Constable: A different world when Cubs last lost an Arrieta game
You can forgive us Cubs fans for not knowing how to react after the Cubs finally lost a game started by ace pitcher Jake Arrieta. While Arrieta didn't give up a run and didn't figure in a decision, the Cubs' bullpen did, and the Cubs lost 5-0 Tuesday night to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The last time the Cubs lost a game when Arrieta took the mound - July 25, 2015 - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was pouring his dissenting opinion into the landmark case that legalized same-sex marriage. Liberals worried that the conservative Scalia might dominate the judicial branch for years, especially once aging Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg left the bench.
The entertainment world was full of life. The genius David Bowie reportedly was working on a new album, his 25th, called "Blackstar." Beloved actor Alan Rickman was voicing the character of the caterpillar, Absolem, in the "Alice Through the Looking Glass" movie due out in 2016. Prince had announced a new concert tour for 2016. Morley Safer was still doing his reports for "60 Minutes." Any TV talk show would have been happy to book Glenn Frey, Abe Vigoda, Harper Lee, Frank Sinatra Jr., Phife Dawg, Patty Duke, Merle Haggard, Maureen O'Hara, Yogi Berra, Wes Craven, Frank Gifford and Rowdy Roddy Piper.
The movie "Ant-Man" was the top box office draw in the country. Gas was selling for $2.75 a gallon. The national unemployment rate was 5.3 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average was 17,568.
The Chicago sports scene was a mixed bag. The Blackhawks were parading around with the Stanley Cup, having beaten the Tampa Bay Lightning 4 games to 2. Golden State and Steph Curry were celebrating their NBA championship over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. But the Bulls, who lost to Cleveland and James in the Eastern Conference semifinals, had just fired coach Tom Thibodeau. New coach Fred Hoiberg was seen as the man who could get the Bulls past the Cavaliers in the playoffs. The Bears, simply looking to return to the playoffs, were just about to start training camp under new coach John Fox.
The White Sox were floundering in fourth place, and manager Robin Ventura was in danger of being fired. The Cubs were 11½ games behind the Cardinals and 4½ games behind the Pirates, but fans still were hoping that the Cubs could catch the San Francisco Giants for the final postseason wild card spot.
Ben Zobrist was proving to be a valuable backup player for the Kansas City Royals, even if St. Louis pitcher John Lackey had just tossed another gem to beat the Royals, lowering his ERA to 2.88 and improving his record to 9-5.
Lackey was getting plenty of help from new outfielder Jason Heyward, who was winning over Cardinals fans with his great fielding and steady hitting.
But the biggest stories on the day the Cubs last lost a game started by Arrieta involved politics. Unable to accept the budget new Gov. Bruce Rauner had proposed months earlier, the Illinois Legislature had gone more than three weeks without a spending plan. Skeptics predicted that the impasse could last for weeks.
Nationally, the presidential race was beginning to come into focus. Political commentators assumed Hillary Clinton had the Democratic nomination wrapped up, but pesky Bernie Sanders was about to emerge from the pack of challengers by inching from 15 percent to 19 percent in polls. Meanwhile, pundits predicted the Republican candidate Donald Trump, who had been giving Jeb Bush a run for his money, was primed for a poll fall after his comments mocking Vietnam veteran and Sen. John McCain's prisoner of war status. That likely Trump plummet could open the door for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, some commentators suggested.
Just imagine how our world might change by the time when (or if) Arrieta actually loses a game for the Cubs.