Doug Glanville will be rooting for the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Wednesday — just like he did five years ago, except this time his cheers will come from the stands.
Glanville played outfield for the 2003 Cubs team that made it to the National League Championship series before losing Game 7 to the Florida Marlins.
This time around, Glanville said he thinks the Cubs are going to do “very well” in the playoffs because the team has a young energy, pitching depth and last year’s experience in postseason play.
“Maybe that experience can be a tremendous advantage,” said Glanville, 38, who now lives in Bucktown, runs a home-building business in the suburbs and writes a guest baseball column for The New York Times. “This team to me seems like they’re really well-rounded.”
The 2003 team experienced a few player moves toward the end of their season that forced veterans to “put their ego in their back pocket,” Glanville told RedEye. Five years ago, the Cubs “came out of nowhere” and exploded into the postseason for the first time in many years, so expectations probably weren’t very high, Glanville said.
This year, though, Cubs fans are likely aiming higher after they got a taste of the playoffs last year, Glanville said.
He lauded the support of Cubs fans, who, he said, have a “positive energy.” Wrigley Field also is the “best place to play.”
At Wrigley on Wednesday, he’ll be cheering on his former team, especially ex-teammate Kerry Wood, who still sends Glanville Christmas cards. He’s just hoping for a better outcome than five years ago — even if he has to experience it off the field.
“I’m rooting for them to get a world championship. We were so close in ’03 and it was really hard to let that go,” Glanville said. tswartz@tribune.com
NL DIVISION SERIES
CUBS vs. L.A.
all games on TBS
Game 1, Wed.: L.A. (Lowe 14-11) at CUBS (Dempster 17-6), 5:37 p.m.
Game 2, Thu.: L.A. (Billingsley 16-10) at CUBS (Zambrano 14-6), 8:37 p.m.
Game 3, Sat.: CUBS (Harden 5-1) at L.A. (Kuroda 9-10), 9:07 p.m.
Game 4, Sun.: CUBS at Los Angeles, TBA*
Game 5, Tue: L.A. at CUBS, TBA*
