Cubs Farewell Video to Lester a Tear-Jerker
Jon Lester is officially a Washington National. I have always been a Lester fan. Now, I don’t mean calling out from every rooftop fan, but a fan of the man and pitcher he is/was. Maybe a better term is I’ve just always respected him.
Whether it was his fight with cancer, his not allowing the moment to get to him, his playoff performance, or his willingness to accept less in Chicago – I respected this dude. I don’t have to tell you this, but he signaled that the Cubs were ready to make the move to World Series contender. He was a spark to the happiest moment of my fandom of the Chicago Cubs.
Now, I often mention that the drafting of Kris Bryant is the day the Cubs were to win a championship, and I stand behind that. But, it was the signing of Lester that announced that they were officially here and ready for one.
Now, like Kyle Schwarber and Yu Darvish and what will likely be several other favorites over the next nine to 14 months, they have become a memory. Their careers have been immortalized in a Twitter video, opposed to continued for one more, bring it back year.
Tenacity on the field. Generosity off the field.
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) January 27, 2021
A leader, a teammate, a role model.
A champion.
Thank you for everything, @JLester34. #NVRQT pic.twitter.com/zxzTDYyLdm
Watching the video did bring tears to my eyes. It brought them because I remember how many fun days there were in the 2015 and 2016 seasons. I remember how those years brought Cubs fans together. There weren’t the constant sword fights among the fanbase that there is now. The infighting was nonexistent. Fans weren’t tearing players apart. We weren’t bickering over who was the better player, who should be traded, and when. We didn’t care who was “on the bandwagon” we were just glad we were surrounded by fans – familiar or strangers.
The video reminded me that this core if supported correctly, could have been extended further. If the usage of funds or even some trades were or weren’t made, this club could have won another championship. Maybe. It reminds me that if Tom Ricketts wasn’t so focused on profits, this club would be more successful.
Look, the Ricketts family deserves some credit for getting Theo Epstein here, but I mostly believe he fell into their laps. His time in Boston was running its course and he wanted a new challenge. The lure of turning a losing franchise around was more than the lure of money or anything else Tom could have sold Theo on, so while he gets some credit for being the man in the chairman’s seat, a donkey could have sold Theo on this opportunity.
Where he might get some credit was giving Epstein and Jed Hoyer the keys and letting them roll with it. It was that action that helped the Cubs win. He got the hell out of the way and let the baseball people be baseball people. Then, for some godforsaken reason, he butted his way into the room after the 2017 season.
When he started to interfere with baseball operations is when this organization lost its “fun” and took a turn. As much as the Lester signing was a sign that the Cubs wouldn’t become champions, Ricketts interfering with baseball decisions was the sign that the window was closed.
