Why the Cubs haven't won a World Series in 104 years... because they keep making the same mistakes.

In the time I have been a Cubs fan, they have made some big mistakes.  One of those is Alfonso Soriano, who was one of the most sought-after free-agents after his amazing 2006 season, in which he reached the elite 40-40-40 mark (46 homeruns, 41 doubles, and 41 stolen bases.)  The Cubs joined the mix of clubs trying to sign him in an effort to build up their club and hopefully be propelled into the post season.  In order to beat out the other clubs they had to offer the sweetest deal, so they did: 8 years, 136 million dollars, and job security in the form of a no-trade clause in his contract.  Soriano took it.
The next season, Soriano suffered a leg injury which would be recurring in the years to follow.  He stole only 19 bases that season, hitting .299 with 33 homeruns and 70 rbi's.  That was the best year he would have with the Cubs, and the only season in which he would hit even 30 homeruns, much less 40.  In the five years since signing him, his numbers have steadily declined, while he has become known for his streakiness and freak injuries.  Over the past three seasons he has stolen twelve stolen bases, in all three seasons combined, and his batting average has hovered around .240.  It is doubtful he will improve much in the two years he has left with the Cubs, as he only gets older.  As other players have come and gone on the Cubs team, Soriano has remained, and will remain for the next two years, a monetary burden to the Cubs, a player who no longer carries his own weight on the field.
The next big mistake the Cubs made was signing Milton Bradley; but at least they learned something from signing Soriano, and did NOT put a no-trade clause into his contract, thankfully!  I was dubious about this signing from the start, for several reasons.  Firstly, the Cubs still had Carlos Zambrano on their team at the time, a talented pitcher with a very hot and volatile temper.  Bradley had also been known for having a volatile temper, and having two such players in the clubhouse at the same time did not seem good to me.  I was also dubious simply because of Bradley's tempers, which had become legendary throughout the majors.  And thirdly, because of the reason for signing him-- to add some left-handed power hitting to the lineup.  This was coming off a 2008 season wherein the Cubs had done very well and won their division behind the right-handed 3-4 punch of Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez.  Adding Bradley would break up this effective dynamic duo and change the team chemistry in ways I didn't like.  Determined to find a reason for the Cubs post-season loss, the powers that be decided they were missing something in the lineup, when in reality the Cubs had lead the National League in hitting the previous season, with their right-hand heavy lineup.
My feelings proved correct; and the 2009 Cubs team began to be defined by Milton Bradley's tempers and trying to appease him in any way they could-- a futile effort.  Bradley didn't like Wrigley's tradition of day-games; he didn't like the pressure from the media and the fans; he didn't like the front office or feel he was being treated right.  He had a miserable year with the Cubs and then they shipped him off to the Seattle Mariners, picking up a large portion of the money they owed him to do so, and we were back where we started, with the dynamic punch of Lee and Ramirez in the middle of the lineup, and a leadoff man and left-fielder who would hit .258 on the year and have five stolen bases, but who, unlike Bradley, we could not unload on someone else.
Today the Cubs wear a very different look from the 2008 team that won the division; the only constant is Soriano.  The changes have mounted astronomically this year, as they have implemented their new "rebuilding" strategy in hopes of ending their World Series drought.  What seems logical to me in such a situation is to keep the players who are good and form a solid core to your team, unload some of the big contracts, build up your farm, and sign a few other good, dynamic players.  What, apparently, seems logical to the Cubs front office this year is to get rid of ALL of their core players, including young players, pitchers, the rookie of the year who came up through your organization, and veterans.  After struggling mightily during the first half of the year, the Cubs began looking a little better as a team around July.  Part of this was helped by their strong pitching rotation, which included Ryan Dempster, who was having a career year, Jeff Samardjzia, who is pitching better than ever, and Paul Maholm, a young pitcher who has only gotten better throughout the year.  
I was astonished, then, when the Cubs traded off Dempster (being sellers, not buyers, at the trade deadline, this didn't surprise me so much, though it saddened me), Paul Maholm, Reed Johnson, and Geovany Soto.  Maholm was a good, dynamic pitcher-- exactly what I thought the Cubs would be looking for, to rebuild.  Geovany Soto came up through the Cubs organization and won rookie of the year with them a few years ago.  He has proved a good, steady offensive player and a skilled defensive player.  Another good foundational player.  And Reed Johnson has done extremely well off the bench this year.  Finding good bench players is hard, and he was a definite asset.
The Cubs traded these players off and started struggling again, which is understandably.  The everyday catcher who had worked all year with the starting pitchers was gone.  One of the best pitchers in the majors was gone, and another pitcher who had just come off his six start, going six or more innings, without giving up a run is also gone.  Also their good, reliable bench player.  Suddenly, the lineup needed to be re-structured, other young pitchers would be moved in and out and tried; a new catcher would be calling the games.  It changes everything, and not necessarily in a good way.
And today, the Cubs made another move; they signed short stop Starlin Castro, who came up with the club last season and has done extremely well, to a seven-year contract worth 60 million.  I agree that Castro is good, and young, and the kind of player you want on your team if you are rebuilding; but I don't think signing a player to such a long contract is such a good idea.  How could the Cubs have known that after having such an amazing season in 2006 Soriano would go on to become a mediocre player and a burden to the team?  Injury and change come unexpectedly, and tying yourself to a player for so long can be detrimental, I think.  It feels like another mistake the Cubs have not learned from.  As the years pass by and they continue to make the same mistakes, mistakes that make the Cubs fans watching from the outside want to bang our head against a wall, it is little wonder that their desperate World Series drought continues.  That is just what they have become: desperate.  So desperate they have left common sense behind and are striving for a quick fix; and in the process they are imploding from the inside-out, while their opponents stand by and watch.

Blessed

I haven't had much inspiration the past few weeks.  I have gone over and over certain parts of my story, knowing they weren't right, but not knowing how to fix them.  I think part of my lack of inspiration and creativity had to do with some personal struggles I was having, but God has been doing a work in my heart, and has blessed me so much once again!  I am always amazed at how God blesses me-- overwhelmed, because it's always more than I expect.  He doesn't always work in the ways I expect Him too, but His ways are always better.
As I have struggled, I have felt helpless, because even as I was trying to get back on track I still couldn't change my feelings and emotions.  What I have realized is that it's true, I can't change my feelings and emotions-- but I can change my focus, and that can make a huge difference.  I have been realizing once again how blessed I am, feeling overwhelmed by the blessings that fill my life.  Health, a good job, warm bed, food, a loving, supportive husband, a wonderful family who prays for me and loves me unconditionally, and the blessing of having some of them nearby again; a good church family, friends.  Above all this, the hope of glory, an inheritance among them which are sanctified, and the ability to come boldly into the presence of my God through the sacrifice of His son.
I have been reminded, too, that I have work to do.  But God has blessed me again by inspiring my creative faculty once more.  It has been incredibly discouraging lately to not feel like writing; to feel like it doesn't matter; to feel like I don't have the ability to do it, anyway; to feel frustrated because I can't figure out how to fix the problem areas of my story, etc.  But in church on Sunday, as I was talking to God, it suddenly came to me how I could fix one of the areas of my story that I have been struggling with.  It is perfect.  It will unfold a little differently, but I like it a lot better than what I had before.  I can see it coming together in my mind's eye, and with that the old excitement of creativity has surged through me again.
I am blessed indeed!

Novel Writing Process

From the outset, it looked easy.  I had the story in mind... all I had to do was write it... in chronological order... and I was done.  Right?
I've had a wake up call since then.... it's not quite so easy.  In the first place, it doesn't always come together chronologically, and even if it does, different scenes expand it and cause it to grow and change.  One change can change everything else, and that starts getting complicated after you have a hundred pages or so....
So where am I now?  The body of the story is there, but I am still expanding, plugging in new scenes, filling in holes, proofing, changing.  The hardest part has been the beginning-- the prologue and first chapter.  I have spent more time on those two parts than the rest of the story put together.  It keeps weighing on me, because so much depends on it.  Strangers who read it will either decide to continue, or not, based on it.
I have it all planned out so beautifully in my head... how story and plotlines and characters develop and interract and change based on those interractions.... but transferring what I have in my head to paper in such a way that my readers will see it as I saw/see it, that's the hard part.
Anyhow.... it's proving a much more daunting task than I ever thought it would be.... but progress is being made.
And now... back to it.  :-)