Cubstory

On Monday, September 24, 1984 the Chicago Cubs accomplished a feat the organization had not done in 39 years ... they won a pennant. Rick Sutcliffe allowed only two hits, faced 28 batters in nine innings and the Cubs defeated the Pirates in Pittsburgh, 4-1.

Rick Sutcliffe struck out Joe Orsulak for the final out ... Jody Davis pumped his fist and the celebration began.

The Chicago Cubs won the National League Eastern Division crown for the first time and advanced to baseball's postseason after a magical summer on the North Side of Chicago.

On a Saturday afternoon with Bob Costas calling the game for NBC, Ryne Sandberg cemented himself in the storied history of the Chicago Cubs. One of the greatest games in franchise history has since been nicknamed 'The Sandberg Game' and for many reasons June 23, 1984 will be forever etched in the memory of generations of Cubs fans.

Ryne Sandberg went on to win the NL MVP that season and the Cubs made it to the post-season for the first time since 1945. A new generation of the Faithful was born that wonderful summer.

Leading up to that Saturday afternoon, the Cubs had put together a good season but nothing prepared those in attendance, or watching at home, for what they were about to witness.

On March 27, 1984 Dallas Green orchestrated a trade with his former organization that would help define the '84 Cubs. The Cubs' GM traded pitcher Bill "Soup" Campbell along with catcher Mike Diaz to the Philadelphia Phillies for Bob Dernier, Gary Matthews and Porfi Altamirano.

Bob Dernier and Ryne Sandberg became the 'Daily Double' and many have credited 'the Sarge' over the years with taking control of the clubhouse and leading the team to the National League Eastern Division crown...the organization's first trip to the post-season since 1945.

We all know the year. We all know the teams involved. What we may not realize is how much has happened since the Cubs last won the World Series. If you are in the dark as to what I am referring to, it is regarding the year 1908, the last year the Chicago Cubs won the World Series when they beat the Detroit Tigers.

Do any Cubs fans not know how long it has been? Anyone can subtract and realize that it has been 100 years since the Cubs last won it all. Can we quantify how long 100 years really is? I can take my age and times it by 2 1/2 and that gets me to 100 but it is still hard to imagine how long that is. To help me understand the time we are talking about I decided to look back at what has happened since the Cubs last won the World Series. I realize some may have already done this but I wanted to do it anyway.

It is hard to believe it has been 20 years since Opening Night at Wrigley Field. On August 8, 1988 the Chicago Cubs played the first ever night game at Wrigley against the Philadelphia Phillies and while the game was rained out and the lasting images are that of a young Greg Maddux and Les Lancaster sliding across the rain soaked tarp covering the infield. The game started by Rick Sutcliffe and featured a home run by Ryne Sandberg was called in the 4th inning.... and many claimed that was the Baseball Gods way of saying that baseball at Wrigley was to be played only during the day.

On August 9th, the first official night game was played between the Cubs and the Mets. Frank DiPino picked up the win in relief of Mike Bielecki and beat Sid Fernandez while Rich 'Goose' Gossage picked up his 12th save of the season in a 6-4 Cubs' victory.

A reader of the CCO, Jane Knoche, sent a poem with her memories of two decades ago and the Daily Herald put together an impressive video clip full of images from that Monday night 20 years ago, so take time to relive not just a part of the Cubs' storied past but one of the many chapters Baseball history....

Lou Piniella will have plenty of familiar faces making the journey with him next week from Chicago to New York for the 79th Annual All-Star Game....and in case you forgot, this one counts. The Cubs will have seven representatives in the Midsummer Classic, along with their manager. Clint Hurdle replaced Willie Randolph with Lou Piniella a short time back and the Cubs will have more players on the National League roster than any team in the league. The Red Sox will have seven players on the American League roster as well.

The Chicago National League Ball Club will send seven players to the game for the first time in the organization's history. The Cubs sent six players in 1988 and in 1936. Geovany Soto will make a little history of his own. Soto will be the first rookie catcher to start for the NL and only the second in the long history of the game for either league. The fans also voted in Kosuke Fukudome and Alfonso Soriano, while Clint Hurdle selected Carlos Zambrano to join the staff of the Senior Circuit. Kerry Wood, Ryan Dempster and Aramis Ramirez were selected by their peers.

Baseball is a game of tradition. Baseball relies on its history to tell the full story of a game that has been passed down from generation to generation. Baseball, unlike the other major sports in America, celebrates its past and on a daily basis reflects on players and games from yesteryear in order to gauge how good today's players and teams actually are. For instance, take this season's version of the Chicago Cubs. Every time the Cubs win a game or lead in another contest or toss another inning of scoreless ball, the first inclination is to find out how the most recent achievement stacks up with the best in the storied history of the organization.

A mixture of players from the Cubs farm system and a few of the bigger names of Lou Piniella's squad will take the field today against the San Diego Padres in the last Hall of Fame game at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, New York. While the game is meaningless in the win-loss column, it is a part of the game that will unfortunately soon be forgotten.

Game Twenty-Six: Cubs (16-9) vs. Brewers (14-11)
Game Time - 7:05pm C.T.
Coverage - TV: Comcast SportsNet - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 189
Location - Wrigley Field, Chicago

Jason Marquis (1-0, 3.47/1.50) vs. Ben Sheets (3-0, 0.96/0.64)

Lou Piniella's crew returns to the field tonight for the first of three games against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs stumbled into Monday's off day after losing 3 of the previous 4 games. The Cubs must get back on track tonight and that will be easier said than done against Ben Sheets.

The Cubs posted a solid 9-4 record over the last two weeks. The upcoming stretch of games against the Brewers, Cardinals and Reds will be a big test for the first place club.

Game Twenty-Four: Cubs (15-8) vs. Nationals (8-16)
Game Time - 6:10pm C.T.
Coverage - TV: Comcast SportsNet - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 185
Location - Nationals Park, Washington D.C.

Carlos Zambrano (3-1, 2.67/1.10) vs. Matt Chico (0-4, 6.04/1.55)

For most of the sports world today's focus is on the NFL draft, but Lou Piniella's team is in the District of Columbia and will try to avoid their first 3-game losing streak of the year. After putting run after run after run on the board during the 6-game winning streak, the Cubs have scored only 5 times in the past 18 innings. The magic number for the Cubs this season is 4. When Lou's crew scores at least 4 runs they are undefeated.

There is one big positive to come out of the consecutive losses, both Jason Marquis and Ryan Dempster pitched effectively into and past the 7th inning. The Cubs need a similar performance today from Carlos Zambrano.

Finally, Kosuke Fukudome turns 31 today. Read on for the rest of the game preview and a quick weekend update that includes moves from the farm system and more from the Cubstory book....

After watching the Cubs finish off a tremendous weekend against the Pittsburgh Pirates, WGN treated us all once again with more baseball on Sunday night. But this was not a game; this was a trip down memory lane that featured all of the sights and sounds from the last 60 years of Cubs' baseball. The 2-hour special, Cubs Forever, was packed full of highlights from some of the greatest games in Cubs history as well as stories told from our heroes of the diamond.

WGN reminded us all why we have followed the Cubs so intently year after year after year with a beautiful tribute to the most perfect marriage in all of professional sports....the Chicago Cubs and Channel 9, WGN.