The real story

Since I last posted not much has happened, but I’ll run it down for you anyways

-Team USA got embarrassed on the soccer field, losing to the Czech’s three-nil. Like we didn’t see that coming.

-Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Jason Grimsley got caught for using Human Growth Hormones. His career 4.77 ERA is a great example of why you shouldn’t use steroids.

-Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger crashed his motorcycle in downtown Pittsburgh, and since he wasn’t wearing a helmet, suffered severe injuries. Looks like I’ve figured out who I’m not picking in my fantasy football draft.

-Wait, I think Shaq just missed another free throw while giving another one of those ‘What am I doing here’ looks.

-The Chicago Rush are Arena League Champs!!!

-The French Open ended and the Stanley Cup began. As far as I can tell, nobody cares about either.

But the big news of the weekend didn’t take place on the clay courts of Paris, the grass fields of Germany or the hard wood in Dallas. It has nothing to do with being busted by the feds or busting your jaw on a windshield.

No, the top story of the weekend occurred on a dirt field in Cincinnati, Ohio. It involved a couple of guys with the same first name and the rebirth of a once-dead squad.

Check the MLB standings today and you’ll see something spectacular when you finally scroll down to the NL Central. Yeah, the Cardinals are still in first, the Pirates are still in last, and the Cubs are still 11 games back. But check the streak column. It reads Chicago- Won 3.

Why don’t the Cubs have a website? Because they can’t string three W’s together.

Throw the joke out the window along with the US’ World Cup chances and the Miami Heat championship T-shirts. You can’t say it anymore. Why? Because for the first time in a span of 38 games (since April 25), the Cubs are back-to-back-to-back winners like the Bulls in the ‘90s.

Does the credit go to skipper Dusty Baker? Part of it, but I’ve always said manager’s/coaches get too much credit for wins, too much blame for losses. Do we give props to the offense, which is finally producing? Somewhat, but when you’re facing the likes of Eric Milton and Elizardo Ramírez, runs shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Closer Ryan Dempster surely gets our praise, right? He was so bad on Friday night that I practically had given up, almost positive that the Cubs were going to blow it. So who do we give our Cubbie blue love too? The Carlos’.

On Saturday, Carlos Zambrano went seven and two-thirds innings, allowing only four hits and one run. Of course this was three more hits and one more run then Big Z allowed in his start before that, but we’ll take it. Michael Barrett, who for some reason has the longest and most complicated appeal in Major League history and is still playing, hit a grand slam, his second of ’06, and the Cubs won 4-2


The next day, Big Carlos(R) was one-upped by Little Carlos(L). Carlos Marmol, a former catcher who was called from Double-A up only because Scott Williamson was overworked by Dusty, got his first start and showed he could be sticking around the big league club for a while. Marmol went six strong innings, giving up only two measly hits and one tiny run while striking out seven. He became the fifth pitcher to make their major league debut this year for the Cubbies, and he was by far the best.

This all occurred after Greg Maddux’s victory on Friday, which was helped by the three R’sBI by backup catcher Hank White and Reds outfielder Austin Kearns loosing a fly ball in the lights. That allowed two runs to score, and considering Dempster wanted to give every Cub fan a panic attack with his ninth inning performance, those two extra runs were needed.

Three wins in a row. A 6-4 road-trip against the three top teams in our division. And what a historic trip it was. In St. Louis, the Cubs were there when Albert Puljos strained his lower back, removing him from the game and from the playing field for the next month or so. In H-Town, Zambrano almost threw a no-hitter, and then two days later, Chris Sampson won his first career game for the Astros. Then in Cinci, Maddux got career win 325, moving past Nolan Ryan and Don Sutton for 13th on the career wins list. On that same day, Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Jr.'s hit his 547th career homerun, putting him one behind Mike Schmidt for 11th all time.

But the real newsworthy item of the Cubs time away from Wrigley isn’t home runs or back injuries. It’s the Carlos’. Big Z and Little C. Both have overpowering fastballs, knee-buckling breaking balls, and a strong amount of self-confidence. Both can control the game from the hill, setting up hitters, forcing ground balls. And both can handle the bat.

Big Z and little C. More important then an injured Super Bowl star or a cheating relief pitcher. More exciting then the World Cup and the Stanley Cup. Why? Because on a team as bad as Shaq at the free throw line, any glimpse of hope is important. Plus, now those silly White Sox fans can’t tell that joke anymore.