Memo to Chicago Cubs management:

Those who don’t heed the past are destined — check that, doomed — to repeat it.

Ronald Reagan was elected to a second-term, and look what came of it: A farm crisis that rendered family farmers helpless at the hands of bankers.

Fashion and hair that can only be described as “Huh, what were we thinking?”

Speaking of hair, the ’80s also gave us the talentless hacks that were hair bands.

History has repeated itself in the world of entertainment, as well. Chumbawamba released its second cd.

What? You didn’t know? Enough said.

Not only was “Home Alone 2” made, but to stick with the plot of the first “blockbuster,” the poor mother, in her haste, forgot about Kevin and let him roam the streets of New York.

(Or at least that’s what I think happened. I don’t watch such cookie-cutter “magic.”)

These examples are presented to demonstrate how prophetic old-country sayings can be.

Please Cubs brass, take a look at what has happened since “The Beginning of Darkness,” as Chicago Tribune man Mike Royko called it, ensued. (This would be 1945, a year the Cubs went without a World Series appearance. The darkness has yet to lift.)

In the ’60s, a young ballplayer came up through the Cubs farm system with a bright future. Surely you remember Lou Brock.

He’s the man who held the stolen base record until Ricky Henderson dethroned him, the one who had a bright future that carried over into a great career with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Chicago traded him after two seasons for players who were soon forgotten.

The Cubs, whose teams have never been known for their swiftness of feet, could have used a guy on the base paths who held records for his speed.

And then there was Greg Maddux (I’m near tears when thinking about what could have been here) who was the Cubs’ ace pitcher.

That is until management sent him to Atlanta for a dentist and a furniture mover.

Now Maddux has enough Cy Young awards to rename it in his honor.

Since “The Beginning of Darkness,” Cubs pitching has been their collective downfall year in and year out.

And now you guys are at it again. Sammy Sosa, the man who two seasons ago hit 66 home runs, breaking the single-season home run mark, all the while leading Chicago to its first postseason appearance in 10 years, is the focal point of a trade that could go down with the New York Yankees.

God help us all if someone in the Cubs’ office ever decides to run for president.

Some people are blaming manager Don Baylor for the potential trade.

The fact is, rumors had been circulating about Sosa, and Baylor was merely asked what he thinks about it. The clipper did say he would trade Sosa if it helped the team. Baylor is an accomplice here, not the culprit.

Baylor cited Sosa’s less-than -ample-fielding abilities in right field as justification for a deal.

But what would Donny boy know about defense?

He came here from Colorado, where defense is as scarce as a prairie in Denver.

Baylor said to a Rockies reliever holding on to a lead: “Now, we have a 17-run lead, don’t let them get back on top.

I don’t want to rely on four homers in the bottom of the ninth to win again.”

Outside of Sosa, there is no real home-run threat in Chicago.

Glenallen Hill did put a ball onto the roof of the apartment complex across the street, some 500 feet away, in May.

But he doesn’t have near the consistency of the fun-loving Puerto Rican when it comes to trots around the basepaths.

Hill could be molded into a long ball threat, much the same way Sosa was, but he is a free agent this fall and will most likely be traded.

If Sosa is traded, the result could be a snowball effect into more abysmal play for Chicago.

With Sosa and Hill gone, the aging Mark Grace might decide to hang up the cleats and not face the 2001 season.

If all three of these things happen, flame-thrower Kerry Wood may wonder if all that rehab on his torn elbow was necessary.

Wood may be faced with having to throw a near flawless game every outing — the run support could be just that low.

If he’s not happy, Cubs fans could be having a recurring nightmare of the latest great pitcher to leave.

If Sosa leaves, the forever faithful Cubs fans would be reduced to two reasons to come to Wrigley: to get drunk and to occasionally pick on the Dodgers.

Sosa is obviously a fan favorite, and with the now-stringent consumption regulations and the Dodgers not coming back until August, Cubs fans might become bored, maybe even upset, at the mediocre club.

If Sosa leaves Wrigley, so too might the fans.

Please, management, hear the plea of a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan.

Don’t trade him, no matter what kind of amazing talent you get in return.

Believe me, it won’t pan out. And if you do trade him, you better drop the beer policy, because people are going to want to forget why they still come to Wrigley.

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Paul Kix is a junior in journalism from Hubbard.