Cubs Win, Cubs Win, Cubs Win!

The Cubs found the win column yesterday, although it started pretty scary. The first two Milwalkee batters reached and found their way to second and third with no one out. Dempster in his first start since early 2005 found himself in trouble right off of the bat. He got a fly ball from Fielder to Kosuke, and I thought we were going to get to see his amazing arm.

He got the ball in quickly, but not quickly enough as right before the ball reached Soto (the catcher) Richie Weeks slammed into him, taking him to the ground. The ball went right through the spot that Soto had just been inhabiting and Weeks scored. As the ball was bounding around behind home plate, Tony Gwinn Jr. came around to score as well.

It was a clean play, just good baseball, but I don't like how Kosuke got charged with an error. His throw was perfect and if Soto didn't get taken down like a practice dummy at a self defense class, Weeks would have been out.

Oh well, it turned out not to matter as the Cubs found their bats thanks in part to a flip at the top of the lineup. Soriano moved back into the one hole, Theriot (or The Riot) moved back into the two spot and both got their first productive days at the plate.

Dempster (that first inning notwithstanding) was very good, and Kerry Wood notched his first career save. There will be many more where that came from K Dub.

A great game, but we can't dwell on it too long, cause the Astros are coming to town.

Once again a 1:20pm start at Wrigley which you can watch in Texas on Fox Sports Houston (probably in your sports Alternate channels if you're in the Metroplex) or in Chicago on Comcast, or on MLB.TV (as always).

Other games I watched in part yesterday...

WAS 7 PHI 8 F 10

Washington started out looking to stay undefeated by scoring 5 runs in the first. Unfortunatly they gave up 6 runs in the sixth. The team that had been getting the walk off runs lost on a walk with the basesloaded. A walk walk off, if you will.

HOU 2 SD 3 F

Shawn Chacon pitched far better then I thought he would and might have gotten the win if there had been any offense, but apparently the Stros used it all up yesterday. Trevor Hoffman makes up for the blown save yesterday by putting the Astros away in order in the 9th for his second save on the season.

Other games yesterday...

CWS 2 CLE 1 F

KC 4 DET 1 F

LAA 5 MIN 4 F

TOR 2 NYY 3 F

ARI 2 CIN 3 F

COL 0 STL 3 F

PIT 4 ATL 3 F

Today's Games

Okay, a story that's been circulating lately that we should probably talk about,

Moises Alou says, "I wouldn't have caught it anyway."

Does this mean all should be forgiven?

Look, I've always said that it wasn't fully the fault of The Fan Who Shall Not Be Named. If Alex Gonzales (whose name we will mention and then boo loudly at) makes the next play, all is forgotten and forgiven. No big deal.

But that didn't happen, and it is partly because of the play that Moises didn't make.

If everyone gets out of the way and Alou doesn't catch the ball, then it's not a big deal. Foul balls go into the stands and aren't caught by the fielders all of the time.

However, it looked like Alou was going to make this play (or at least might) and then a fan grabs it and erases any chance for Alou to make the play.

Whether or not Alou could have made the catch isn't really what is at issue. The issue is how the team and that entire stadium reacted after he didn't.

A sense of inevitability was felt throughout the stadium, only something completely unforeseen could derail the Cubbies now.

Then that play happened and every player and everybody in that stadium began to feel doubt. Alou was going to catch that and a fan, one of OUR fans got in his way. This can't be good.

If everyone gets out of the way and Alou doesn't catch it, it's routine and everyone goes back to their spots not giving the near catch in the stands another thought. Alex Gonzales makes the next play for a double play and the innings over. The Cubbies have a 3 run lead and only need 3 outs to face the Yankees in the World Series.

Of course, Alex Gonzales (BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!) should have made the next play regardless, and he's the real enemy in my opinion, but we can't just forget the part played by The Fan Who Shall Not Be Named just because Alou says five years later he wouldn't have caught it.

If he felt that way he should have made it clear immediately instead of reacting how he did, because it certainly seemed to everyone on that field, in that stadium, and everyone watching on television that he would have made that catch, and certainly that he believed he would have made that catch.

Oh well, let's forget about it for now and get ready to enjoy some baseball today rather then think about baseball 5 years ago.

FOUR DAYS AND COUNTING

Opening day is around the corner and this is the year.

I was born in the city of Chicago in the winter of 1977 and have been a Cubs fan since 1984 when I first really got into baseball. That is also the season that the Cubs were within 5 outs of making the World Series for the first time since 1945, but proceeded to lose the next three games to the San Diego Padres. I haven't forgiven the Padres since.

The next year, the Cubs failed to make the playoffs.

Of course, the Cubs were within five outs again in 2003. Most people (sports fans at any rate) know what happened next. Mark Prior (now a Padre, damn Padres) got a fly ball in foul territory which Moises Alou was tracking when a fan (who shall remain nameless in this blog) reached out and kept Alou from making the catch.

Although, I don't blame the He Who Shall Not Be Named Fan completely for the collapse, because with a runner at first and one out in the inning, the next pitch from Prior induced a ground ball to Alex Gonzales for what should have been an inning ending double play. Gonzales booted the ball, unforgivably. While I'm not happy with the Fan Who Shall Not Be Named, I am even less happy with Gonzales, and immediately traded him from my team on my XBOX Baseball game. Thankfully in the next season, the real Cubs followed suit.

In that next season, the Cubs failed to make the playoffs.

Last year, the Cubs once again won the Central Division and have had a productive offseason (even if much of it was spent on speculation that has so far proved unfruitful on the possibility of aquiring All Star second baseman and leadoff man Brian Roberts from the Orioles.) So, the question becomes, can the Cubs do what they haven't done in 100 years?

I know what most of you are thinking, "Win the World Series", and sure, that is part of it, but in order to accomplish that, they will have to do something else that they haven't done in 100 years, make the postseason in consecutive years.

The last time they accomplished this was 1907 and 1908.

This year they will try again on the quest to win that elusive World Series Title.

This blog will chronicle that quest from a fan's perspective.