Good days, bad days. That’s nothing new to the pandemic, but I suppose it’s fair to say the bad days feel a lot more challenging to navigate successfully right now. For me, that is particularly true where there are a trio of kids to care for, to instruct, and to manage their own challenges. There is no “welp, I just feel mentally not great at the moment so I’m gonna need a whole lot of self-care time today.” Instead, there’s just the next hurdle. And thinking that way is, in turn, its own hurdle. So the feedback loop sets in.
•  I don’t know why the Cubs decided to bust out this particular flashback, but I’m enjoying it:
A triumphant return to the postseason stage.@budweiserusa pic.twitter.com/kdVSFDdNGL
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 28, 2020
•  I watched that game at a bar in Wrigleyville, and the atmosphere was as intense as anywhere I have taken in a game outside of Game Seven of the World Series. Knowing what could happen if the Cubs managed to win that game (remember, this was a team that won 97 games after catching all kinds of fire in the second half). Knowing that the Cardinals loomed. Knowing that it had been 12 YEARS since the Cubs actually won a playoff series (whether you counted the Wild Card Game as one or not, it marked the chance to try again). The Cubs hadn’t even been GOOD in like seven years at that point. So, man, there was so much riding on those nine glorious innings by Jake Arrieta.Â
•  It also gave us this classic moment:
•  37 years ago today, the Cubs had just lost a tight day game against the Dodgers at Wrigley Field, dropping them to 5-14, already 7.0 games back in the NL East. The crowd that day was just over 9,000, but they must’ve been putting in work, because when Cubs manager Lee Elia was asked about fan support at the time, he dropped one of the most famous rants in sports history. If you’ve never listened before, you’re gonna want to make sure you aren’t around the kiddos for this one – the language is extraordinarily saucy:
•  Here’s the version Danny Rocket asked a whole bunch of us Cubs fans to re-enact today:Â
•  Absurd and wonderful catch:
On this day 10 years ago, Marlon Byrd made an unreal catch after losing the ball in the sun! pic.twitter.com/tn2M60dhR7
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) April 28, 2020
•  Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney get downright weird (and, in parts, terrifying) writing a letter from the future:
I remember reading SI's imaging of how the 1994 season would have concluded as a teenager and loving it. I had a ton of fun working on this piece with Patrick. A letter from the future: What will Opening Day 2022 be like for the Cubs? https://t.co/OUYmR4REli— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) April 29, 2020
•  Doug Glanville joined us on the pod:
Fantastic latest episode of 'Onto Waveland,' not because of me and @sahadevsharma, but because the always-thoughtful, always-engaging @dougglanville joined us to talk fan connections, empty stadiums, PEDs, sign-stealing, and more. @TheAthleticCHIhttps://t.co/cJg37GIYDG— Brett Taylor (@Brett_A_Taylor) April 29, 2020
•  The last one in particular is unbelievable:Â
I miss knuckleballs…
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 29, 2020
so do a lot of bats & mitts. pic.twitter.com/qLH7Y3CiUJ
•  Willy’s comin’ for you, Fed:
https://twitter.com/WContreras40/status/1255286755319832576