Despite the failure of the Chicago Cubs to make it to the World Series, the Chicago Tribune has rushed out a book about the club's season, which ended in a heartbreaking loss to the Florida Marlins. The paradoxically named Triumph Books will distribute the title.
Called Out of the Blue, it will contain photos and stories from the Tribune about the dramatic season. The newspaper, which is owned by the same company that owns the Cubs, no longer has a publishing program, but will use contacts from its advertising department to sell into stores like Marshall Field's and Nordstrom's, as well as bookstores. While publishers generally wait until a team wins a World Series—or at least reaches one—before putting out a celebratory book, the Tribune says it's not worried about bitterness getting in the way of sales. "If you saw the broadcast the last night and how people just stayed in the stadium because they didn't want to leave, you'd see there was no reason to worry," said spokeswoman Patti Wetli. The paper is planning an eye-catching 180,000 copies, one for every person who has vowed revenge on the interfering fan.
