Cubby-Blue

"Happy New Year" should be copyrighted by the 2016 Cubs.

"Happy new year!"
It's the single most joyous thing you can say about a new year.
And since 2016 is the Cubs' year, they should own those words.
Let's take today's New Year's Eve opportunity to sing 2016's joyful praises.
Because we are Cub Fans and we deserve it.

Look at this:


Never before has any Cubs.com artwork inspired such pure, not-a-specka-cereal joy.
We'll experience new joy the first time Jason Heyward hunts down a sinking liner, the first time Adam Warren k's a guy.
Ben Zobrist.
The Cubs went out and got Ben Zobrist to play 2nd.
Remember Brian Roberts? All the non-joy associated with not getting that guy?
This time, the Cubs got their man.
Joy!
Superman Jake Arrieta and his 2015 Cy Young.
That guy is a Cub?
Now add Jon Lester and John Lackey.
As Ren and Stimpy once sang, "Happy happy joy joy."

What fool is going to try to run on Jorge Soler?
What river is Kyle Schwarber gonna deposit home run balls in?
What will you feel the first time you see Kris Bryant put one over the scoreboard?
Joy.
That commercial they ran last year - the one with the opera sound track, the obvious "not over til the fat lady sings" joke and Bryant hitting the walkoff homer at Wrigley vs the Rockies - they could run that all joyous day long.
Anthony Rizzo and his rock steady, full steam ahead and lead by example game.
The first one brash enough to say how good his team is right out loud, the one to flip into the stands risking all kinds of priceless ankles and limbs just to catch a foul ball and amaze us all.
Addison Russell's crazy good play at short. The glove. The arm. And the bat.
He plays for your favorite team.
Jay.
Oh.
Why.

Go ahead and use the word "genius" when talking about Theo Epstien and Jed Hoyer.
Look at the team they've assembled.
Watch and learn from Joe Maddon as he gets to know his players, earn their trust and make them better.
And whatever it is that Chris Bosio does when he takes someone else's broken down non-factor and transforms them into a force to be reckoned with out on the mound.
Tom Ricketts.
Remember?
Not just fearlessly but rather as just a regular dude walking around Wrigley Field and talking with anybody who approached even as his team sucked horribly early on.
Then this year backing Theo and Jed's "creativity" with real cash money.
Even the freaking owner brings us joy.

So later tonight when you're toasting the new year, be sure to add the copyright.
I've been practicing.
Start with your basic, joyful "HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
Then just like any pro voice-over talent reading legal copy at the end of a radio commercial, add the "Copyright 2016 The Chicago Cubs."
I promise it'll bring you joy.

I gave the gift of a Cubs bet to win it all next year. Wait. What?

This actually happened back in November, for my Dad's birthday.
Not easy to come up with a gift that's fresh and new, you know?
I've given him so much Cubs stuff over the years - doesn't that ever get old?
(We all know the answer is "no", but whatever...)
Then I suddenly had an original thought: "What if the gift itself is making a hundred dollar bet for him on the Cubs to win the Series?"
Sure, a hundred bucks is alot, but it's my Dad.
And that amount seems to give the whole idea some... heft.

Since I was already late with the gift, I made a certificate-looking card which explained the bet and sent that off.
It looked like this (but I filled in the blanks, of course):



He loved it.
But... I didn't know anything about how to actually place a bet, so I hadn't actually done the deed.
Yet.
I asked Oif who didn't know how to place a bet either, but he knew some guys who might.
So I asked them.
My conversations went something like this:

ME: I made a card for my Dad's birthday that said I made a hundred dollar bet, for him, on the Cubs to win the Series. Any idea how to actually do that?

1st GUY: Take a one hundred dollar bill and light it on fire.

2nd GUY: ARE YOU INSANE? 

3rd GUY: Fold a hundred dollar bill into a little Origami ostrich and toss it out the window.
ME: But... ostriches can't fly.
3rd GUY: See how smart you are? Now get out of here.    

Hmmm... a pattern!

Finally someone said he knew a guy who could do it, but the best thing would be to find someone going to Vegas to place a bet for me.
And it turned out my own brother was going there, so I asked him to do it and now the gift is complete!

Anyway, the thing is this - not once in my life has such an idea occurred to me.
To bet on the Cubs to win it all.
Never.
And no, this doesn't feel jinxy or anything like that.
It's just... fun.
Is it not the greatest time ever to be a Cub Fan?

Matt Szczur's bone marrow donor story good to revisit during the Holidays.

I was reading over at The Cub Reporter, and one of the comments said something about Matt Szczur saving a little girl's life with a bone marrow transplant.
I googled.
I saw this video at ESPN from September of '13.
Here it is at You Tube, posted about a year ago.

 

I'd never heard the story, never seen the video.
Maybe you already have, but if not take the 11 minutes to watch.
Matt Szczur's got another tool in his kit that's really, really rare.

I've seen him speak at a Cubs Convention, I've watched him and always rooted for him.
But now I'm totally pulling for him.
And for little Anastasia in Ukraine.

It's super nuts here with the kids and friends arriving, groceries and meal planning.
And I'm so excited!
I probably won't get to post tomorrow so...
Happy Holidays.

And Go Cubs.

Theo Epstein in the 1st of 50 billion Cubs vs. Cards cartoons with a "Star Wars" theme.

First off, in case you haven't seen "Star Wars The Force Awakens", I am not giving away any plot points with the cartoon.
And next off, in case you haven't seen it... WHY NOT?
We went and the lines weren't bad, we got great seats, and the movie is awesome.
You don't have to be a Star Wars scholar - if you lived on Mars for the last 50 years and never heard of the franchise, you'll still love it.
There are some serious nerds out there, but that just adds to the fun.
Kids with light sabers... parents too but whatever.
Before the movie started, my son ran to the men's. There was one other guy in there, in a stall. Son said he just kept repeating "I can't believe I'm going to see Star Wars. I can't believe I'm going to see..."

Anyway, not much going on with the Cubs so this seemed a fun thing to do.
We got a Holiday card the other day from my friend Mark.
This was on the back of the envelope...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

In 11 days, the "next year" in "Wait til next year" happens. Only now it's a Cubs threat.

You'll remember how much I HATED the "It's gonna happen" thing.
How it of course ended up meaning the Cubs would lose, because that's what happened.
It's funny how the meaning of "Wait til next year" changed, though.
Because you no longer have to say it with exasperation and despair.
Try saying it like a threat - like Clint Eastwood would say it.
Clench your teeth and squint your eyes.
Wait til next year.
Ahhhhh.
That's better.
You know, a Cubs blog that for the last dozen years has been dedicated to Cub Angst... it's difficult to find that kind of material any more.
Everything is just so positive.
Like, you can complain that the Cubs got Brendan Ryan and his .610 OPS as the player to be named in the Castro trade, but you'd sound like a whiner.
It's weird and wonderful and the positive-ness is... we're kinda positive that it's founded this time around.
Anyway, I'm waaay behind on the holidays and I gotta do some shopping today, but first I'm taking a small group of people to the 9am showing of "Star Wars".
Pop corn for breakfast?
Sure.

Jason Heyward will be a COMPLETE Cubs Fan favorite.

Not really sure what time it was but my phone buzzed and it said Jason Heyward was being introduced as a Cub on At Bat.
Every time I click on a prompt from At Bat, it never goes to the story but I tried it anyway and lo and behold LIVE tv on my phone.
Sometimes I am still amazed at things from the future.
It only took about a minute to realize this guy is an old soul.
He's 26, but speaks with the confidence and frankness of a guy twice his age.
Nothing threw him, and everything he said is the kind of stuff you'd dream your favorite superstar would say.
And when he said all the team-first kind of things, it didn't sound at all like a guy just trying to satisfy a crowd, nor was he spouting some stuff an agent told him to say.
Have you noticed that the Cubs have continually gotten these kinds of guys?
Real people?
Arrieta, Russell, Rizzo, Lester...
Leader guys.
Sure, Theo Epstein is slick on camera.
But he still comes off as a person, transparent and honest.
Joe Maddon was off the charts smart and direct and also different in his openness.
Anyway,it looks like the Cubs got a guy who will be more than just an amazing player.
He's got all the tools plus a person tool too.
I almost feel like buying a jersey, and I've actually never done that.