The Cubs’ World Series trail led through California

One year ago, I wrote a piece for WrigleyvilleNation pointing out that the Cubs were beating teams from the old National League East in the postseason, and I liked that idea. Teams from the NL West had been nothing but trouble for the Cubs, and I thought maybe the Eastern route would pay off in

Movember musings

My participation in Movember this year means–for the first time in my life–I have a mustache. The scratchiness on my upper lip is one thing, but the feeling that I somehow resemble John Wayne Gacy is something else, entirely. But rather than sharing my facial developments with the world, I’d rather tell a story about somebody else with

Pitchers and catchers reported today

It’s officially spring training, now that the pitchers and catchers have reported to the Cubs’ facilities in Arizona. Position players are coming in next week. Burt Hooton was a Cubs pitcher who seemed destined for greatness. He made his big league debut in 1971, without spending a single day in the minor leagues. No Cubs

Welcome Back Buckner

I want to preface this by saying that I don’t think Bill Buckner will ever be a Hall of Famer, even though is career was longer and more productive than many current Hall of Famers. His .289 lifetime batting average, for instance, is higher than that of Eddie Murray, Ryne Sandberg, and Carl Yastrzemski. But

The power of making the playoffs

Once you get into the postseason, anything can happen. If you don’t believe that, you weren’t paying attention to the St. Louis Cardinals this year. They made it in with a single game to spare, thanks to the wild card format and the collapse of the Atlanta Braves, and then kept on fighting until the

“No-hit” vs. the No-hit king

In late 1965, Sandy Koufax made history in two different ways in a game against the Cubs. First, he threw a perfect game, which was only the eighth in the history of baseball to that point. But he also became the first pitcher to throw four no-hitters in his career. And, just to add a