Cubs/D-Backs Game 2

Instead of writing about game two last night, when the column would have been filled with curse words and angry ramblings, I decided to sleep on it and try to write something nicer this morning. Well, it didn’t work, but he are my three thought’s from last night’s 8-4 massacre.

1---Who stole the real Ted Lilly and why the hell did you give us this piece of crap in his place? Because the number thirty who was out there last night was not the same guy who went 15-7 with an ERA under four during the regular season. This new guy couldn’t throw his breaking ball for strikes, hung fastballs right down the plate and did not keep his composure when the team needed him to do so. Did you see him slam his glove after the Chris Young three-run shot in the second inning? First off, why throw that pitch in that situation? You got a base open and a lefty who looked helpless in his first AB coming up next. And second, after the home run, you got to keep your cool. Remember Moises Alou after the Bartman play in ’03? He jumped around and complained like a three-year old who was told ‘No ice cream’ by their parents. If Alou had just gone back to his spot in left field and kept his head in the game, maybe Mark Prior keeps pitching well. Lilly’s glove slam didn’t help calm down a team that was already uptight as it is.

2---When the four runs the team scores in a game are driven in by a rookie catcher and a pinch-hitter, there’s a problem with the offense. And that problem is highlighted by the struggles of Aramis Ramirez. In the two games, Ramirez is a combined 0-9, with four strikeouts and he’s stranded eight men on base. Yes the RBI machine of the team has left eight guys on base. That’s just horrible. I don’t really know what is going on with him, but if the Cubs have any thoughts of a comeback, they need their third baseman to start hitting.

3---I have not given up hope for a comeback, but odds are, the Cubs will be eliminated by the D-Backs. And already, people are calling this a more painful playoff exit than 2003 was. Jay the Joke at the ‘Sun-Times’ said, “Don't tell me about 1969, Leon Durham or the Bartman game. In the perpetual tragicomedy of America's most futile sports team, nothing -- and I mean nothing -- would be more humiliating than to lose a playoff series as pathetically as the Cubs are losing to the Arizona Diamondbacks. To call this a choke job would be an insult to stranglers everywhere.”

Wrong, wrong, and more wrong. In ’69, the Cubs went 8-17 in September and had to watch their rival Mets win the World Series. In ’84, the Cubs held a 2-0 lead over San Diego, only to lose three straight with the help of Durham’s error. And in 2003, the Cubs were five outs from the World Series. Five fricking outs. They had three chances to win a game that would have put them in the Series for the first time since World War II. And they blew it all. Don’t tell me that a first round loss to the team with the best record in the National League is worse than that. I wouldn’t wish a 2003 finish on my worst enemies, it was that bad. To stand in Wrigley Field and watch the Florida Marlins jump up and down on the pitchers mound as champions of the National League was one of the worst sights my eyes have ever seen.



Since I’m not posting for the rest of the weekend, here’s my week five NFL picks (You’ll notice I’ve pretty much given up on the Bears)...

My picks in bold

Atlanta at Tennessee

Miami at Houston

Jacksonville at Kansas City

Arizona at St. Louis

Cleveland at New England

Carolina at New Orleans

New York Jets at New York Giants

Seattle at Pittsburgh

Detroit at Washington

Tampa Bay at Indianapolis

San Diego at Denver

Baltimore at San Francisco

Chicago at Green Bay

Dallas at Buffalo


Last Week: 6-8
Season to Date: 38-28 (58%)