The Cubs Have Been Here Before and Not Let Us Down

The consensus throughout Game 3 of the National League Division Series for Cubs fans across the country was the Cubs would not get the job done on Monday night for multiple reasons. Bumgarner was on the mound, and he hadn’t given up a postseason run in over 23 innings. The Giants were fighting for their lives, and well, at the end of the day, even as the best team in baseball throughout the year and winning over 100 games for the first time since 1910, its still the Cubs.

Jake Arrieta hit a bomb off Bumgarner, Kris Bryant tied it in the ninth with a two-run knock himself, Albert Almora Jr. made one of the more incredible defensive plays you will see coming in cold off the bench in the bottom of the ninth, but the Cubs didn’t get the job done after 13 long innings in San Francisco. Its safe to say the panic button has been pressed by many in Cubs Nation when after so much went right for the Cubs, the end result was still wrong. Now Game 4 tonight is being talked about as a “must win”, and the uneasiness of hope looming for the Giants, who have been in this situation before down two games to none, is making faithful lose sleep more than staying up until three in the morning to watch thirteen innings.

But let’s not forget that even with all the times the Cubs have let us down over the years, there still have been times the Lovable Losers have been in situations where everyone thought, “Ohhhh no here it comes,” and believe it or not, they proved us wrong.

In the 2003 Division Series against Atlanta, the Cubs had the Braves on the ropes down two games-to-one with the potential to clinch a spot in the NLCS. After jumping out to an early 1-0 lead in Game 4, Chicago let the lead slip away and lost 6-4. Series tied. Oh no. Now comes an elimination game on the road. Forget about it. The Cubs had their chance, and they blew it. Until they didn’t. In game five, Kerry Wood through eight innings of one-run ball. Alex Gonzalez and Aramis Ramirez both hit home runs, and the Cubs advanced to the National League Championship Series.

Even as recent as last year, the Cubs had moments in the postseason that had fans thinking and saying, “This is it. This is when it happens.”A split in St. Louis in the Division Series and a bomb fest in game three had the Cubs finding themselves in a 2-1 series lead over the Cardinals with the chance to clinch an appearance in the 2015 NLCS in Game 4. But there was the creeping thought in the back of everyone’s mind that if the Cubs couldn’t finish off the National League Central division champs at home in Wrigley, we all knew what the outcome would be for a Game 5 on the road at Busch Stadium. Stephen Piscotty didn’t do much to help the cause as in the top of the first inning he homered to left center field to put the Cardinals ahead early, 2-0.

“Of course! Of course it has to happen like this. The Cardinals always find a way, and so do the Cubs.”

Wouldn’t you know it, the Cubs maintained their poise and brought around four runs in the bottom of the second to completely flip the script. They took Game 4 at home and never let the Cardinals have their chance to steal the series. Common thought would be once again, the Cardinals are a team that finds a way to get it done, and the Cubs are not. It’s similar to the series currently taking place with the Giants now.

Both of the aforementioned Cubs teams are different than the 2016 version, obviously. But just because the Giants have “been here before” doesn’t mean the Cubs will crumble and lose three straight. That only happened to this Cubs teams four times throughout the entirety of a 162-game schedule. Even if the Cubs lost tonight in Game 4, the series would still be tied, and Chicago would be heading home to Wrigley Field where they posted a 57-24 record in 2016. History would tell us this is when the script flips in-favor of the Giants, and this is when the Cubs let down. Luckily, this Cubs team has been making history all year.