The Cubs Won Their 100th Game Last Night And Kyle Hendricks' ERA Is Under 2 For The Season
2 years ago I remember sitting in the bleachers with my friend who I own season tickets with as Kyle Hendricks took the hill against the Cardinals in a late July game. The Cubs were bad again, working on an 89 loss season and last place finish in the NL Central, and the Ivy league kid who couldn’t throw over 90 mph was making his third start of his career. I remember the game well because Hendricks was actually impressive. He gave up 1 run over 6 innings even though the Cardinals had 7 hits. As I left that game though I got in argument with my friend about how the Cubs had no pitching prospects and counting on an 89 mph guy was fucked. We were still in the depths of the rebuild, Kris Bryant hadn’t come up yet, Kyle Schwarber was just a name, Addison Russell had just been traded for Jeff Samardzija and the organization had that feel of optimism without any big league success.
Flash forward to last night, 2 short years since that date and the Chicago Cubs just won their 100th game of the season. They’re the best team in baseball and Kyle Hendricks is about to win a CY YOUNG (Only other guy who is in contention is on the roster, Jon Lester). It’s mind blowing shit. We all believed in the plan (most of us) but no one thought it would happen this quickly and be this good. It’s incredible. I thought Kyle Hendricks was a marginal 4/5 guy and here he is with a 1.99 ERA in the last week of September. What the Cubs have done has been remarkable. I remember Kris Bryant’s debut last year on a Friday in April and Wrigley half full. Now it’s rocking every night and tickets are through the roof.
So what’s the point of this blog? Well it’s simple, it’s a reminder to enjoy this ride and all that has happened the past 2 years. Come October 7th we’re embarking on a journey we may not be ready for. This October has the potential to be one of the greatest sports months of our life. It also has the potential to be soul crushing. I’m excited and nervous. I want to party with my friends and puke out of fear. I’m ready and you should be too. But you also should enjoy the ride, because it’s rare that a team like this comes along and is so much fun to watch. I woke up this morning day dreaming about walking up Clark on October 7th. 100 wins, what a fucking trip.
PS
New playoff shirts should be coming in the next day or two, have some really good ideas I think you will all like.