9 replies to this topic

[Oswego Chris]

I have always been fascinated by the pattern of historic events. How seemingly random events can alter history. Perhaps I saw Back to the Future one too many times, but anyhoo, here goes:

June 5th 1981. Most of you were not born. I was just finishing up 7th grade and working on building up my Playboy stash.(I enjoyed the articles) On that day the Indiana Pacers traded their 1984 First Round Pick to the Portland Trail Blazers for 6-11 Center Tom Owens. Mr. Owens was a bust as a Pacer(as many 6-11 caucasians are), but this was when the consensus was you had to have a big man to win. So the Pacers mortgaged their future that day.

Now fast forward to the final game of the 1983-84 season. The Pacers had a 10 point lead on the Milwaukee Bucks going into the 4th Quarter. If the Pacers held their lead, the Chicago Bulls would have had the second pick in the 1984 draft(and would have selected Sam Bowie). The Pacers blew their 4th quarter lead...insuring they had a worse record than the Bulls, and thus giving Portland the second pick in the 1984 draft. The Pacers had no reason to blow this game, they weren't getting the pick anyway. The rest is history, Portland takes Bowie instead of Jordan(just as the Bulls would have)...MJ falls in our lap, and Chicago is never the same. All those little things fell into place...amazing.

Why the Theo comparison? If Boston wins one more game, one more game they make the play-offs. Terry Francona stays and then Theo stays for 2012. (he said he would have). The Red Sox may have advanced deep into the play-offs insuring we never would have had a chance at Theo. And as we know it was much more than just "One more game". The Rays trailed 7-0 with two innings to play, and if they don't come back, no Theo. The Rays were down to their final strike, if Dan Johnson makes an out, no Theo. The Orioles were down 2 outs with nobody on against the Red Sox, if they don't pull off the improbable comeback, no Theo. If the Red Sox don't go 6-18 down the stretch, no Theo.

Back on September 3rd, when the Red Sox had a 9 game lead, what do you think the chances of the Cubs getting Theo were? Hey, the guy might be a bust here, there are obviously no guarantees in sports(especially when it comes to our Cubs), but something tells me there was just too much "fate" involved here.

Similar to how Chicago acquired a certain shooting guard(who supposedly couldn't shoot) from North Carolina.

[Fishin Phil]

Spooky!

[Brett]

I suspect we'll be thinking about that final month of the season, and that final day - the absurdity of the Rays' win and the Red Sox's loss - for years to come.

[MichiganGoat]

Best final day of season ever!

But still

Fuck the Cardinals

[Fishin Phil]

Fuck the Cardinals

I tried, couldn't do it. Maybe your dick is much smaller than mine.

[Kansas Cubs Fan]

Fuck the Cardinals

I tried, couldn't do it. Maybe your dick is much smaller than mine.

The birds in your area must be small.

[Fishin Phil]

Fuck the Cardinals

I tried, couldn't do it. Maybe your dick is much smaller than mine.

The birds in your area must be small.

As opposed to the big, loose cardinals in Kansas?

[MichiganGoat]

Fuck the Cardinals

I tried, couldn't do it. Maybe your dick is much smaller than mine.

Ya trying to blaze with the goat phil....

[Fishin Phil]

Wondered how long that would take.

[FratRat]

Can't help but wonder how things might have played out had Billy Beane accepted the Red Sox GM position.