Everybody comes to the ballpark and wants a ball. It's unfortunate it happened. I was very upset. I was there. I got there in time. I jumped. I had my eyes on the ball. But everybody who goes to the ballpark wants a baseball. Hopefully, he doesn't have to regret it for the rest of his life.
- Moises Alou
Truly, it was one of the most bizarre innings of baseball I have ever seen. The Cubs were five outs- FIVE OUTS- away from their first trip to the World Series since 1945, and then...what's this about some Curse of the Billy Goat, anyway??
CHICAGO -- We don't know his name. We don't want to know his name. We hope no one in Chicago ever learns his name.
We hope he already has joined the witness-protection program. We hope he can start a new life somewhere, rooting for a team thousands of miles from the North Side of Chicago. We hope he forgets. We hope the people of Chicago forget about him.
But that will never happen. No way. Because the Cubs lost a playoff game they couldn't lose Tuesday night. And one reason they lost it is because a 26-year-old guy in a Cubs cap saw a baseball coming his way and decided to try to catch it.
If he'd just seen Cubs left fielder Moises Alou, no more than a yard away, leaping toward the seats in foul territory, glove outstretched, he undoubtedly would have pulled his hands away. But this was a guy stuck in his own little tunnel. And once he flicked that ball away from Alou's glove, it became a tunnel with no light on either end.
Asked if he would have caught that ball if The Fan hadn't gotten in his path, Alou replied: "I think so -- almost 100 percent. At the same time, I kind of feel bad for the guy now."
How can you begin to account for a collapse of such otherworldly proportions? I've never been a believer in Divine Intervention, but you almost have to wonder if this isn't one of God's cruel jokes (How else can you account for the Bulls, Bears, and Blackhawks?)on the good folks of Chicago.
I just hope the identity of the fan responsible for this clusterf**k never becomes public knowledge in the Chicagoland area. I'd be fearing for my safety if I were him.
Thankfully, the Cubs still have an opportunity to redeem themselves tonight. If they are able to pull it out, this whole sorry episode will be relegated to bad dream status. For this poor maroon's sake, let's just hope the Cubs can win tonight. Can you imagine going through life being known as the guy who cost the Cubs their first trip to the World Series since 1945? If it were me, I'd be playing Russian Roulette on the living room floor.
PS- While Cubs fans are looking to tar and feather this poor sap, what about the double-play ball the Alex Gonzalez booted? You don't think that had something to do with the eight-run inning??
