Reading too much into the new Cubs Convention commercial on Marquee

Cubs Convention is back – as we saw between every inning this weekend on Marquee. The event was dramatically teased with images and videos showing Cubs players signing autographs for fans. Brilliant visual marketing for a team already hoping to sell fans on a more competitive 2023, especially since there have been more empty green seats than Cubbie blue autumn outerwear of late in the seats at Wrigley Field.

I found, and when asking my wife this morning, she noted the same. Who were the players featured? Nico Hoerner is an obvious choice. Seiya Suzuki is as well. The third? Patrick Wisdom. I found his inclusion interesting, as well as who was not shown.

Willson Contreras was not one of the players, which is hardly a surprise. It seems to be a foregone conclusion the Cubs are going in a different direction next year and on Sunday he made his umpteenth farewell to fans. Who else was not there? Where was Ian Happ? He has another year left before free agency, and is coming off, by far, his most consistent season. We didn’t see the usual peaks and valleys of his previous seasons where one month he looks like Ted Williams and the next month you wonder if he has minor league options left.

Perhaps I’m just reading too much into this, but it seems the Cubs marketing department wouldn’t haphazardly take three players without a little checking. What do you think?

Cubs: What’s not to love about a little Bruce Springsteen mention?

I have tried not to refer too often on Cubbies Crib that I am a huge fan of Bruce Springsteen and the E Steet Band, not relevant. This television commercial, however, inspired me to add a plug that, hopefully, you find at least semi-interesting.

If you are even a causal fan of “The Boss” you know the song ‘Jungleland’. It’s nine and a half minutes on the album, and often longer live with an amazing sax solo by the late, great Clarence Clemons, a man of Franmil Reyes physique. His shortest may be ‘Held Up Without A Gun’, the B side of 1980’s Hungry Heart. This piece is my ‘Held Up Without a Gun’.