SMACK TALK WITH A CUBS FAN

(NOTE: Not the actual Cubs fans)
Welcome to an inside look of a Phoenix suburb named Mesa, AZ. I know it well, it is my backyard. The one big perk of living here is there are so many baseball teams to check out when Spring Training kicks up next month, and so many of them are within fifteen minutes of my front door. One team that comes to mind already would be the Chicago Cubs because there is already a buzz here in the city.

The Cubs had a great season last year. Good for them, the baseball enthusiast in me is happy for them. Let's face it, if a National League team is going to win it all I would pick them over the Diamondbacks any day. Mesa is a second home for Cubbie fans. Come next month there will be a ton of Cubs bumper stickers spotted on cars, flags outside of homes and a swarm of people walking into Sloan park. In fact, I already see a bunch of them on a daily basis at work.

I remember watching the NLDS on the TV at work one night. My cubicle neighbor was born in Chicago and is a die-hard fan. As soon as they took out the Cardinals I heard the loudest "HELL YES" and there was a moonwalk dance done in celebration. I was happy for him. Ever since then, the guy likes to bust my chops.

Back in November, the rumor mill was buzzing about trading Brett Gardner for Starlin Castro. He laughed about it saying that when the moved happened he would at least get a fast pair of legs and we would get nothing, but a young over hyped kid. Sure, we didn't give up Gardy but he is still laughing.

So now that Adam Warren is gone this is what I usually hear on a daily basis:

Cubs fan: "Hey Yankee! How do you like my starting rotation? Thanks for giving up Adam Warren!"

Me: "It's better than what you had."

Cubs fan: "It's also better than what you have now. Masahiro Tanaka was a huge waste of money. Rule of thumb, never touch a Japanese pitcher."

Me: "Maybe Jake Arrieta won't choke this year and he might have some help."

Cubs fan: "You wish you had Arrieta right now."

Me: "You wish you had my bullpen right now."

Cubs fan: "Your bullpen is irrelevant. By the sixth inning you guys will be so far behind it won't matter. You will burn them out because your starters are terrible."

If I had a quarter for every time I heard someone tell me that our bullpen will be overworked and the starters will continue to suck I could go on a nice shopping spree. I could use some new Yankee gear, actually... my BYB shirt's wearing out!

Do the Yankees have some concerns? Sure, no team is perfect, but I like being the underdog right now.

I also look forward to more smack talk, because I have faith in our team.


   
--Jeana Bellezza, 
BYB Senior Writer and Editor
Twitter: @NyPrincessJ 

 





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