6926 (Continued from last post) 4. Who's "My Team"? - For years, the Cubs were "my team". I knew all about the players and I had all kinds of guys to follow. Now, I feel like the Brewers are my team because they feel more like a real team to me. The Cubs bring in Lou Pinella, Alfonso Soriano, Ted Lilly, and Cliff Floyd, and all of a sudden you've got a team that feels strangely like a Yankees, Red Sox or Mets roster. They seem like they're buying their team, rather than building it up. I can easily get behind a team like Tampa Bay and their home-grown talent rather than someone like Baltimore with their free agents, and when one of your teams feels like a bought team, it makes it that much tougher to stick with them. It's a very non-scientific way of thinking about it, but when I think about the Cubs' players and think about which players really feel like "Cubs", it doesn't seem like there's a big list. Zambrano, Lee, Ramirez, Murton, Dempster. I even had to think for a bit before hitting on Dempster, too. However, when I do that with Milwaukee, I end up with a flurry of names rolling into my head; Fielder, Hardy, Sheets, Braun, Weeks, Hart, Jenkins, Capuano, Gwynn, Counsell. It's not an exact test, but it's definitely an emotional one. As the days tick away in the baseball season, I've found myself on many occasions wishing it'd just be over, that we could just focus on football. I've even gotten to the point where I'll think about the Cubs getting to the World Series and I find little joy in the thought. I do the same with the Brewers and I get excited at the prospect of seeing Game 3 of the World Series at Miller Park. Do I think it's likely? Nope, not at all. However, neither was St. Louis last year and look at what happened there. Plus, I think the Brewers roster is good enough to win the post-season, and that starts with the rotation. Sheets-Gallardo-Suppan in a 3 game series with Bush, Parra, Vargas, Capuano, Turnbow, Cordero, etc. in the pen? I can't say I like the opposition's chances there. Glavine-Perez-Pedro/Maine/El Duque? Webb-Hernandez-Davis/Owings? Hamels-Moyer-Eaton/Durbin/Lohse? Those groups aren't even close (Arizona's the closest if not just for Webb). Peavy-Young-Maddux? Yeah, that's a scary combo, but who knows about Young's health? If Young can't pitch, they go to Brett Tomko? I'll take Bush, Parra and Vargas over him. Zambrano-Lilly-Hill/Marquis? That's close, except Big Z may implode at any moment, and Hill's been inconsistent lately. I don't feel like this has become such a dilemma for me because I'm just following the better of my teams, since I do think Chicago's a better club. They've got a stronger lineup, and with Zambrano being on, their rotation is better (I still don't trust him, especially in October) and their offense is more consistent. However, the combination of my social influences as well as the Brewers just being that much more likable has made this year such a rough one for me. It does feel strange to complain about having both my teams be competitive, but it has put me in a situation of personal conflict to which I am completely unaccustomed. I have the personal guilt of feeling like I have let my childhood team down, turned my back on them. Feeling like the comments of "Loyal Cubbie" and "Loyal Cubbies fan" are lies. At times, I feel like I'm being completely over dramatic about this whole ordeal, but baseball is a very important part of my life. I love almost everything about the game, I love participating in it, reading about it, talking about it, writing about it. Now I'm in a situation where half my baseball identity is slowing fading out of me, it's a distressing thing. Here's hoping the baseball Gods can have some mercy on a very torn Brewer/Cub fan and make this 99 and counting, allow the Brewers to have a taste of the post-season, and allow me to enjoy October. true 2007-12-07T19:33:43Z 21708 1 2007-12-07T19:33:43Z