Kerry Wood

There are a number of trends in baseball that I'd love to see die; puka necklaces, the overuse of the phrase "going yard", and shaving cream pies come to mind. At the top of the list, however, is the goatee. Into the 1980s, the mustache dominated baseball facial hair. Amazing hair patterns graced the upper lips of players such as Rollie Fingers, Catfish Hunter, and Goose Gossage, just to name a few. Popularized by the likes of actors Burt Reynolds, Charles Bronson, and Chuck Norris, the "stache made players look heroic, if not a bit villainous.

At least one unprecedented Cubs streak will end this year.

Chicago will likely finish this season second or third in the National League in strikeouts. That means that, barring an unforeseen rash of strikeouts by what will be predominantly inexperienced pitchers down the stretch, someone other than the North Siders will finish atop the NL strikeout team leaderboard for the first time since 2001.

The Cubs cause a lot of pain. Unless you're a true Cubs fan, you have no idea. 101 years is a long time to wait for a championship.

A lot of people ask me, "Why do you invest so much into a team that produces so little?" That is a great question. I finally sat down to think of why.

Here are the reasons:

Because we play two.

Because we had Ernie, Ronny, Billy, Fergie, and Phil all on one team.

Because we experienced the magical summer of 1969.

Because we call 1969 magical even though we choked in August.

Reporters are still reeling from the chaos that ensued in the visiting manager's office at Wrigley Field Saturday.

Indians skipper Eric Wedge was attempting to field questions about Kerry Wood's second blown save in as many days against his former team when he was overwhelmed by the Guns N' Roses song "Welcome to the Jungle," also Wood's entrance music at Progressive Field.

It was a busy off season for Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry to say the least.

He brought in many new faces, most notably Aaron Heilman, Aaron Miles, and Milton Bradley.

He also showed the door to several prominent members of the Cubs organization.  And no, I'm not referring to Jason Marquis.

Kerry Wood, once revered to as "Kid-K", was allowed to sign as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians, while Mark DeRosa was traded to, oddly enough, the Indians.

Being only 20 years old, I was all of one in 1989 when the Cubs made the playoffs, so for me 1998 was my first taste of postseason baseball as a Cubs fan.

The 1998 season was quite a season for the North Siders, and it all culminated in a one game playoff with the San Francisco Giants.

As I watched Steve Trachsel pitch the game of his life and saw the Cubs punch their ticket to the playoffs, it was then that I knew I would be a Cubs fan for the rest of my life.

So here is a look back at what I'm sure will be fond memories to the first Cubs playoff team of my generation.