Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
So, the Cubs have been hard to watch lately, and I hadn’t been doing much watching. Not always because I didn’t want to, but I certainly didn’t seek them out. Sometimes you just need a break.
But when it comes to the Cubs and White Sox, you have to watch. After the rainout, and another disappointing loss, Thursday’s 6-5 comeback brought me back.
My schizophrenic Cubs fan friend Jeff has been on a wild ride. He sent me texts of “They just suck” and “Big win!” in a matter of 18 hours.
So when Friday’s debacle began to develop, I was ready for another renouncement. Instead, eight runs over three innings brought me out of the gutter and into the Land of Hope once again, albeit at the expense of Mark DeRosa and Kerry Wood.
My buddy Casey called me during the rain delay programming on Friday. It was a playback of the Sept. 18th comeback win over the Brewers. It was like watching a family reunion, only you knew some faces weren’t with you anymore — DeRo and Wood.
He said, “You know that claustrophobic feeling you get when you really, really want something — something that you lost, and you really want back, but you know you can’t have it?”
I felt that as he was saying it — a very well-described feeling. Watching DeRosa and Wood — two of the best leaders in the 2008 clubhouse, was hard. DeRosa’s pregame interview was equally heartwrenching. He simply spoke of how much he loved Chicago and his teammates, but is moving on.
Why? I still don’t get it. Jake Peavy? Really? I didn’t think it would make me this upset. But Friday’s win was awesome and somewhat sad at the same time. Here’s Derrek Lee handing Wood his third blown save of the season. That just doesn’t seem right.
I can’t remember feeling so awful about the loss of a Cubs player since they didn’t sign back Andre Dawson. But in their defense, The Hawk was at the end of his career. DeRosa has years left. So does Wood. Wood got the rawest deal, in my mind.
I’m really trying to get my brother’s buddy on the phone — the one I spoke of earlier this season — the one who decided he was done with the Cubs after 2008. He wanted a new team. With DeRosa and Wood in Cleveland, they became the obvious choice. I’ve never heard of something like that.
He didn’t jump on the bandwagon of some other team. This is different. He was so challenged by 2008 heartbreak and roster moves that he actually left to become fans of a last-place team. I’ll try to get him to tell his story.
As for this team — I hope they succeed. They are a game over .500 despite playing pretty lousy, and are very much in the race. Let’s keep it moving.
