Why Cardinals Fans Should Root For The Cubs Wednesday

This post first appeared on Mark's Cubs Worship Pulpit, an official MLB Blog

Well, it’s finally happened. The Cubs are in the playoffs. And while I still think MLB Playoffs Rootability Index this year.
2016 will be the Season Of A Dream for the Cubs, one never knows what the boys have up their sleeves. After all, they did win 97 games, have one of the most exciting rookies in years in Kris Bryant, the big bat of Anthony Rizzo, and the lights-out pitching of Jake Arrieta. That’s why ESPN put the Northsiders at the top of their

The Cubs play the Pittsburgh Pirates Wednesday night in the NL Wild Card Game to see who will go on to face the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS. As a rule, Cardinals fans aren’t very fond of the Cubs or anything having to do with the Cubs. And that means many of them will automatically root for the Cubs to lose in any game, especially one that could advance them to face the Cards. But the smart Cardinals fan should rethink that notion, because Baseball’s Best Fans would benefit in a big way from a Cubs/Cards NLDS.

• Cardinals fans LOVE stats, so look at these 2015 season matchups:
  • Cardinals vs. Pirates 10-9
  • Cardinals vs. Cubs 11-8
• Sure, it’s a one game swing, but any advantage should be good for the Redbirds, and since it’s a game of inches, that one extra win from the Cubs may make all the difference in the world.
• It’s only a five game series, so Cardinals fans only have to drive to Chicago, which is a lot closer than Pittsburgh, to try and buy tickets to the two games in the Windy City and end up watching the action in a Wrigeyville bar. (For what it’s worth, I highly recommend The Cubby Bear, home of many of my brain cells over the years and right across the street from Wrigley Field)
• More Cubs fans than Pirates fans will make the trip to Busch Stadium for the same reason. Sure, some might get into the game, but most of them will be crammed into Ballpark Village drinking beer that’s just as expensive as inside the ballpark and maybe even listening to Joe Buck provide between inning commentary, which is punishment for any Cubs fan.
• And let’s be real here, St. Louis needs all the tourist money it can get these days. Think of the dough those giddy Cubs fans will drop while they celebrate having their team in the playoffs for the first time since 2008? Tony’s and Mike Shannon’s are gonna be packed, PACKED I tell ya!
• Heck, its only a FIVE GAME SERIES. Win 2 at home, knock off the Cubs on the road, and then rest up for whatever suckers the Cardinals face next. Bang, zoom. You get to beat your biggest rivals and then sit at home and watch Frank Cusumano carry on about how easy it’ll be to slaughter whoever dares to face the Mighty Cardinals.
• If anyone is going to ruin the Cubs’ chances of getting to the World Series, shouldn’t it be the Cardinals? Beating Pittsburgh would be nice and all that, but what satisfaction do you get from that? Mocking bottles of Heinz Ketchup? Cardinals fans deserve better than that.

So you see, Cardinals fans, there are plenty of reasons for you to toss aside your long standing hatred of the Cubs, at least for one night. Think of it as short-term pain for long-term gain. Don’t you want to see the Cubs humiliated by The Cardinal Way? Wouldn’t you like to take a nice four hour ride to follow your heroes and see them advance to the NLCS by winning game 3 or 4 at what the late Steve Goodman called an “ivy-covered burial ground“? Well, that can’t happen if the Pirates prevail Wednesday night. Face it, Cardinal Nation, if the Cubs win Wednesday night, so do you. If they lose, it’s just another Red October without all the juicy hatred and rivalry the Cubs stir up in you.

I bet Fredbird would even be celebrating a Cards/Cubs NLDS series.

The Cubs Have Crossed The Red, um, YELLOW Line

This blog item is reposted from my official Major League Baseball Blog.

I haven't posted about the Cubs all this season for one simple reason.  They stink.  The owners stink, the players try their best but overall they stink, and it's been a horrible season. I haven't even gotten the chance to get up to the Friendly Confines Of Wrigley Field for a game due to work commitments.  

But when I woke up this morning and saw this story in what we used to call the World's Greatest Newspaper, my blood went into boiling mode and I simply had to chime in with my thoughts.


Courtesy Chicago Tribune

chicagotribune.com

Anheuser-Busch new Cubs exclusive beer sponsor

Large beer sign to go up in Wrigley Field's right-field bleachers

By Josh Noel and Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune reporters

10:09 PM CDT, September 6, 2013

The Cubs announced a deal Friday to make Anheuser-Busch their exclusive beer sponsor in 2014 and beyond, and they plan to install a 650-square-foot Budweiser sign in the right-field bleachers. 

That's bad news for Old Style, which has had an affiliation with the team for more than 60 years, as well as for Wrigleyville rooftop owners opposed to installing a large sign that could obstruct some views.

A source said the Cubs will install a mock-up of the sign when the team goes on the road next week. While it's questionable whether construction on the $300 million ballpark renovation plan will begin this offseason as planned, the Cubs have the go-ahead to install the sign either way.

"Absolutely," Cubs spokesman Julian Green said. "We could potentially put up the sign by 2014 (before construction begins). … We have the approval to put up a left-field video board and a right-field sign, and with Anheuser-Busch as our exclusive marketing partner, we can do it by opening day."

The Cubs are running out of time to start the first phase of their Wrigley renovation plan, which is expected to take place over five offseasons. They had hoped to begin construction Sept. 26, the day after the Cubs' final home game.

Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts said during a radio broadcast of Thursday's playoff game of the franchise's Double-A Tennessee affiliate that the heavy construction likely would have to wait until after next season. He did say, though, that fans would start seeing some changes in 2014 and more in 2015.

Green said Friday that Ricketts' comment doesn't mean the Cubs are resigned to begin the major parts of the project after the 2014 season, but that several hurdles remain before they can start, and time is running short. They originally planned to finish an expansion of the home clubhouse before next season, which now appears unlikely.

Green said the "rooftop issue" still needs to be resolved before the ballpark renovation and work on a proposed $200 million hotel on Clark Street, across from Wrigley, can begin. The Cubs want assurances from rooftop owners they won't sue over the contract they signed with the team in 2004 providing the Cubs with 17 percent of their revenue.

"We're still talking to the rooftop owners to come to a resolution," Green said. "Basically the (Ricketts) family is not comfortable making a $500 million investment with the threat of a lawsuit hanging over their heads."

But the beer sign and the video board can be installed without the permission of the rooftop owners, and both could be up during the 2014 season, the 100th anniversary of Wrigley Field.

As for the exclusive beer sponsorship, Cubs fans can expect to see Goose Island flowing at the ballpark in 2014. Brewery spokeswoman Ana Serafin said it had not been determined which Anheuser-Busch brands would be available, or in what quantity, but suggested the brewery's "Chicago-influenced beers" would be obvious candidates.

Goose Island, which regained the beer contract this summer at the Pitchfork Music Festival, experimented with a pair of brews made just for the weekend-long fest. Though a considerably larger investment, would Goose Island consider a Wrigley-only exclusive too?

"A-B is being really supportive of our creativity," Serafin said. "If we come back and tell them we want to create XYZ crazy beer and it would be perfect for baseball, they would listen. But we don't know yet how creative we can get."

For Old Style lovers and traditionalists who drink it only at Wrigley, hope springs eternal. Green said the team and its concessions management partner, Levy Restaurants, might choose to continue serving Old Style in 2014.

The Anheuser-Busch deal is a marketing agreement only. Budweiser will maintain naming rights throughout the stadium, but that doesn't mean Budweiser products will be served exclusively at Wrigley, which would be illegal.

Still, the agreement gives Budweiser ample muscle when it comes time to set the Wrigley Field beer menu for 2014 and beyond. It appears likely vendors no longer will be selling Old Style in the aisles after 2013.

Whether the deal signals a seismic shift in Wrigley's beer offerings is yet to be seen, but smaller craft breweries such as Revolution Brewing don't sound optimistic.

"Sounds like a lot of dollars changed hands, and we just don't do anything like that to sell beer," Revolution founder Josh Deth said in an email. "We let the malt, hops and yeast do the talking, not the Benjamins. We're hopeful the Cubs and Levy will want to pour actual craft beer made in Chicago. And I think the fans are too."

WHAT?

I don't drink a lot of beer, I'm a Maker's Mark guy myself, but as long as I've been pure brewed Old Style at Wrigley Field. Just like eating a hot dog at a ballpark tastes different, drinking an Old Style at Wrigley made it taste better, way better.  It's part of the Cubs Experience, but now it looks like it may go the way of Frosty Malts and Ron Santo Pizza.
able to drink, I've enjoyed a

I understand times change, but Old Style has managed to stay in business for many years, partly because of the loyalty of Cubs fans, the Cubs organization, and the association the brand has enjoyed with the Cubs for as long as I can remember.  Hardly anything beats sitting in the stands at Wrigley, even the Budweiser Bleachers, enjoying a semi-cold Old Style and seeing Starlin Castro blow a routine force out.  But it looks like that may not be happening in the future.

Tom Ricketts and Cubs Management have done a lot to make me and other Cubs fans angry since they bought the club.  I won't list everything here, and don't get me started on the Wrigley Field renovation plans.  But this time they've crossed the Red, um YELLOW LINE when it comes to how they run the club and the kind of fan experience they give us.

So what can we do in answer to this unprovoked attack on the Cubs Experience? Sadly, not much.  Send an email to fanservices@cubs.com and tell them what you think, although they probably won't answer you back.  Anheuser-Busch InBev is allegedly headquartered here in St. Louis, and I know people down at "The Brewery" who will be getting calls and emails from me all next week.  You could appeal to Kevin Feehan, the guy in charge of selling Budweiser in Chicago, to let the Old Style pour, but even if you could get him to respond, he'd probably blame someone in San Paulo or Brussels, the REAL homes of A-B, for the decision.

That leaves one final avenue of appeal, Levy Restaurants, who handles food service at Wrigley Field, and might actually have the power to keep the pure brewed Old Style flowing at the ballpark.  Their phone number is  (773) 975-3606 and you should join me in calling them during weekday business hours or contact them on the Interwebz and (NICELY) demand your Old Style.  They're also on Facebook and Twitter if you feel inclined to follow then and send them a NICE message about this abhorrent situation. Don't act like a Chicago policeman and be all pushy and mean, ask them NICELY to keep Old Style at Wrigley Field. Who knows, it might actually work.  And monkeys could fly out of my butt.

Some things, like the Cubs having a winning season, are an uphill battle.  Getting Old Style in Wrigley Field might be one too.  But I leave you with the encouraging words of Cub Fan John Belushi as you join me on the quest to keep at least ONE Wrigley Field tradition alive.  WHO'S WITH ME?

Related articles

• Budweiser Logo Coming to Wrigley's Right-Field Sign (adage.com)
• Cubs Drop Old Style (wgntv.com)
• Tom Ricketts says quick fix not in cards for Cubs (suntimes.com)

Chicago vs. Chicago. No, Not NATO, Cubs vs. Sox

I'd normally post this on my Official Major League Baseball Blog, but they don't like video embeds over there, so you can enjoy it here.

On the eve of the Cubs/White Sox series this weekend, New Era Caps and Funny Or Die have released the second video in their "Chicago vs. Chicago" series.  In case you missed the first, here they both are for your viewing pleasure. 

Chicago vs. Chicago: Round 1 from Nick Offerman

Chicago vs. Chicago: Round 2 - watch more funny videos

And yes, I'd pull out my own tooth to see the Cubs in the World Series.

Chicago vs. Chicago, The Arguments continue

Here we are on Chicago Cubs Opening Day, and I just ran across a commercial from New Era on FunnyOrDie.com that is the first in at least two looks at the ongoing rivalry between the Cubs and the White Sox.

Chicago vs. Chicago: Round 1 from Nick Offerman

I've had far too many of those conversations with my friends who choose to like the White Sox.  Someday, they'll come to their senses.

It’s time for fans to recognize that Wrigley Field really IS a dump - Chicago Sun-Times

It’s time for fans to recognize that Wrigley Field really IS a dump

RICK MORRISSEY rmorrissey@suntimes.com June 13, 2011 9:46PM

Reprints

Wrigley Field beckons fans before the Chicago Cubs vs. Milwaukee Brewers MLB game Monday June 13, 2011 at Wrigley Field. | Tom Cruze~Sun-Times

Article Extras

View GalleryView Gallery

Updated: June 14, 2011 2:09AM

It was an interesting word choice. A “dump” is what MLB Network analyst Peter Gammons called Wrigley Field last week.

The description seemed vaguely familiar. Maybe it seemed vaguely familiar because of the scorch marks I still have from using that very word to describe the ballpark.

This was how I started a column on July 23, 2004, seven years and one newspaper ago:

“Wrigley Field is a dump. It’s a dump with great views, lots of liquid refreshment and sporadic professional baseball, but it’s still a dump.’’

Those words were written after chunks of concrete had fallen from underneath the upper deck and mezzanine levels at the park, but as I pointed out, it was a dump well ­before that. And even after the Cubs put up netting to keep the concrete in place, making it look like the rigging of a pirate ship, it was still a dump.

The reaction resembled a flamethrower. Wrigley was a shrine, Wrigley was a cathedral and Morrissey was a jerk. All of that might have been true. But none of it could change the fact that Wrigley was a cathedral masquerading as a dump. There were narrow concourses, rust and odors that hinted of things better left unconsidered.

Seven years later, not much has changed. The netting is still there. It’s a cleaner ballpark than it was in 2004. The bathrooms are nicer than they used to be, or, in the case of the men’s room, as nice as troughs can be. But there’s still rust, the concourses still resemble dark alleys and people still have to elbow their way to their seats.

A few coats of paint can’t change any of that.

Fans are catching on

Oh, there’s at least one big change: Public opinion seems to be shifting. More people appear to be coming around to the idea that Wrigley is a crumbling mausoleum where baseball dreams go to die. Go online to some of the message boards about the Cubs, and you’ll see a healthy discussion about the 97-year-old ballpark. There’s as much talk about uncomfortable seats and tight quarters as there is about fond memories.

Season after season of disappointment have opened fans’ eyes to the emperor’s buck nakedness. No one can be sure exactly when the epiphany arrived, but it might have started in 2003, when the Cubs were five outs away from going to the World Series and — stop me if you’ve heard this — fell apart.

Anger began replacing cheery acceptance. Fans started slathering themselves in high expectations rather than suntan lotion. And what had been considered a graceful building began to be viewed more soberly, despite the heavy intake of booze.

The best thing about Wrigley is the ivy on the outfield walls and the hand-operated scoreboard towering over center field. You can have the rest of it. It’s a great park when you’re looking at the field from your seat. It’s not so great on the way to and from your seat.

Gammons turns on spotlight

That Gammons is saying it now has grabbed the attention of a lot of people, including White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, who has taken great pleasure over the years in ripping the park’s small clubhouses and tweaking Cubs fans while he was at it.

Gammons wasn’t necessarily speaking for Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts, but what he said is something any reasonable owner would be thinking. Publicly, a reasonable owner would say Wrigley is a charming ballpark in need of loving renovations. Privately, you might hear a reasonable owner utter the word “dump” now and then.

“Obviously, we love Wrigley Field,’’ general manager Jim Hendry said Monday before the Cubs faced the Brewers. “Nobody wants the field to be any different, or the ambiance of the great atmosphere here.

“But I don’t think it’s any secret the plans that Tom and his family have to enlighten the facilities and make it better for fans, but also make it better for the players and more productive for the players. I think that’s going to be taken care of the next few years.’’

The Ricketts family didn’t get many favors from the previous owners, who put about as much effort into keeping up Wrigley as they did into keeping up Stonehenge. There is plenty of work to be done and revenue streams to be explored.

But that’s all secondary now.

The Cubs have bigger problems on the field, though Hendry said Monday he sees a bright future for the team. People aren’t buying it. The attendance has been shrinking, a stunning development at a place used to sellouts. The team’s fan base has become much more demanding. No matter how uncomfortable the seats at Wrigley might be, the lack of a winning product is a bigger burr in fans’ saddle.

Wrigley Field is a dump. The baseball played on it is an eyesore. The latter is the real shame.

Copyright " yr " Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

via suntimes.com

Even I, the self-proclaimed "Biggest Cub Fan In Missouri" (or Kansas) agree with this article, especially the last paragraph. We've ALWAYS known Wrigley is a dump, I've known it for over 40 years. But the dreams, the hopes of a miracle of some sort, have helped to mask the reality of the situation.

I remember sitting at the one playoff game the team played at Wrigley a few years ago and looking at the rusting beams supporting the Upper Deck of the "Shrine Of Baseball". With my heroes self-destructing on the field, I could see the ballpark self-destructing as well. A fresh coat of paint, a new owner as impudent as the old owner, and the same crappy baseball on he field won't fix any of these problems.

I've been going to Cubs games for at least 48 years, and I've been a fan since birth. My father was a Cubs fan, my Grandfather was a Cubs fan, and I'm both proud and ashamed to admit that I'm a Cubs fan. But I'm getting fed up with the team and the attitude of the people who own it.

Now the only thing I look forward to seeing at The Friendly Confines Of Wrigley Field is Paul McCartney in July.

Posted via email from Mark Edwards 3.0

NOW THAT'S What I'm Talking About!

This is on mlb.com, the Official Site Of Major League Baseball right now.  Please note the standings in the National League Central.

 


 Yes, that would be the Cubs in FIRST and Cardinals in LAST.
Thank you to The Commissioner Of Baseball.

Posted via email from Mark Edwards 3.0