Dearest Cub fans,

I'm so sorry that I openly mocked you over the last couple of weeks. You're really depressed now. I know you are. I can relate.

You see, in 1986 I had altered my baseball allegiances somewhat. My aunt and uncle lived in an exclusive part of Orange County that many of the California Angels called home. Thirdbaseman Doug DeCinces, in fact, was their good friend and neighbor. Through them I met many Angels players and grew to root for them nearly as hard as I pulled for my beloved Tigers. In 1986 thing looked pretty damn good for the Halos, too.

In Game Five of the ACLS they had the Boston Red Sox exactly where they wanted them. They were at home in the Big A, up three games to one and had a 5-2 lead going into the ninth. The franchise's first World Series was firmly in sight.

Things started to go wrong in the ninth, though. Starter Mike Witt (whose hair another of my uncles still cuts) began to tire and soon the Bosox had cut the lead to 5-4. There were two outs and a runner on first when manager Gene Mauch went to his closer, Donnie Moore. The Angels were still a confident bunch. Surely Donnie could get Dave Henderson out. Mauch and Mr. October himself stood poised on the top step of the dugout ready to rush onto the field.

With the count sitting at 1-2, the Angels were a mere strike away from the Series. Moore then went with his "out" pitch to Henderson, the split-finger fastball. It was supposed to drop. It didn't. He hung the pitch to Henderson who launched it over the wall for a 6-5 Boston lead. Sure, the Angels clawed back with a run in their half of the ninth, but they lost the game in the eleventh and were humiliated in games six and seven in Boston.

It took me a long time to recover from that blow. Some would say that it took the Angels 16 years to bounce back. Unfortunately, Donnie Moore never really bounced back. A lifetime of violence and substance abuse lead Donnie to take his own life 1989. Many seem to draw a direct line between that ill-fated pitch and Moore's suicide. It's not that simple, but that pitch and the constant reminders of his failure to retire Henderson in the years that followed certainly didn't help his psyche.

So hang in there Cub fans. You're sitting pretty for next year. Even the most optimistic of the "there's always next year" bunch wouldn't have predicted that you would have made it this far. With another year under their belt your young rotation is going to be even scarier. Sammy shows no sign of slowing down and your bullpen is certainly going to be bolstered in the off-season. It'll be okay. Promise.