He had too much information to fit into that article so he used the leftovers to craft a colum for yesterday.
Holland is a member of the Brotherhood of Long-Suffering Cub Fans. Fox was a member of the 2003 World Series Champion Florida Marlins.
The Marlins that beat the Cubs inthe 2003 National League Championship Series. The Cubs that were up 3-1 in that series. The Cubs that lost Game Five at Florida. The Cubs that had Prior and Wood throwing in Game Six and a potential Game Seven. The Cubs that led Game Six and had five outs to get for their first World Series since 1945. The Cubs that totally fell apart after Steve Ba....Oh, God, I can't write about it anymore.
Fox remembers is like this:
“Talk about a memory,” Fox told me. “You talk about an unbelievable sight. Not only after game six (the Steve Bartman game) where there’s people crying in the stands (as the Marlins were) walking off that field. After game seven, I mean, it was unreal. You would not believe the people… literally devastated.”
I told him I wanted to call in sick to work the next day. I sucked it up and punched in and the editors had me call other Cubs fans to write a story about how miserable we all felt. Best assignment ever.
“We were celebrating, walking off,” Fox said. “That’s a pretty loud place. That place has got some energy to it, got some atmosphere. It was like a funeral. To be able to silence a place like that…”
Well, that’s enough of that, don’t you think?
Yes, I think that is more than enough. Make it stop. Please.
Fox grew up a Giants fan (The Giants that beat the Cubs in the 1989 NLCS. The Cubs that couldn't get Will Clark out. The Cubs that...Oh, the heck with it) and got to play with a couple of his favorite players.
As a student, Fox looked up to Giants third baseman Matt Williams, only to end up with a locker next to the slugger in the Arizona Diamondbacks clubhouse.
He also enjoyed watching Giants outfielder Mike Aldrete, ended up playing with him on the Yankees and invited him to be in his wedding.
If he’s around long enough, he may manage the children of guys he played with.
Fox thinks that Clinton is a perfect place to get future Ranges ready for the next level:
“With the facility the way it is, you couldn’t ask for a better place to play baseball. The No. 1 thing you’re here to do is work. … We’ve got everything we need to get better as a team and players. … The town is perfect for what we need to get done.”
Fox should have seen it for the last seven years.
Holland also spoke with Peoria Manager Jody Davis and comes off as a bit more of a fanboy than I was when I met Davis Opening Weekend at Fox Cities Stadium.
I also got the chance to meet Peoria (Ill.) Chiefs Manager Jody Davis, who was my first favorite Cub. I cried the day he got traded to Atlanta to make room for top draft choice Damon Berryhill. As I told him last week, after he got traded I decided to follow future Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg.
All I could think when I met Davis was "Ohmigodit's Jody Davis. Ohmigodit's Jody Davis. Ohmigodit's Jody Davis."
Yeah, he's a bit more professional.
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