Chicago

It's the middle October, which means fans of the Chicago Cubs have followed their annual calendar and started investing their time in football and hockey about three weeks ago. But this year, there's some baseball of interest being played.

In Arizona.

The Arizona Fall League is under way, and Cubs fans should at least check in to see how the "future" of the franchise is doing. Third base prospect Josh Vitters, regarded by many as the jewel of the Cubs' system, is playing for the Mesa Solar Sox.

Rumors are swirling around Chicago that the Cubs, who fired two hitting coaches during the 2009 season, have strong interest in former Texas Rangers coach Rudy Jaramillo.

Jaramillo's resume stands on its own merits. During his 10-year tenure in Texas, 17 Rangers won Silver Slugger Awards. He gets a lot of the credit for the Rangers being an offensive powerhouse over the last decade.

But my interest in this rumor is deeper than a great hitting coach being available...

Disclaimer: I am an enormous Cubs fan who still spends months dreaming about Opening Day at Wrigley Field. I love the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs have an incredible fan base, one that many teams would give their best player to have at any home game.  No matter the weather or the team's record, over the last 15 years the team has packed the house almost every single day.

But I have a beef with Cubs' Nation.

There are a lot of Cubs fans that love the game of baseball.

Over the coming weeks, there will be a number of tough decisions made on the north side of Chicago. Now that it appears the ownership issue will be settled soon, the business of baseball can begin again.

One decision that needs to be made is regarding free agent pitcher Rich Harden. Harden, who was acquired at the trade deadline in a move that directly countered the Milwaukee Brewers' acquisition of CC Sabathia, might have been the best Cubs starter down the stretch this past season.

News on Tuesday afternoon is that Major League Baseball has approved the sale of the Chicago Cubs to the Ricketts Family.

Much like the 2009 season, a process that took way too long and left a lot to be desired is now finished. The Cubs have a new owner, with a new vision (assuming the Tribune Company ever had a vision), and a new set of expectations for the 101-year loser.

Now that the baseball season is winding to a close and the races are essentially over, it's time to look back and evaluate what went on in 2009.

The Sox were picked to finish in third place by most publications and that is exactly where they are right now. Though they were in the race for the division most of the year, they never built enough momentum to take a lead and fell out of the race in late August.

I'm not unrealistic. I'm not delusional. I know the Cubs aren't going to win anything, other than (if they're lucky) some 15 more meaningless regular-season games, this year.

But I have decided to keep hoping against hope anyway.

The Chicago Cubs will look to salvage a series win Sunday, after missing an opportunity to go up two games to none on division foes the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday at Wrigley Field.

Chicago fell behind 5-0 early, but stormed back to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh inning before closer Carlos Marmol gave up a two-run double to the Reds' Drew Sutton in the top of the ninth. It was the Cubs' first loss in their last five games, and dropped them to 41-28 on the season at home.

I learned a long time ago not to take this game too seriously. I learned that, more times than it will ever reward your faith, this game will break your heart. I learned that when they say you fail seven out of 10 times in this game, they don't just mean hitters. They mean everyone, and everything. And so, naturally, I learned one more thing:

I learned to take more joy from three wins than pain from seven losses.

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