I was in Wrigleyville for the night the Blackhawks clinched the Stanley Cup.  Being a young "twenty something" it was pretty cool to see everyone running around in the streets partying and celebrating. People were drinking, banging pots and pans, hugging, crying, and enjoying the win. Everyone was caught up in the nostalgia except for me.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching nearly all Chicago teams: Cubs, Bears, Bulls Hawks.  This win was great for the city, and I'm happy all the Hawks fans got to see their team win, but this was not my team and not my celebration.  As everyone was partying on Clark St., I couldn't help notice Wrigley Field as I stood in the middle of the street drinking a beer.  At the moment I journeyed back to 2003 when I was a young boy standing outside Wrigley.  It was game seven, and everyone came out to watch the Cubs make an attempt at history.  As a young teenager, I was excited to see what the celebration was going to be like.  Unfortunately we all know how this story ends...

Standing in the middle of the street I realized more than ever that the pressure of winning is on the Chicago Cubs.  All these different organizations overcoming their droughts of  Championships except for the Cubs.  For a minute I felt almost fed-up that the Cubs haven't done this, and are more or less moving in the opposite direction currently.  Anyways, I sipped my beer, and told myself this is what being a Cubs fan is. And maybe one day.....we can have a celebration of our own.

P.S.  This organization is a mess, from the people who run the front office (I have had first hand experience of this),  to the team/management  that is on field.  I hate to say this, but in many ways Blou was right.  The sooner we fire Lou/Hendry and get this fire-sale started the better.  At the point I rather "slash and burn" this whole thing down like a crop field, and start off fresh with a better foundation of farm talent, front office personal, and payroll rather than continue to fail at patching this team up with free agents. 

This is my first fanpost so please do not be too hard on me guys. I have been lurking here for years, but have only started to add a few comments of my own recently this year.  I love this website and I love the job that Al does.  The first thing I do in the morning is I read BCB before I start the day. I’ll be short and brief about my analysis of the Cubs so far this season and why there are reasons for hope.

Simple put:  A fire has been lit under the ass of this team.  Two players that stand out the most of this are Zambrano and Soriano.  These are two players who have a ton of talent, but unfortunately have failed to live up to their contracts. More importantly they have been placed on notice IMHO.

Soriano has already been placed on notice that he must produce otherwise he can ride pine and watch Nady and Colvin play in his spot.  He has been criticized recently for not running hard and sucking in the field. He has been excused for this lack of hustle for YEARS  I have to think that the sit down meeting with Lou has hopefully straightened him out.  Let me say that I have never seen Soriano hustle and play, like the way he did last night in a very very long time.  This is the Soriano that the Cubs paid for, and if he can continue to bring the hustle like this, our offense should be alright.

I’m a huge fan of the move of Zambrano to the bullpen.  A lot of people have cried over spilt milk here, but what is done is done.  Zambrano has failed to produce since he has signed that huge 90 million dollar contract.  The problem with this team is that our overpaid players have under produced for a long time…and more importantly they have been given a pardon by management.  Don’t get me wrong I do believe that this move was to help settle the bullpen which it should (and I do think that we are shopping some of our SP for a relief pitcher and this move was necessary for other teams to see more of Gorzo), but I have to also think this was a move to get Zambrano motivated again.  I can honestly see him coming out of the pen with a chip on his shoulder ready to carry this team and prove that he is the true Ace of this staff.   

The Cubs were already in a win now mode, but they are now in a “ produce and you will play” mode.  This is something that should have happened a long time.  Maybe its happening now because jobs are on the line with management (Lou, Hendry and Co.).  We have literally nothing to lose this year, and we might as well embrace some of the tinkering they are doing with this team.  Its early enough in the season to do this too. Everyone who comments on this website is great, and I love reading everyone's opinion.   A lot of us have contrasting opinions on this team, but hopefully down the road we can come together under a WS Championship. Cheers.