Customer Reviews

Wrigley Blues: The Year the Cubs Played Hardball with the Curse (But Lost Anyway)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
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Hi all; I'm the Executive Director of the Old Timers' Baseball Association of Chicago as well as a board member of our local library and the guy who worked down the hall from BASEBALL DIGEST and INSIDE SPORTS; I kinda see a lot of this stuff. When it rocks, ya gotta share it.

BLUES is Chicago all-over perfection. If we have to keep suffering, you might as well throw it back at us in a great paperback and laugh. Wagner delivers. Well recommended!

As a loyal life-long cubs fan who loves reading about his favorite team I have to say I was mildly disappointed in this book. The author did a good job in recreating the games but I felt that he lacked real access to the team. The quotes used in the book were all out of the newspaper or the internet. I wanted more substance. More behind the scenes stuff. There was plenty of drama off the field last year and it just seemed like the author glossed over it all. There were a few well written profiles included in the book. My favorite was about an elderly female fan who really loved the cubbies and went to as many games as she could despite her various maladies. I think Mr. Wagner made a bold choice in writing the book as the season unfolded as opposed to writing the book when the season was over. I just wish there had a been a happier ending.

I love baseball, but I've never been a huge follower of the Cubs. Still, a friend recommended this book to me, and I found it to be a real page-turner. I knew how it was going to end -- every Cubs season ends the same way -- but it was a fun read. Mr. Wagner did a great job of capturing the comedy and absurdity of the Cubs and their fans. I particularly liked his historical tidbits, such as his description of Wrigley Field. This is everything a sports book should be -- it's light, humorous and entertaining. The Cubs may never win, but at least Mr. Wagner produced a winning book about them.

THIS IS A STORY ABOUT THE DISAPPOINTING SEASON FOR THE CUBS OF 2004. THEY HAD HIGH HOPES THAT WERE CRUSHED AS USUSAL FOR THEIR FANS. THE TEAM WAS ON THE THRESHOLD OF GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES THE PREVIOUS SEASON, AND AS USUAL THEY BLEW IT. THE YEAR OF THE CUB WAS TO BE 2004. BUT AS YOU READ THIS BOOK, THE TEAM IS HIT WITH MANY INJURIES, A BAD BULLPEN, AND INCONSISTENCY. YET THEY STILL WON 89 GAMES AND WERE IN WILDCARD RACE GOING INTO THE LAST FEW GAMES OF THE SEASON. THE AUTHOR DOES A GREAT JOB DESCRIBING IN DETAIL WHAT TOOK PLACE AND WHY. I REALLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK AND SUGGEST IT FOR ALL BASEBALL FANS. WILL THE CUBS EVER MAKE IT THE WORLD SERIES? I CERTAINLY HOPE SO.

This book rocks. Willis Wegner watched the Cubs for a whole season and managed to tell a sane, hilarious story about what could have been. God I'm tired of the "loveable Cubbies" books. This one looks a bunch of bums square in the face and calls them out. Between now and the eventual Cubs world champion (circa 2038), this is the defining Cubs book you need to read. Bye?