On the night of June 27th, the Cubs were in first place in the NL Central. Things looked promising. They’d just won a wild game against the Braves. Craig Kimbrel had recently joined the fold. It hadn’t been the best month, but first place was theirs, and the All-Star Break was in sight.
But the best part of that day didn’t happen on the field. It happened up in the booth, where, in front of a packed summer crowd, Cookie Monster sang the seventh inning stretch.
It’s time to bring him back.
That day was arguably the high point in the Cubs’ season. They’d just completed an impressive comeback. The rotation was looking good. The bats were doing things. And a lovable furry little puppet was yelling to us all those four magic words: “let’s get some cookies.”
Now, with the Cubs trailing the Cardinals by four and a half in the Central and seemingly in danger of losing out on a wild card spot (which might be a mercy killing, relative to being no-hit by Max Scherzer in the actual wild card game while Anthony Rendon bounces balls off Fidel Castro’s head from Washington), something needs to change. More runs need to be scored by the Cubs. Fewer runs need to be scored by the Cubs’ opponents. The Cardinals need to stop whatever it is they’re doing and become docile again.
Personnel changes are out of the question. Changes in performance are hard to provoke, especially in a unified manner. The Cubs need a complete change of the vibe. Early in the year, it was said that the vibe could not be topped. Now is the time to top it. We need to get some cookies.
I’m sure there’s some story behind Cookie Monster’s visit that I’m missing. I’m guessing the Cubs didn’t look around one day and say, “well, I think Cookie Monster’s the next celebrity on our list.” He was probably on a world tour or something. And while I love Cookie Monster, I don’t follow him closely enough to know if he’s in Sri Lanka and is “unavailable.” But if the Cubs have enough in the bank to pay Brandon Morrow’s medical bills, unavailable is a matter of opinion. And the correct opinion is that they need to send a private jet to wherever in the world Cookie Monster is, bring him to Wrigley Field, and have him ready to sing the seventh inning stretch from the time the Cubs return home Friday until Kyle Schwarber is holding the World Series trophy and smiling like a little kid.
It’s rare that the path to victory is this clear. But here it is. Bring back Cookie Monster, Tom Ricketts. Give him the microphone. Watch your team win its second title in four years.
Let’s get some cookies.
