CHICAGO CUBS: 2016 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!

[Boris13c]

How Theo Epstein broke another curse and built the World Series champion Cubs

Epstein has certainly put himself into the upper elite of baseball upper management

[Boris13c]

things that are no longer an issue in Cubs land :

[G08]

How Theo Epstein broke another curse and built the World Series champion Cubs

Epstein has certainly put himself into the upper elite of baseball upper management

Awesome read, Boris, thank you! I couldn't believe the part about the fan pouring beer on Epstein and his son; classless!

[docc]

[video][/video]

Harry calls the last out

[Boris13c]

interesting article on what comes next ...

You've got some hate coming your way, Chicago. Embrace it.

Okay, so then what?

The next time the Cubs win the Series, whether it happens next year or in 10 or in 15 (but not in 100), will be just as sweet for fans. But it’ll be a different kind of sweet. It won’t come with the release of a century-plus of tension and angst and heartbreak and hope. It’ll come instead with validation. This wasn’t just a blip, this is a legacy.

Because as of last night, at some ungodly hour of the early morning after one of the greatest baseball games ever played, the Cubs and their fans entered a new era. When you’re lovable losers and you win, half of that phrase is no longer true. Once you’re Good, people outside of your city limits start to like you a little less. Become a dynasty? They’ll begin to hate you. Whereas it was once you with the world, it becomes you against it.

Look at the Red Sox, the Patriots, the Warriors, the San Francisco Giants. As someone who lived through the resurgence of Boston sports, I can say that at first it’s a little jarring not to be the underdog. It’s like leaving a middle school where the sports teams were all garbage and making varsity at a high school that actually has enough trophies to need glass cases. There’s an element of beauty in the pain of continued defeat. There’s romance in the tortured existence of having your heart broken by a sports team again and again and again.

Once you get used to it, though, you realize that not constantly blowing it is really enjoyable. Winning, no matter how often you do it, never gets old. You might get a little spoiled. You might expect to win. But expectations doesn’t make doing so any less incredible. Sure, you the risk of eventually becoming an obnoxious fan, but hey — that’s a small price to pay.

So enjoy having the country on your side for now, Cubs fans. But just know that if you’re lucky, soon everyone will hate your guts. And it’s going to feel really, really Good.

[UOK]

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Watch the parade ilve.

Also yeah yeah, the country is suddenly gonna hate the Cubs, blah blah.

Whatever.

[Boris13c]

gotta go to the link to see the video ... but it is worth a click

Kris Bryant started making amends with the Billy Goat Curse in 2015

[UOK]

Last week I recorded my thoughts about the upcoming Game 7 of the 2016 World Series as I drove to my parent's house to watch it. Turns out I would be stuck in the car listening to the Cubs pull off a miracle, and recorded the highlights of my misery and joy for those interested in hearing it.

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[Boris13c]

Theo Epstein named Sporting News Major League Baseball Executive of the Year

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Theo Epstein is rising to a new reality.

"For the last few years I've had a semi-recurring dream, maybe five or six times, where I've woken up, wow, we just won the World Series with the Cubs. That's unbelievable," he recalled Monday night.

"And then about 10 seconds later I realize it was just a dream, and then the rest of the day stinks, right? It's a pretty great feeling and then back to reality. The last five days or whatever it's been, I've been waking up with the same realization and then it takes a couple seconds. Wow! It really happened!"

Days after the team he designed ended a long championship drought, Epstein was voted The Sporting News Major League Baseball Executive of the Year for revitalizing the Chicago Cubs.

Balloting by 56 big league executives took place before the postseason. The Cubs led the majors with 103 wins during the regular season, then beat Cleveland in a seven-game World Series last week for their first title since 1908.

"During the parade I kept telling my wife we need to go home to change some diapers and do some laundry, because this is not real life," he said. "We've got to get our feet back on the ground."

Epstein was presented with the award at the start of the annual general managers meeting. He received 13 votes, followed by Cleveland's Chris Antonetti (nine), the New York Yankees' Brian Cashman (eight), Texas' Jon Daniels (seven), Cleveland's Mike Chernoff and Washington's Mike Rizzo (three each), and Baltimore's Dan Duquette and the Cubs' Jed Hoyer (two apiece).

Now 42, Epstein was the youngest general manager in major league history when Boston hired him at age 28 in November 2002. He helped the Red Sox win the 2004 World Series, their first title since 1918, and a second championship in 2007.

"Winning at 42 vs. 30, I have a greater appreciation for how hard it is and how many people have to contribute and how lucky you have to get along the way, too," he said.