“…And it’s a hard road… It’s a hard road Daddy-o when my job is turning lead into gold.” – Van Morrison, Philosopher’s Stone
The term “lovable losers” is something I never understood. The media pushed that caricature of Chicago’s North Side baseballers until 2016, but the Cubs proved they could win consistently when Lou Piniella and Dusty Baker managed, and then again with Joe Maddon. There is nothing lovable about losing or consistently playing in the neighborhood of .500 baseball.
Thankfully, that paradigm shifted permanently when Chicago won it all nearly a decade ago.