The Cubs are now in 1st place in the NL Central thanks to a great mid-summer stretch of exciting, well-coached (rare in these parts) baseball. From Sportsline...
The Cubs, who were 8½ games behind on June 23, finally overcame the Milwaukee Brewers -- at least for a day. Chicago's win, coupled with the Mets' 8-5 win at Milwaukee, puts the Cubs a percentage point ahead of the Brewers.
"You can't make too much out of it on the first of August," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "We've got a lot of baseball to play. We can't get caught up in it."
It could all change tomorrow, as I know having lived through 2003, but this has been a fun summer for Cubs fans...especially my son, Elijah. He has gone from watching the occasional game on our limited cable setup to following all of them in real time on Sportsline.com. I've really enjoyed cheering along with him as he comes into my office to give me the latest update on who's on base, who hit the latest homer, which players are on the bench, how much he loves Soriono, and so on. A few days ago we got him a Soriono T-shirt. And yesterday (Wednesday) we followed the latest game on the computer, then listened on the radio for a bit as we sat in the car, then back on the computer again, then to the radio for the finish. Lots of fun with my little athelete.
Go Cubbies! It has been quite a run over the past five weeks; now if they can just avoid wilting in August and fading in September... and to win last night on a wild pitch? Awesome. I do so love baseball.
Posted by: Chris Hubbs | 08/02/2007 at 07:25 AM
A Cubs v. Red Sox World Series would be nice.
I'm not a Cubs fan, but I like them enough to hope they make the Big Dance - as long as it is not at the expense of the Braves.
Posted by: Bulldawgy | 08/02/2007 at 08:13 AM
Good things happen when Dusty Baker leaves town (and that's coming a Giants fan)!
Posted by: Danny Slavich | 08/02/2007 at 09:31 AM
GO CUBS!
I will abandon my Cubs the second my Rockies make a run, but that probably won't happen this year, so GO CUBS! Please don't break our hearts.
Posted by: Hosh | 08/02/2007 at 09:42 AM
Amen, Steve!
Gen. 49:9
Posted by: IndyChristian | 08/02/2007 at 01:09 PM
"As cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a far country." Pr. 25:25
That news is the highlight of my day here in Boston! (Which, from a Midwesterner's point of view, is pretty foreign sometimes) :-)
Posted by: Carolyn | 08/02/2007 at 01:29 PM
Steve - While I have no confidence in the ability of this year's version of the Cubs to pull through, they are making it fun. The 5-4 win on Wednesday was fun to watch - first game that felt like a playoff game during the regular season since the Cardinals series in September 2003.
And amen to Danny's comment about Dusty Baker. I know he's created in the image of God but that man earned more than a few imprecatory prayers as our manager.
Posted by: Matt Adair | 08/02/2007 at 11:57 PM
Enjoy it while it lasts. We had our manager-catcher fight last night (and we'll get Sheets back eventually), so look for the Brewers to return to first.
Posted by: Christian | 08/03/2007 at 02:40 PM