Cub Road Woes Over as they Sweep Braves
You know that the Cubs have had a bad century when they do something mildly impressive and Len Kasper says "that's the first time the Cubs have done that since 1945." Eight road wins in a row yielded that faint praise. They also swept the season series from the Braves for the first time ever, which also doesn't sound all that impressive considering the teams have been matching up for 100 years; but apparently it is. Strong work.
Not much analysis needs to go into this series as the Cubs simply pounded the crap out of the ball and got some pretty good pitching. Howry still sucks, Aramis bruised his hip, and Soriano showboated his way to a face-high fastball; but that's really the only thing that went wrong for the Cubs. So much went right that I can't even list it all.
The Marlins are up next, and this series should be decidedly tougher. They've got great young pitching and a nice collection of some of the best young hitters in the majors. Did I ever mention that I hate the Marlins? Not the players themselves, as its pretty hard to hate a dynamic young talent like Hanley Ramirez. No, I hate their organization, their extreme lack of fans, their owners, and their stadium. I also, of course, hate how they beat the Cubs in the 2003 NLCS but I especially hate the fact that they've won two World Series in the last eleven years. For an expansion team (with virtually no fan support) that seemingly only tries to win once every five years to win two titles while its been a hundred years of anguish for the millions of Cubs fans is simply ridiculous. Sure, the Marlins have been rewarded for their "smart baseball management," but that doesn't mean I have to care. When they win, its like that old line about "the tree falling in the forest". Did anybody notice you won those trophies? No. So there.
Petulant rant over.
Nice to see that the Brewers lost today. I've been anxiously awaiting their collapse since the Cubs swept them and Fielder smacked Parra around in the dugout. That, of course, didn't happen to the tune of eight wins in a row. Luckily the Cubs have kept pace. At this point, winning the division doesn't seem quite as necessary because its looking more and more like the Wild Card will come out of the Central. Still, I want to win it. Don't want sneak in and win a World Series like the Marlins.
Check that. I don't care how the Cubs get in. Winning the division would be nice, but the World Series is all that matters. Stay the course. Win it all.
Till next time...