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Is Today the Day?
The day that will forever be branded into our memories like a Rick Sutcliffe fastball blown by a helpless Joe Orsulak - followed by a leaping Jim Frey as he rushed onto the field tucking his cap into those classic 1984 away pullover jerseys. Maybe it'll be like 1989, with the tying run less than 90 feet away, the Wild Thing saves the day yet again in dramatic fashion versus an overmatched Mike Fitzgerald.
And while the play-in game in 1998 was tense enough, there stands a good chance that if we do clinch tonight it'll be similar to waiting around for Neifi Perez to beat the Giants in game 162 rather than a glorious Cubs victory being the defining moment.
And the last 3 games for the Northsiders were certainly an unfortunate bump in what will hopefully be an ever-growing road to the promised land, but the Cubs played 156 games before the Marlins series that put them in the position to sustain a pothole or two. And the Cubs might just back into a Central crown or they may win the next 3 games by a combined score of 35-3, just as long as they're playing on Wednesday.
Random ranting after the jump....
- For the most part I think Lou has done a bang-up job as manager this year and I do my best not to get too nit-picky about each and every decision. The job of a manager is a series of scenarios where the majority of decisions are choosing between heads or tails and then being roasted for choosing heads although it was clear to the thousand of armchair managers that tails was going to win out this time. It takes a long history of buffoonery before I get too uptight about the manager but yesterday's decision to start Steve Trachsel has got me riled up. Rich Hill had pitched Saturday and could have easily gone on his normal 4 days rest, instead he's being pushed back until Saturday. For a manager who has managed all season like there's no tomorrow and that one win now means one less win needed later, the decision is essentially mind-boggling. You throw your best available pitcher and worry about Saturday when Saturday arrives. We very well could have clinched by that point making a Tracshel or Marshall start utterly meaningless.
- You think the Cubs were bad the last 3 games, how about 5 errors in possibly the most crucial game of the year? On top of that, one of the guys you traded away to help fix your bullpen mess, gets your best hitter out representing the winning run at the time, while your bullpen continues to be a mess. And your manager was suspended for a possible bean-ball Code Red the day before? We might have Cubbery, what would you call the Brewers the last few days? (I guess Brewery)
- For those worried about the Cubs "backing into the playoffs", let's not forget the 2005 White Sox and 2006 Cardinals. Just get to the dance and see what happens. The Cubs still hold one of the best records in the majors since June 1st(61-46) with only the Yankees, Rockies and Phils I believe doing any better. Yes, it's pretty much an arbitrary cutoff, but it does indicate some good baseball over a sustained period of time.
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