I’ve already posted about the 40th anniversary of the 1984 Cubs and the significance that the team had on the city and me personally. I omitted discussing the loss to the Padres and how badly the 85-team stunk because that still cuts too deeply.

The Cubs have wisely combined the 84 celebration with the Ryne Sandberg statue unveiling and a mini-1989 gathering. Several of Ryno’s teammates will be in town for Sunday night’s game with the Mets-which happens to be on the 40th anniversary of the “Sandberg Game.”

Only a handful of players on the 1989 NL East division leaders were holdovers from the ’84 team. In fact, the two teams were quite different starting with the managers, Jim Frey and Don Zimmer. The latter’s squad, the Boys of Zimmer were young and fresh and surprised everyone. That so many players from both eras are returning to support Ryno as he’s being honored and is fighting cancer is a testament to team.

Like 36,000+ folks, I was at that Saturday afternoon game against the Cardinals. I look forward to seeing the Cubs defeat the Mets in a laugher, a game that doesn’t tax a shoddy bullpen.