and hopefully will numb the pain of the early playoff exit and we’ll all turn our attention to other sporting interests. The Bears are better than expected, the Irish have more wins than they had all of last season (that was for you, Corey), the Bulls are young and can only be better with #1 pick Derrick Rose and, if you’re in to the sport of Pailin, the Blackhawks have some young talent as well and they’ll be playing outdoors at Wrigley.

But wait… I have a feeling that our beloved Cubbies won’t allow our attention to be diverted this offseason.

Fail.

At the end of the Cubs’ 2007 playoff three-and-out, we once again said, “Wait ’til next year,” and for once the words weren’t sarcastic or an empty phrase meant to soften defeat.  We felt confident saying them.

So for the past couple of days, I’ve been casually sifting through Cubs-related internet commentary and media for some closure on this exciting yet ultimately disappointing season.  Instead of video clips of Soriano saying that even though we were the better team, the Dodgers just played better, I want a news clip saying that Soriano was seen late at night dejectedly practicing hitting breaking balls to right field for base hits.  Though the players have expressed plenty of frustration and regret, I find myself wanting more than a simple, “Wait ’til next year.”  So here are a few of the write-ups I’ve read that have helped me get some perspective and closure on this season:

NLDS Game 2

Why should I have expected anything different?

It is the top of the 8th and I am confident enough that the Cubs will not score 7 runs in 6 outs to write this.  The now-annual lack of offense in the playoffs is disgusting.  Ok….another run for LA.  Now the Cubs need 8 runs in 6 outs. 

What hurts more,  years of losing seasons or annual collapses in the playoffs?  Perhaps Dick Stockton wouldn’t seem so bad if we weren’t suffering through

NLDS Game 1 Review

My God. 

I don’t even know where to begin.  I became increasingly nervous about this game throughout the day.  The last few days have been exciting.  A successful regular season behind us and nothing but potential bliss ahead.  I listened to WSCR 670AM out of Chicago and within hours had chiseled down my fingernails and had a heavy feeling in my stomach.  Celebrating the regular season was over and the post season was about to begin.  Suddenly to me, the Cubs pitching didn’t look quite so great.  I was hearing all of these ridiculous stats about Derek Lowe, Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers in their last 50 or so games.  Wait, this isn’t the team in the playoffs with the worst record.  This is a team that has put something together and surged.  They are hot and everyone knows those teams are the dangerous ones in the playoffs.

So we had an Ivy Envy and friends gathering at the Backyard Pub and Grill.  I think we ended up with 30 or so people coming over.  We were pleased to host Dispatch/Argus Cubs Blogger Matt Veto. Check out his blog, Veto Power. It was a good time but

You Can Expect Awful Commentary from TBS in NLDS

 

Let’s hope that the tv-radio delay isn’t that bad for TBS.  I don’t know about anyone else, but my delay varies from day to day and channel to channel.  Now I haven’t made it a secret that I don’t particularly enjoy listening to Pat and Ron because Ron is hard for me to handle sometimes.  However, anything would be better than the TBS announcers covering this series. 

TBS is sending Richard Stockton and Ron Darling.  If you aren’t familiar with Richard Stockton,

After 161 Games, The Regular Season is Over

Today, the Chicago Cubs wrapped up their regular season in Milwaukee against the Brewers.  Earlier in the season, I expected this series to be epic, but the Cubs have had the division wrapped up for over a year.  This series was still important, especially for the Brewers.  Though the Mets have not lost yet, they trail in the 9th and it looks like the Brewers are headed to the post-season. 

It would have been satisfying for the Cubs to keep the Brewers out of the playoffs.  This also means that the Cubs will face the Dodgers in the NLDS.  I would have preferred that the Cubs played the Mets, though I would imagine one particular IvyEnvy writer is pleased that the Cubs will be in the Los Angeles area at least once in this post-season.

Since I am an Eeyore Cubs fan, potentially facing the Brewers in the playoffs concerns me.  It’s not that I think

Chicago Cubs, 2008 NL Central Division Champions!

Enjoy it, Cubs fans.  For the first time since that infamous year of 1908, the Cubs have back-to-back division championships.  This team is probably the best and most complete group of Cubs in my lifetime.  Until the last few weeks, they have been the most consistent Cubs team in my lifetime.  Throughout this season, if one player was down, another player was hot.  Seeing as how the whole team went cold last year in the playoffs, that was the one thing that made me more comfortable with this team.  Of course, then they went on a skid and took a lot of my confidence away. 

But I will put those fears away for a day.  All that matters right now is that the Brewers, and even more importantly, the Cardinals don’t own this division.  The Chicago Cubs do.  It makes it a little more sweet that we beat the Cardinals to clinch the division. 

It’s time to get some rest for guys like Soto.  It’s time for Fukudome to