OK, so that Wood/Maddux looks like it becomes Tavarez/Maddux. Ugh.
I’m just idly chatting about baseball in general.
Isn’t it cool when a team your rooting for goes into the bottom of the eighth tied 1-1 and comes out of it leading 5-1?
Another dramatic Cubs win. This team sure has a lot of drama.
On another note: You crazy Astros, start losing and let our guys back into first! (They’re 11-2 in their last 13 games, its amazing that the Cubs are even this close with that streak.)
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays lost at home to Seattle last night and became the first team of 2001 to be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. I know that most of you thought that they were eliminated a long time ago, but now it is a fact.
The Pirates will probably be eliminated by the end of the weekend.
The Pirates and Orioles have both been eliminated from the playoffs, and the Mariners have clinched a playoff berth. The Royals and Reds will probably be the next two teams to have their dreams die.
I can’t not talk about the Cubs any more. They are playing great of late and staying close to the Astros while the Astros are in the midst of a three weeks of crappy opponents. However, the Astros free ride ends Sunday. Starting next Tuesday they play 19 straight games (the last 19 of the season) against teams with a reason to play. The Cubs can probably gain 5 or 6 games on the Astros over this 19 game period. I can’t believe the Astros fell right into our trap.
[sub]Lance Turbo is feeling pretty bold because Jon Lieber is pitching tonight.[/sub]
Ah geeze, it must have been that little bit of text that you wrote. I mean, how can it be that Lieber loses his first decision in months the same day that you mention his name? Coincidence? I think not. Doesn’t help that that Marlins pitcher was really pretty good.
On the bright side (and there generally is one) Rondell White hasn’t lost a step since getting off the DL, having him in the lineup greatly increases the offensive capabilities of this Cubs team (though it didn’t show today). I sure am sick of those Astros thinking they can go around winning all the time.
Well, the Cubs are stinking it up of late (and pretty mediocre not so of late). 4 straight losses. Each one bringing the Cubs closer to falling out of contention. I mean, they’re pretty much out of the division race and have some good teams to fight in the wild card (though they’re only a game out there). To put things in perspective, the Cubs are three games under .500 since the All-Star break. In that same span, the Astros are much better than that (since i don’t have the numbers and don’t want to look them up).
As a Cards fan, I’d hate to admit this, but the Cards and Astros have 6 games left to play against each other this month. If we take turns beating up on each other, the Cubs can sneak their way up the ladder again before the month’s out.
I’d like to believe you but this involves winning games first. And not losing games when the Astros win (which is really hard considering the Astros pitching staff has one of the best ERAs since the All Star Break which more than makes up for the decreased production from the lineup).
Well, the Cubs did it. And by did it, I mean they blew it. They have officially been eliminated from the playoff race. It was a good year, a great year, in fact but in the end, you can’t help but feel a little empty. But enough of the negative, here’s some things we have to look forward to next season.
The pitching staff is full of great options. Many of them are young, they all throw hard, and they’re all pretty good.
The offense should definitely be more stable and consistent. (Look at how many games early this season could have been won by one or two hits in a spot after Sosa walked. The Cubs would be at 90 wins already for sure.)
One can only expect the Cubs to get into the playoffs next year if they can perform near how they performed this year. I see good things. Plus, I never lived through the decades of mediocrity so I don’t have the past to crush my hopes.
As soon as the the World Series ends, look for my new MPSIMS thread entitled, “The Cubs Magic Number is 163!”
Lieber wins 20. One more interesting thing I missed mentioned. Oh yeah, and some Sosa fellow I’ve never heard of hit his 61st HR. A few more RBIs and he’ll have a new career high.