Yes,2004 was a real letdown. I really hope Theo has me eating crow starting with this season. I AM a Cub fan. It's kind of like my wife bitching at me for taking the long route to get somewhere. Theo took the same route.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

You just successfully argued against yourself. How many years of suckiness did the fans of the Royals and pirates endure? A lot! I prefer the Cubs sucking on purpose and getting great drafts and players from trades and having the period of suckage last 3 years rather than a more sustained period of time. Especially when the execution of the plan results in a team now poised for sustained success.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Respect your elders

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

My point was this plan could have lasted a lot longer than it did.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Except the long route and the short route get you to the same destination and therefore the short route is better.

I believe the organization as currently constructed will have more overall success in the same amount of time as Hendry's regime. I also believe the tenure will last longer... Not only could the Cubs make 4 playoff appearances (or more) in Theo's first 9 years...but there could be World Series...there could be a period of 10-20 years where we don't have to be fucking lovable losers. We don't have to worry about stupid snide comments against the Cubs...we don't have to follow the Bears in July because baseball is so terrible in the city...we can go into every season expecting to at least compete....we can imagine free agents wanting to come here for reasons other than them being overpaid.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

After all the back & forth on here,I can't argue with this.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

But they executed the plan exceptionally well, so it took a relatively short time, so quit bitching and embrace the success of the plan and the era of winning baseball on the North side. Had they tried to win and been mediocre instead of lousy for those 3 years, a period of further mediocrity would be likely instead.

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Go Cubs!!!!

jimmy, dear jimmy.

I'm very understanding and compassionate toward my fellow Cub brethren, but my god are you making it difficult to fend off those who not only wish to toss you from the bandwagon, but also wish to run you over while they're at it.

There's only a few of us left who are still offering a hand to help you secure your spot on the journey. There's still time jimmy. There's still time. Renounce your ways and follow those of us who are aboard the SSCub on the way to baseball Shangri-La.

Don't get left behind to fend with dolphin, reader, jorr and the like. Don't get left behind.

I didn't take you as a guy who would believe in jynxes or curses.

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It's spelled "jinxes".

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I don't think it's a jinx or a curse, but I do believe everyone who dons a Cub uniform is well aware of the history. It's about what they believe, not what you or I believe. If you believe you're playing well because you're getting laid, or because you're not getting laid, or because you wear women's underwear, then you are! If you believe you can't win because you know you're a Cub, then you can't. I expect Maddon to be carried out mumbling to himself in the same straitjacket they used for Baker and Piniella.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Well, I would argue that what you state above is somewhat true; however, it is futile to attempt to determine the mindset of a locker room full of individuals, all of whom are different, and many of whom did not grow up in the Midwest and probably don't know or care about the full extent of the Cubs misery. In fact, there's a great quote from a board luminary that I will leave you with below (can you guess who it was?)...

But I think promoting a concept wherein a relatively large collective of human beings with different skills and different personalities all fail simultaneously due to some perceived pressure is specious at best. It's something for fans to discuss. I don't think professional athletes look at the games the same way the fans do. They go to work. Sometimes they get the job done. Sometimes they don't.

Hint: it wasn't jimmypasta.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

Sums this up nicely.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

I don't think many players on the Cubs no much more than they haven't won in over a 100 years. I doubt anyone knows much about the 69 Cubs or the 84 cubs etc.

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With the same amount of playoff appearances at the same point.

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A quote from that famous "Epic Fail" thread?

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Yep.

Well played leash.

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Well, it's a JORR quote. So, depending on which day he was serious, pressure either doesn't exist for a group of diverse people or every Cubs team of the last century failed because of the weight of the Cubs' past failures. He can let us know.

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It's the Cubs. The pressure is extraordinary. One of their own even coined the term "Cubbie Occurence". They're all aware.

The Cubs are special. It's not really fair to celebrate the good parts of that specialness while denying the bad. No other team is known as the "Lovable Losers".

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

So, can a large collective of human beings with different skills and different personalities all fail simultaneously due to some perceived pressure or can't they?

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Only the Cubs. That's it.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Not true. By any statistical measures that matter, Schwarber, Fowler, and Coghlan are having better years. Check WAR, OBP, SLG, Melky blows.

This current team knows none of this past nonsense. Really they do not know or care.

Correct.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

So you believe in curses. I assume you were on board with the priest.

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If you want to call it a curse, that's fine. I suspect the lack of winning has a more earthly basis, perhaps the day games or maybe the difficulty of tailoring a team to such a schizophrenic ballpark. Whatever, I'm ready to wait 'til next year.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Rodney, I think you meant you're hoping to wait 'til next year.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

Not really. I don't wish the Cubs ill. I don't root for them, but long suffering fans like you and jimmy deserve a winner.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

I don't believe that for a minute. But, as a long suffering Cub fan, I deserve what I get.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer