Oct. 22--The Cubs' long journey ended Wednesday night at Wrigley Field with an 8-3 loss to the Mets, who swept them out of the National League Championship Series like they were taking out the recyclables.
It was an ugly finish to a beautiful season, one that began with cautious optimism things would get better over time. It did get better, and by midsummer it got crazy, and when the Cubs vanquished the Cardinals in the division series last week, they looked scary good.
Waiting for 2016 was suddenly a fool's errand. Now was the time to strike, while the young players were too naive to realize what they were doing. The improbable dream seemed possible, and all those epic disasters of the past were irrelevant.
But just as no one saw the Cubs coming so quickly, few saw them going so quietly.
The dominant Mets staff overwhelmed the young Cubs hitters, and some guy named Daniel Murphy treated Cubs pitchers like his personal pinata, hitting home runs in all four games of the sweep while earning NLCS MVP honors.
"I'm not big on outside expectations, but we accomplished a lot as a team," Jake Arrieta said. "We won 97 games in a really competitive division with some experienced teams, and we played well from start to finish, and played better as our young players started to acclimate to this level and consistently have success.
"So it stings right now, getting swept, but to be one of four standing at the end of the year and still playing meaningful games in the middle of October is pretty special."
The Mets got off to a first-inning lead in each of the first three games, taking a 3-0 series advantage and putting the Cubs on life support heading into Game 4 on Wednesday. The mood was subdued as fans filed in to Wrigley, but the crowd of 42,227 let out a collective roar in the first when starter Jason Hammel induced Murphy to pop up for the second out.
It turned out to be a hollow victory. After a walk to Yoenis Cespedes, Lucas Duda smoked a three-run homer to deep center, and the worst-case scenario was realized. It was the beginning of the end.
Game, set, crash.
Hammel was booed off the mound when manager Joe Maddon yanked him after a one-out walk in the second, and Duda added a two-run double off Travis Wood to make it 6-0. The Cubs were doomed, and everyone who had seen this movie before knew it.
The NLCS butt-whipping by a superior Mets team might have been the best thing to happen to the Cubs in the long run. Their lack of starting pitching depth was exposed, and the young hitters will learn from their struggles.
Who knew how much the Cubs would miss the smooth-fielding Addison Russell, whose brilliant defense this season was overshadowed by the slugging of Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber?
President Theo Epstein has work to do, but after the stunning success of 2015, he has built up enough credit in this town to be given the benefit of the doubt for another decade if he wants.
Epstein knows the feeling he's looking for, having experienced it firsthand while helping end the Red Sox's 86-year championship drought, another alleged curse.
"The 10 minutes I remember more than any other was the ride when we flew back from St. Louis after the '04 World Series and landed about 7 in the morning at Logan (Airport), and took the bus ride we've all made hundreds of times from Logan to Fenway (Park)," he said.
"Just how surreal it was. Everyone recognizing us along the streets, and construction workers hugging each other and businessmen and businesswomen stopping their cars, getting out and waving and jumping up and down.
"And as we drove past a cemetery, there were already Red Sox pennants on the gravestones, Red Sox flags draped over them. And probably every day since then someone has come up and thanked me for what it meant to their family, or told me about their grandfather or grandmother who didn't live to see it, or how their grandfather or grandmother did live to see it, and how special it was for them.
"That really resonated. More than anything else, that feeling influenced my decision to come to Chicago, because that was the one place in the world where you could experience something that meaningful again, and play a small part in contributing to something that meaningful."
There may never be another season quite like this one, when everything felt so new and every day brought more joy in Wrigleyville.
It didn't end well. In fact, it ended miserably.
Yet this incredible ride will be remembered long after the shock of the Mets' sweep wears off.
So the wait goes on, even if the finish line seems to be just over the horizon.
psullivan@tribpub.com
