Major League Baseball

Cubs heading down a familiar path

Published Aug. 14, 2009 4:53 a.m. ET

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J.A. Happ is from Peru, Ill., some 100 miles from Wrigley Field. He went to Northwestern University, which is considerably closer. And like a lot of the Illinois kids on campus, he rooted for the Cubs.




Happ was a sophomore during the autumn of 2003. That's when the Cubs won their first postseason series since 1908. That's also when they came within five outs of the World Series in The Alex Gonzalez Game. (I don't blame Bartman.)

"It was tough," Happ said. "I was in college. You're obviously rooting for them. Hoping and praying, just like the rest of Chicago."

Happ is not a Cubs fan anymore. He pitches for the Phillies. He won a World Series ring with Philadelphia last year.

And his Cub-loving friends and relatives — the people who wished him good luck, but not too much, when he started at Wrigley on Tuesday night — might be free of any conflicts when the 2009 postseason begins.

Right now, the odds are against their favorite team being involved.

Happ helped the Phillies to an extra-inning win in the series opener, and his teammates flattened the home team in the two games after that. Philadelphia swept the series by a count of 22-9 — and the lopsided totals didn't tell the full story.

On Wednesday, an unruly fan tossed a cup of beer on Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino as he caught a fly ball. It was a new low in this fast-sinking season. The Cubs apologized, and Chicago police began an investigation. The perpetrator reportedly turned himself in on Thursday, but this story isn't going to disappear anytime soon.

The Cubs might.

Optimistic Cubs fans — the group sitting comfortably at one table inside the Billy Goat Tavern — could point out that their team was tied for first place as recently as last Friday afternoon. But much has happened since then.

Carlos Zambrano was scratched from a start and placed on the disabled list. Aramis Ramirez had a recurrence of pain in his injured left shoulder and has missed the last five games. And the team went a lackluster 1-6 against good competition (first Colorado, then Philadelphia).

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