The question hit me on the way to work this morning: what is the single most dramatic way the Cubs’ season could end in 2016? Fans are more geared up for this year’s team than any I can remember, but far too many of us seem to expect a beginning-to-end coronation. Beware that kind of hubris; the finger of fate is fickle and it has the baseball gods on speed dial.
We should all expect some set of random, whacky events to interject themselves into the narrative this year, but what I’m hoping for is drama. Because, while drama is stressful, it can only happen when something is on the line. (That sounds good, right? Because I just made that up.) So, back to my question.
This is the single most dramatic way I can imagine the climax of the 2016 Cubs season:
It’s Game 7 of the World Series in Yankee Stadium and the Cubs and Yankees have played a thrilling, heart-stopping series for the ages. The Cubs went up 2-0, then 3-1, before the bad pinstripes stormed back to take games 5 and 6. Now, after 13 1/2 edge-of-your-seat, new-curse-word-inventing innings, the Cubs have a one run lead powered by a Kris Bryant home run. Now it’s the bottom of the 14th. The Yankees have two outs, but have rallied to put runners on second and third. As Starlin Castro peers out of the batters box, Adam Warren starts his wind-up…
Good Scott, I gave myself goosebumps. Just as a bonus, here’s the best and worst case scenarios.
Best Case Scenario: Castro rolls over on an outside breaking pitch, grounds weekly to Russell at shortstop, who fires to Rizzo at first, the world starts celebrating, cats and dogs living together, it’s total madness.
Worst Case Scenario: Starlin f@&$!ng Castro
Feel free to share your own scenarios!
