Great piece from Charles Pierce on the Cubs win last night.
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/beatdown-the-cubs-keelhaul-the-bucs-in-pittsburgh/
Pierce appears to have made a regular assignment of covering Wild Card playoff games in Pittsburgh. This is the one he wrote last year when the Giants paid their visit.
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/baseball-playoffs-mlb-roger-goodells/
Even as they suffered their second year of one-and-done disappointment, last night’s game provided some closure for the Pirates. There was a lot of hand-wringing in 2014 when they went for a division title and ended up with their third starter going against Madison Bumgarner. This year, they made the prudent move and arranged for their ace, Gerrit Cole, to start, got the same result and thereby settled that big what-if question.
With all due regard for the Pirates, I think most of the nation would have been disappointed if the Cubs playoff run had lasted only a game, and I would also guess that everyone outside of St. Louis will be rooting for the Cubs in the NLDS. I know I will.
Interestingly enough, Pierce expressed a sentiment almost identical to one that I posted earlier. Here’s Pierce’s comment:
If Epstein manages to get the Cubs their first World Series title since 1908, after leading the 2004 Red Sox to their first since 1918, he should leave baseball for a lucrative second career as an exorcist.
Here is mine from a couple of months ago:
On the other hand, they have Theo Epstein at the helm, and he has already guided the similarly afflicted Boston Red Sox to the promised land—not once, but twice. If he succeeds with the Cubs, they should open a general manager’s wing in Cooperstown and induct him forthwith. A waiting period would just be a formality.
I may have been first, but otherwise I have to concede that Pierce said it better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E0RRVxJjh4
