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Southern California looks ominous for Cubs

Mike Downey | In the wake of the news

October 4, 2008

LOS ANGELES — Winging to the West Coast this time of year was supposed to be totally cool.

Not the temperature—the situation.

A few days in Southern California felt like a match made in heaven for the Cubs.

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Swimmin' pools, movie stars.

No chill, just chillin'.

Center fielder Jim Edmonds would be coming home. He was graduating from high school in nearby Diamond Bar in the summer of 1988 when the underdog Dodgers were on their way to pulling off a huge surprise in October.

Fellow outfielder Reed Johnson also would be coming home. He was an 11-year-old in that summer of '88, playing for a Temecula Valley team that nearly made it to the Little League World Series in Williamsport before falling just short.

And it wasn't as if the other Cubs couldn't feel right at home.

Thousands and thousands of California-based Cubs fans figured to be in the stands for Games 3 (and 4?) of this National League Division Series with the Dodgers.

That includes half of Hollywood, where the Cubs have been a favorite hobby of show-biz stars galore over the years.

Guys like actor Joe Mantegna, who recently said that if the Cubs do win the 2008 World Series, baseball fans might as well "go watch soccer" from now on because there will be nothing else left in baseball all that important to see.

Pretty funny.

And perfectly timed because, after all, was this Cubs-Dodgers matchup going to be big fun or what?

Who knew it would turn out to be an agonizingly bad time in the lives of the Cubs and their fans?

Who knew the Cubs would play so poorly at Wrigley that they would need to sweep a pair in Chavez Ravine simply to stay alive?

Who knew that the Cubs would look so worthless that Mark Cuban probably is lowering his purchase offer as we speak? Who knew Kosuke Fukudome would be such a bust that his own manager would declare publicly after Game 2 that you shouldn't expect to be seeing him in 2008 again?

Fukudome's photo was on the cover of the May 5 issue of Sports Illustrated, underneath a headline: "It's Gonna Happen."

I don't think SI meant that what's going to happen is the Cubs having yet another of their famous collapses and Fukudome being benched.

Remember back when the Japanese import went 3-for-3 on Opening Day including a home run? Cubs shortstop Ryan Theriot raved, "It's like he became a legend here in one day."