Thursday, December 18, 2008

A Sad Coincidence, or Something Worse?

When people speak of Cubs' Curses, they're typically referring to the team's penchant for perennial failure, even in the few years when they've made the playoffs or been in contention. But with today's news of the death of Dave Smith, a pitcher who was pretty good with the Houston Astros in the 1980s and rotten in 2 Cubs seasons in 1991-1992, I couldn't help but remark on the fact that 4 Cubs Pitchers of the 1990s have passed away prematurely within the past 2 years. In addition to Smith, who was 53 and supposedly succumbed to a heart attack, Kevin Foster, Geremi Gonzales and Rod Beck have all died either this year or last. And with Foster dying of cancer, Gonzales in a car accident and Beck having been known as a heavy-set, heavy drinker, it's hard to imagine any of these deaths had anything to due with the steroid era.

I don't really believe in curses, whether to blame of the Cubs' on-the-field woes or these more grim coincidences, but I'm officially rescinding my bid to buy the team. Even if it was destined to fall about a billion dollars short.

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