Measuring a Day in Baseball Time
By Mike Siroky
Commentary
CHICAGO � The season ended for the Chicago Cubs as so many have before this . . . a little short, a lot disappointed and uncertainty about the future.
I and three old friends � OK, two are older than me, but I�ve known them all awhile � meandered into Wrigleyville early Sunday afternoon. Our seats were superb, the hot dogs and polish sausage hot and fresh and we were part of a throng of 37,541, making it 2,693,096 the Cubs drew for 78 home dates, an average of 34,527.
Loyalty is a Midwestern strong suit.
And we were loyal to none more than to Sammy Sosa. When he smacked his 499th homer in the first Sunday at-bat, it seemed as if a dismal season would yet be rescued by the heroics of the superstar.
Nope.
He didn�t get another hit, was walked once, struck out and then struck out again. The last time was the seventh. We all stood. The count went 3-0. Then catcher Humberto Cota talked to pitcher Mike Lincoln and obviously suggested Sammy was there to swing. He did, three straight times on nearly-there pitches to conclude his season one shy of a major career marker and one shy of being the first player to ever hit 50 or more five times.
The likelihood he will get his next homer in Wrigley is remote. The Cubs start the season on the road in 2003.They are next home April 7 for Montreal. Sosa had said a couple of weeks ago, he might be traded because he is tired of waiting for the winning to start. He finished the season in a 2-for-22 slump. He also had 144 strikeouts in 149 games.
Cubs interim manager Bruce Kimm doesn�t have to wait. He was fired before the game even started. They did not announce it at the ballpark. Kimm had the option �and took it � to manage the final game of the season.
The Cubs finished 67-95, down from 88-74 last year. But they did finish with two straight wins.
The Cubs led the majors in strikeouts both as a staff (1,333) and at the plate (1,269). That�s the first time a team has led the majors in both categories in the same season since 1884 when the Boston club of the Union Association did it.
And that, the weird balance of power pitching and batting ineptitude sums up most of the Cubs seasons.
As the game ended, Sammy flung his wristbands into the bleachers.
All the Cubs literally said �hats of� to their fans, tossing their caps to the folks in the expensive seats behind the dugout.
The show was over. The actors had left the stage, many to not return next season. Turnover has become a reality in baseball. The next team to wear Cubbie Blue here will include some new faces in the lineup, replacing the starters of this season in some cases.
We chased the dwindling rays of the sun home, the backdrop of a season settling into the mists of time behind us. We swapped stories. We talked more baseball.
There�s always a good reason to go to America�s ballpark. This day�s reason was for old friends to get together, hash out the problems of the world and then get back on the beat again.
The Cubs and Wrigley offered a nice comfort away from the real world.
Maybe it has been ever thus.
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