It has Now Been One Day Since the Chicago Cubs Last Won the World Series

The last one standing, finally.

What an epic, epic game last night. Even I, an admitted outsider baseball fan, was swept up in the final 4 innings of that game last night. I waited out that short rain delay, even though I was very sleepy, just so I could finish that game. This has been the year of teams breaking long droughts, I won't say curse because curses aren't real. Also, good for me, because one of my predictions actually came to fruition. I know it wasn't all that far fetched to pick the best team in the MLB to win the title, but after the Warriors, Panthers and Oklahoma Sooners made me look like an idiot, at least I picked the Cubs correctly.

I'm not going to try and demean or make this title seem less worthy than it is because I'm a Cardinals fan. The Cubs earned this championship, even though Aroldis Chapman and Joe Maddon did everything in their powers to blow it for this team. Chapman should have been pulled much earlier when he wasn't hitting the strike zone, and Maddon shouldn't have put him in for 8 outs remaining in a game that the Cubs lead by 7 runs in game 6. But, Ben Zobrist came through in the clutch when this team needed him most. Zobrist proved to be the best of any addition the Cubs have made in the past 2 years. He won a World Series last year, with the Royals, so who better than a guy that was just there to come through for them. Some may say, what about what Jon Lester did in relief? He was great, but he did not provide the hit that clinched the win for a team that hadn't won a title in 108 years. Zobrist was the main acquisition, on a team filled with players that played elsewhere in the past 2 years, that truly lived up to the moment. As I said, Lester was fine, but he looked shaky in his starts early in the World Series. Jason Heyward was non existent throughout the playoffs. Dexter Fowler was great, but not really until last night. John Lackey got beat up in his lone start. This was all on farm talent, think Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber and Javy Baez, and Ben Zobrist. He was the undoubted MVP of this World Series. Yeah he was 0 for 4 going into that at bat in the 10th, but he came through, as he is expected to do.

Lets step away from the Cubs for a second and bask in the glory that was this game 7. The Cubs came out on fire, with Fowler hitting a leadoff homerun. I thought that would be enough, but they piled on 4 more runs to up their lead in the 5th inning to 5-1. But, the Indians would not die. They kept chipping away, cutting the lead to 5-3 near the end of the 6th inning. The Cubs added another run, so I figured, with a 3 run lead and all the great relief work Lester did and David Ross hitting a solo homerun in his final game, the Cubs would cruise in the final 2 innings and close it out.

But, the Indians, with their never give up attitude, kept plugging away. Maddon decided, against his better judgement, to put Chapman in, and he looked shaky from the start. He couldn't get the ball over the plate, and the Indians hitters were making him throw a lot of pitches, just waiting for the mistake. They got an RBI double, then Rajaie Davis came up, worked to a full count, and smoked a fastball over the left field wall to tie the game in the 8th.

All the momentum shifted, I thought the Indians would seize the game from there, the Cubs fans they showed on TV looked defeated. The Indians then came out, gave up a leadoff hit, let Heyward get all the way to third on a throwing error during a stolen base, but the Indians got out of the jam.

Then, they did nothing in the bottom of the ninth.

Then, as we were getting ready for extra innings, they had a rain delay.

A RAIN DELAY IN GAME 7 OF THE WORLD SERIES!

It was crazy! Luckily it was short, and the Cubs took back that momentum, with Schwarber getting a leadoff single in the tenth, The Indians tried to work around the front half of the Cubs loaded lineup. They got Bryant to fly out, but the guy that was pinch running for Schwarber excellently read the ball and tagged up to second. They walked Rizzo to face Zobrist. Zobrist looked outmatched, but took a 2-2 outside fastball to left field, and at that moment, I knew the Cubs would close it out. They added another run, then gave up one run in the bottom of the 10th, just to make it interesting, but they finally closed it out on a weak grounder and ended the longest championship drought in professional sports history.

Good for you Cubs, and Cubs fans. You finally know what it feels like to be a champion in baseball, even though the White Sox won the World Series 10 years ago, but the White Sox are not the Cubs. The Cubs are way more important to that city than the White Sox, that is a fact.

This was an epic game 7, and a part of me is happy for the Cubs fans. It is a really cool thing to see your team win a title. Especially when it has been this long since the last one. And, sorry Indians fans, but your team choked. They had everything in front of them for 3 games, controlled their own destiny, and they couldn't close it out. Classic Cleveland baseball.

This has definitely been the year of breaking droughts and trends. The Cavs won the NBA title, the Cubs are now World Series champs, so I guess that means a team like the Arizona Cardinals (now the holders of the longest championship drought in American sports), since the Browns have no shot at even having a winning record, as the Super Bowl favorites, even though they are far from making the playoffs. This should also mean that some college teams that haven't won a title in decades, like former dominant teams; Navy, Michigan, Florida, Washington, Indiana or even Georgia, may win a title in either football or basketball this year. And with pro hockey, I think the Saint Louis Blues have never won a Stanley Cup, so they should probably be the favorites to win it this season, but I know nothing about the NHL. Nothing. But hey, droughts are ending, apparently that is the trend, so if the Cavs and Cubs can win, so can all the other teams I mentioned, they just need a shot.

Anyway, congrats Cubs. You guys were the best team in baseball, and you proved it by winning the first of what will be many titles, if this team stays mostly intact. The Cubs have the best roster, and for the most part, they are young, so baseball fans, get used to seeing this team in contention for a long time. Congrats, and keep celebrating.

But, to end on a sour note, because that is what I do, ESPN will not be watched that much in my house for, at least, the next 6 months, because this Cubs title will be all they talk about for months on end. Even when the NFL shifts to playoff mode, the college football playoff comes along and the NBA gets deeper and deeper into its season, ESPN will still bring up the fact that the Cubs won the World Series. It will be insufferable.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He also forgot to mention the greatest sports person of the 21st century, Theo Epstein. The man is some kind of god. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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The Chicago Cubs, Aroldis Chapman, and Our Shame in Forgetting about Domestic Violence

How much more of their lovable identity will Cubs sell out?

There was a pretty big trade that just happened a few days ago in baseball. The Cubs, who have the best record in baseball, just acquired Aroldis Chapman from the Yankees for 4 minor leaguers. On the surface, this is a slam dunk trade for the Cubs. They did not have to give up any current major league players, and they got one of the hardest throwing closers in baseball history. Sure, he has control issues, RD can attest to this (ed note: he does), but he throws 105 mph. I don't care about control, that will scare even the best of hitters.

While it's all peachy in Chicago right now, and if they do not win the World Series now, they may never, I have a few problems with this deal. Let's get the minor problem out of the way first. The Cubs, and Theo Epstein, have always talked about building from the farm system and developing players. They did that last year to the tune of getting swept in the NLCS, but the team was mostly made up of players from the Cubs minor league system. Then, this offseason, the Cubs, and Theo Epstein, decided to eschew the whole build from within motto, and they went out and signed most of the top free agents. They got Ben Zobrist, Jason Heyward, they traded away Starlin Castro for some young assets, they signed John Lackey, they basically changed 50 percent of their lineup with top of the line free agents. I don't mind teams doing this, in fact, more power to you if you can, but don't tell me that you are building from within. That is not the case when the middle of your infield is made up of free agents, your new right fielder is a free agent signing, your third starter is a free agent, you cannot use the build from within motto if you sign a whole new team. Sure, they have Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber from the farm, but even Dexter Fowler was a trade, or free agent signing. They cannot say that this team was built from within, that is patently false. They went out and got big name free agents and that put this Cubs team over the top. This is not a team built from within, this is a team built on free agents and trades for big names.

The Cubs have become the Yankees of the NL by the amount of money they have spent the past 2 years on free agency. Even last year, they went out and spent a ton of money to sign Jon Lester, and made a very shady move in how they hired one of the best managers in baseball, Joe Maddon. Like I said, this is not a team built from the farm system, save for Bryant and Schwarber, and I'm sure there is one or two more guys that are contributors, but nothing like the free agents they've picked up the last two years. No more "we are built from our minor league" retort from the Cubs, I don't want to hear it.

Then, a few days ago, they traded away three of their top minor leaguers to acquire Chapman. Once again, they dipped into the farm system and traded some of their top prospects away for a much coveted, well established reliever. They did not draft and bring up Chapman from the minors, they traded for him and he has been a pro reliever for 4 or 5 years now. He is the hardest thrower in all of baseball. He's established. The Cubs are not a team built from their minor leaguers, they are a team built with star free agents.

The second, and more important problem that this Chapman trade brings, is the fact that Chapman had his first trade this offseason to the Dodgers called off because he was accused of domestic violence. He was still a Cincinnati Red until the Yankees decided to take a chance on him. After he signed with the Yankees, he was suspended by the MLB for 30 games for his domestic violence accusation. So, after getting one trade rescinded, then getting suspended, Chapman looked like a bad decision. He was all but forgotten about because he was accused of domestic violence. People who read my stuff know that I do not tolerate domestic violence. It's a disgusting and disturbing act done by disgusting and disturbing people. Anyone that puts hands on someone smaller than them, or a loved one, is a monster. That is one of the worst things that a grown person to do to someone else. Domestic assaulters are garbage people.

The real sad thing is that after Chapman's 30 game suspension, he came back, was throwing his incredible heat, saving games for the sorry Yankees and it seemed all was forgiven. Channels like ESPN were praising Chapman's heat. They seemed to have forgotten that he was accused of domestic violence. This as just like the Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice, Richie Incognito and Hope Solo stuff. These monsters were all accused of domestic assault, but since they are good at sports, ESPN never talked about it. They only showed the highlights and talked about how they "overcame adversity". What a crock. When Chapman was doing his first press conference with the Cubs, a reporter asked him about the domestic assault charge, and he said, in not so many words, he didn't know what they were talking about. I'm sure a lot got lost in translation, but still, he should have had his interpreter fully explain the question to him, and he could have given a very cliché answer. But, he did not do that. He chose to say that he didn't understand or that he didn't want to answer the question. To me, that is an admission of guilt. That means he definitely did something. When I was watching "PTI" yesterday they had a story involving Chapman. They touched on the whole domestic assault issue, but they barely spoke on it. Being the fan boy that he is, Mike Wilbon blamed everything on the translator and said that this would not affect him cheering for Chapman. He is so blinded by his love for the Cubs that he is willing to look past the fact that Chapman is an abuser because he can throw a very fast fast ball. I guarantee that if any other team acquired Chapman, Wilbon would have chastised them for taking this guy. But since it's the Cubs, he is willing to look past any indiscretions. Co-host Tony Kornheiser also gave him a pass saying that, once he goes out there and hits 103 or 104 on the gun, the fans will forget and cheer for him.

Therein lies the problem with sports, fandom and journalists nowadays. They are willing to give these abusers 5, 6 or even 7 chances because they are very good at their sport. These people need to be banished from playing sports the moment they put their hands on a loved one. That is disturbing and gross and it shouldn't matter if you can throw a ball hard. Abusers need to be punished, not given multiple chances. It's a problem at all levels, even college athletics now. If someone is good at a sport, they are given a pass, and that is wrong. I don't care that Chapman can throw over 100 mph, I don't care the Adrian Peterson can rush for 1,500 yards a season, I don't care that Hope Solo is a good goaltender, they are all abusers. Don't forget that when you cheer on these people. Just remember when you watch and clap for them, they have a loved one, or ones, that are terrified that they will hit them when they get upset. This is a major problem in sports, giving abusers multiple chances, and it needs to stop now. It's disturbing and gross. The ESPN's of the world need to stop idolizing these abusers. They need to be condemned, not loved.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. If you are a victim of domestic violence, get help today. Follow him on twitter @tykulik.