are the cubs truly cursed?

[rone]

This kid's gonna have to enter the Witless Relocation Program.

For the baseball-impaired: The Cubs are rolling along, ahead 3-0, pitching in the top of the 8th inning, one out and Juan Pierre on second, when Luis Castillo lifts a fly to left. Moisés Alou is about to catch the ball when some utter, complete, unadulterated clod messes up the ball's trajectory into the stands. Foul ball. Castillo walks on a wild pitch ball 4 which advances Pierre to 3rd base. A Pudge Rodríguez single drives in Pierre, and the inning goes to hell, and so does the game for the Cubs.

Comments

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's one thing that i find curious... everyone i've read says that the ball was clearly headed for the stands, but the pictures i've seen show that it was too close to tell. And, yeah, the kid probably wasn't looking at anything but the ball, and most people would've tried to catch it, too. It's still a boner of historical proportions, and if the Cubs don't pull it out today behind Kerry Wood... oy. It's practically theater.

[erikred.livejournal.com]

The thing is, even if the ball had been heading for the stands, if Alou had somehow managed to catch it, he would've gotten the out. But as any fan who's ever sat that close to rail will tell you, you just can't help reaching for a ball like that.

This is bloody Greek tragedy, it is.