Cubs and Dodgers

On Sunday, I was honored to be included among the twelve blogs that the esteemed Night Owl mentioned as his read-em-all blogs.

Here's what he said:   Wrigley Wax: Yeah, it's the Cubs. That gets old very fast. But WW finds a way to keep me coming back, whether it's to gawk at his freakish organizational skills or to see what set he's featuring next, or even to have another laugh at the Cubs. I can always use a laugh.

I'm honored as a blogger, but as a Cubs fan, well...I'm not feelin' the love.

I'm not sure why a Dodger fan has such a dislike for the Cubs.

It can't be a rivalry thing...that Dodger hate is reserved for the Giants.

It can't be a competition thing.  The Dodgers have always been better than the Cubs.  As I kid, I can remember trying to talk my parents into letting me stay up late to watch the Cubs in Los Angeles (9:30 p.m start time in Chicago).  I usually would fall asleep before the game was over, which was good, since the Dodgers seemed to own the Cubs.

In my lifetime (and I think I'm just a few years older than Night Owl), the Cubs have won 3,950 games while losing 4331, a winning percentage of .477.  The Dodgers have 4441 victories with 3856 losses during the same time, good for a .535 percentage.  That's 491 more wins.  Add a few Series titles and several other NL pennants---no, the Cubs aren't much competition for to the Dodgers.

I hope it's not the "lovable losers" thing.  That tag is a media creation that any real Cub fan despises.  There is nothing lovable about losing.  Losing stinks.  Losing hurts.  Losing happens too much.  The day the Cubs can ditch that tag can't come soon enough.

To show Night Owl how the Cubs and Dodgers can get along, I've put together my all-time CubDodger team.  I've gone position by position and found some pretty decent players that spent time in both uniforms.

Outfield

 

 

 

Jimmy Sheckard spent the first few years of his career with the Dodgers before coming to the Cubs and playing on the championship teams of 1907 and 1908.  Rick Monday had the most productive years of his career with the Cubs but spent more seasons with the Dodgers.  He is forever linked to both franchises because of his flag-saving grab in 1976.  Andy Pafko was a member of the Cubs last pennant-winning team (1945) and the spent two years with the Dodgers.

Infielders

 

 

 

 

Third base was easy...Ron Cey.  He'll always be a Dodger, but he helped lead the Cubs to their first postseason in 39 years with the '84 Cubs.  The best I could come up with for shortstop was Nomar Garciaparra, though we each got the broken-down version.  At second base we share the Hall of Famer Billy Herman.  Though most Dodger fans think of him as a speedy outfielder, Bill Buckner is the first baseman on my team, toughing it out on a gimpy ankle.

Battery

 

 

 

 

The catching ranks were pretty thin, so how about a catcher that both of us can hate on, Todd Hundley.  Boy was he a bust with the Cubs, and his time in LA was hardly memorable.  For starting pitching, I came up with Burt Hooton and Rick Sutcliffe.  Hooton tossed a no-hitter while with the Cubs and was a starter for the Dodger pennant winners in 1977, 1978, and 1981.  Sutcliffe won the Rookie of the Year with the Dodgers and the Cy Young with the Cubs.  In the bullpen is Phil Regan, who was the top reliever on the '69 Cubs.

Manager

 

Leading the team is another Hall of Famer, Leo Durocher.  

A pretty decent line-up that's good for both Cubs and Dodger fans.

The Cubs aren't bad guys....really...I promise...can't we all be friends??!!