Cubs vs. Marlins..

I’m writing about this just an hour after seeing Kevin Gregg give up back to back jacks to give the Marlins the victory. I wasn’t even surprised by it honestly, I expected it. The power of Kevin Gregg. I can’t wait for the BJ Ryan era to begin, even though he was so terrible with Toronto that they waived him. (Then again the same thing was said about Reed Johnson and that turned out well for us.) But this is about Saturday Night’s roller coaster ride of a game, pardon me for being late, but, I just felt the game had to be written about. So now the story begins.

At the beginning of the year, I stated that I didn’t want to go to see the Cubs when they came to town this year. I go every year they come to town, and it gets worse every year. When I first started making these trips years ago, you could expect attendance in the 30,000’s, with about 25,000 cheering for the Cubs. Dolphin/LandShark/Joe Robbie/Pro Player whatever the stadium’s name was that year was like Tropical Wrigley Field. This made the game enjoyable because even if the Cubs lost, it was mainly Cubs fans there, and the Marlins fans that were there were pretty lo key, happy about their team, just happy that they got a victory.

Then came 2003, Bartman, well not him, more Gonzalez, Alou losing his cool, Dusty not taking Prior out before the inning began but getting let off the hook by Bartman, then throwing the poor guy under the bus by not admitting to his mistake. What’s worse was, it was against the team that was my hometown team. At the beginning of the 2003 NLCS, I took the diplomatic approach, if the Marlins won, I’d cheer for them in the World Series, and I did because they were playing the Yankees and I hate the Yankees because of my feelings towards New York fans plus the whole Miami-New York sports rivalry that no one ever talks about even though it’s given us God knows how many memorable Dolphins-Jets tilts (Monday Night Miracle, Marino averaging something like 6 touchdowns and 450 yards against the Jets in the 80’s but since the Dolphins didn’t have a halfway decent defense the score always averaged something like 52-48 Jets) the Heat/Knicks rivalry which will be reinvigorated if Wade stays with the Heat and the Knicks find a way to stay competitive and sign LeBron next year, and of course the fact that the Mets always seem to fall apart down the stretch every season and the Marlins are involved in one way or another.

But that way of thinking went out the window in the years after. Suddenly, Marlins fans that didn’t go to games showed up for Cubs games. By appearances, it wasn’t so much to cheer the Marlins, but to rag on the Cubs. Hey, I’m all for that, as fans you can do this, just, they showed up in their Jeff Conine and Livan Hernandez jerseys, couldn’t name 10 players on the Marlins’ roster, still thinks Sammy Sosa is with the Cubs and Mark Prior is that night’s starting pitcher. (Fans, I can’t emphasize this enough, go to games, cheer your team, boo the opposition, but if you’re going to do this, know who you’re cheering, know who you’re booing.)

Of course, all some of these moron’s know is “1908”, “Billy Goat”, “Bartman”, and “Curse” (I’ve already discussed the whole “curse” thing, how the only curse is inept management, as well as the whole Bartman thing, not getting into it again, just go here and you’ll get a full explanation.) And, I’m sorry if I offend the Marlins fans I know, and many of them know what they’re talking about with baseball, its that, I get the feeling that they don’t go to every game and do this. Truth is, yeah, the Cubs haven’t won a championship in 100 years, but, the Astros, Padres, Rockies, Brewers and Nationals have never won World Series Championships, hell the Nationals have never been to the world series, and let’s face it, they’re the Nationals (Washington, First in War, First in Peace, but always last in the National League East). The Pirates have been the model for baseball ineptitude in the last 15 years, the Marlins have the Mets number (the same fans do know this and let the Mets know this, again, not against this, the Miami/New York thing), realistically, the Marlins fans can go after just about any team in the National League except for the Phillies and that’s only because the Phillies are defending Champions. But, they go after the Cubs. (I know it’s because a lot of my fellow Cubs fans like to get loud and obnoxious while drunk, sorry about that.)

Again, if these were knowledgeable baseball fans that did it in a respectful way, I’d be fine with it, but last season I pretty much said screw it. After the Cubs lost to the fish last year, as my dad and I were walking down the ramps at then Dolphin Stadium, some lady decked in full Marlins regalia kept walking in front of us holding up a 1908 sign with pictures of Bartman and a Billy Goat on it. No big deal if she’s holding it up during the game between innings and not blocking anyone’s view of the game, but a huge deal when you’re walking right in front of people on an incline and you’re screaming your guts out. White Sox fans wouldn’t even stoop that low. She wasn’t only being an obnoxious little bitch, but she was posing a safety hazard, we almost walked into her about three or four times.

During the game wasn’t much better, it wasn’t only the fans doing it, but the team itself on the Jumbotron. Every Cubs at bat was greeted with the sound of a Billy Goat. Even the team’s marketing campaign in the last few years has been very antagonistic towards fans of other teams. It’s clever yes, but also not too smart in the sense that usually, its fans of the other teams that are your bread and butter. Let’s be honest here Marlins fans, from 1998 until recently when the new ballpark started construction, you weren’t drawing fans unless the Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, or Cubs were coming to town. That’s undisputed; check out the attendance figures for those games in comparison to games against other teams, even other marquis teams like the Dodgers, Giants and Phillies. The last thing you want to do is antagonize other fan bases to the point where they say screw it; I’m not giving that team my money. I really felt that way, after all, they got their stadium, baseball is in Miami to stay, I don’t have to worry about this being the last time I get to see the Cubs in person until I make that move to Chicago that I’ve been contemplating since I was six, I don’t have to give this team my money anymore to see my team.

But my dad got tickets, and I just said screw it, I’m easy, I decided to go, hopefully things will have changed, hopefully the Marlins fans would be a bit less obnoxious, and, hopefully, the Cubs would win.

Well, the Marlins fans were a bit subdued from previous years, but I think the fact that the Cubs jumped out to a 6-0 lead early had something to do with that. At the time I texted my friend (and fellow Cubs fan from Illinois) Liz and told her “I haven’t had so much fun at a Cubs game in years” which was true. (Also true, it was the two year anniversary of my first Wrigley Field game, and yes, I keep track of crap like that. All baseball fans, regardless of the team they root for, must visit Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, and Dodger Stadium at least once in their life. Old Yankee Stadium was on that list but New Yankee Stadium isn’t because it was the history of Old Yankee Stadium that puts it at that level.) Well, that text was, in hindsight, a mistake. The game was NOT fun after that. The Marlins kept inching their way back, seriously, if this team had a halfway decent manager, they’d be on their way to October, especially with the shrewd Nick Johnson deal. One run an inning, it felt like one of those slow deaths. Then Marmol came into the game with the score at 6-5, one night after he had a huge meltdown, loaded the bases, yet got out of it. Top of the 9^th, finally they get some runs. Theriot (the cubs MVP this year, I’m not arguing this) who didn’t even start the game, doubles home two runs to make the score 8-5. I’m feeling good as a Cubs fan, but, you can’t, not when your closer is Kevin Gregg, former Marlins closer, the guy that my cousin laughed when he heard the Cubs traded for him, a man whose nickname form this point on will be the walking blown save.

Gregg gets two quick outs, and then comes Ronny Paulino. Home run. 8-6. Then Coghlan came up, single. Nick Johnson comes up, double. Then up comes Emilio Bonafacio, now known as the much maligned Emilio Bonafacio. He was only batting 3^rd because he replaced Hanley, who was injured by a Zambrano pitch earlier in the game. Triple! Incredible, tie game. Thankfully Jorge Cantu, who had been the Marlins’ most clutch hitter all season, grounded out. (He had a terrible game, 2 errors.) Tie game going into extras, I left to smoke a cigarette.

That was the best move, because then, Derrek Lee launched a homerun to start off the 10^th. Had I not left, there’d be no home run, other Cubs fans around me believed the same thing about them. When you’re that swept up into fandom, you believe these things, no matter how stupid they may seem. I come back, see Ramirez is hit in the elbow and he’s dizzy. Great, just what we need, first we lost Zambrano after only 3 innings (the main reason why we blew a 6 run lead) due to back stiffness, now Aramis is out.

The bottom of the 10^th I was bracing for the worst, but, the worst didn’t come to pass. Cubs got the win. Walking out, there were no obnoxious Marlins fans trying to trip us, no one talking crap. I would’ve loved to have seen the reaction of a bunch of Marlins fans leaving with a dejected look on their faces, trying to think of what to say. Didn’t come to pass. All I heard was a cacophony of “Go Cubs Go” from fellow Cubs fans, and a smattering of compliments of my Harry Carrey T-shirt that says “Cub Fan, Bud Man.” (Another note about that shirt, for every 3 compliments from fellow Cubs fans I’ve heard about the shirt, I get some people thinking that by Bud it means the other type of Bud that can alter you. It’s my favorite double entendre t-shirt, and it’s not even meant to be one!)

Of course, one day later, I saw Kevin Gregg blow another save, only this time it leads to a Cubs loss. They won the season series against the Marlins 4-3 thanks to a 3-1 series win at Wrigley in May, but lost this series 2-1. We’re a half game behind St. Louis, and still have had yet to be fully healthy. Yes, Kevin Gregg is probably going to be the man to lead us to choke down the stretch, and no, I don’t think they have it this year, they won’t win it all. But still an enjoyable game.

Other notes from this weekend’s series.

-Cubs/Marlins is a full rivalry. No one really knows how much these two teams are linked. It’s not just 03, but also the fact that many past/current Cubs and many past/current Marlins were at one time playing for the opposite team. In fact, just take a look at the link between the two teams and what players played for both.

Andre Dawson

Moises Alou

Antonio Alfonseca

Ryan Dempster

Derrek Lee

Juan Pierre

Matt Clement

Julian Tavarez

Kevin Gregg

Luis Gonzalez

Hee Sop Choi

Sergio Mitre

Lenny Harris

And I know I’m leaving off a few players from that list. Even more interesting is that some of the players that were in the Cubs system but became Marlins…

Dontrelle Willis (traded alongside Julian Tavarez for Matt Clement and Antonio Alfonseca)

Ricky Nolasco (traded alongside Sergio Mitre for Juan Pierre)

Again, I know I’m leaving some players off the list. Fact is the Marlins and Cubs front offices have a great relationship. Since 2002, there have been four trades between the two teams, and the Marlins have gotten the better of the deal in two of them, and the other two being a wash. (Marlins got the better of the deal in Nolasco and Mitre for Pierre because Pierre was terrible in his one year with the Cubs and went on to sign with the Dodgers where he found his ability to run and hit again while Nolasco is a key part to their rotation, and in the Kevin Gregg deal only because of addition by subtraction, the DLee-Choi deal was a wash because the Marlins spun Choi off to acquire Encarnacion, Lo Duca, and Guillermo Mota and the D-Train and Alfonseca for Tavarez and Clement deal was a wash because the Marlins wouldn’t have gotten as far in 03 without D-Train, and the Cubs wouldn’t have gotten that far that year had it not been for Clement). And that’s without going into the many proposed deals the two almost made (like Mike Lowell for Bobby Hill and prospects in 2003, or this year’s rumored Jeremy Hermida deal.) Point being, if I’m the Cubs, I’m only making a trade with the Marlins if I have a chance at acquiring Hanley Ramirez, Josh Johnson, or Ricky Nolasco, ironically the only three players the Marlins have who they would consider untouchable. (Last year I would’ve traded DLee and made a play for Mike Jacobs and Scott Olsen by the way. That doesn’t count though because none of them are Marlins anymore anyways.)

-Speaking of Derrek Lee, I’ve given him a lot of shit this year, but, had it not been for him, the Cubs would’ve lost that game. It’s like he knew what I said about him in the podcast and what I’ve been writing about him, and somehow knew I was going to be in attendance at the game, so he wanted to really stick it to me. So yesterday he goes 4 for 6 and was just a triple away from the cycle, had 3 ribbies and the game winning home run, then today he goes 1 for 4 and drives in another run. Overall for the series he goes 6 for 14 (that’s a .429 average) with a double, home run, and 4 ribbies. I’ll leave him alone until the next time he grounds into a double play with one out and the Cubs either trailing or tied, which should be sometime this week.

-Both teams seem to bring the most out of each other. These teams are different from the 03 versions of both squads. No Marlin from 03 is on this year’s team, and the only Cubs from 03 on this year’s team are Ramirez and Zambrano. Despite that, the matchups between the two teams are hot tickets in both Miami and at Wrigley every year, and both teams play each other to close, exciting games, and you can tell there is some bad blood between Marlins and Cubs fans. Doesn’t that make it a rivalry? Why isn’t it sold as such? I just have a feeling that these two teams will compete against each other in October again, maybe even this year, who knows. Fact is though, if the Marlins organization can stop their marketing plan of antagonizing fans of other teams and let actual Marlins fans do it, then it will be more fun than it is now. It’s not fun, and that’s the Marlins’ organizations fault. The do this to every team, and while it’s clever and funny, it’s also stupid. Let the fans be the ones to antagonize the other fans. (Plus, what if a massive fight occurs between a Marlins fan and a fan of the Mets or Cubs, whites to say the Cubs or Mets fan won’t name the Marlins in a potential suit saying that the Marlins themselves have some responsibility because they helped to rile up the fans into that type of frenzy. Do the Marlins need that negative publicity at this point? We’ll find out the next time the Mets come to town.)

-Finally, the new Marlins Ballpark is official, and it does look like it’s going to be nice. However for it to work, Miami needs to improve its infrastructure. I have some ideas of my own, and I’ll be pointing them out later. Until then, see you guys later, thanks for reading.

Being A Cubs Fan...

Hello, my name is Thomas Galicia, and I’m a Chicago Cubs fan.

It all started when I was a baby. It was 1984 (I was born in 1983) and the Cubs were enjoying their best season since 1969. My father was raised in Chicago and fell in love with the team at a young age. My mom had moved around but ended up moving with my dad to Chicago in the mid 70s when he attended college, and she got sucked into the bug too. That I was born a year before what would be the Cubs best season was either a good omen or a bad omen.

In 1984, the Cubs won the National League East with an impressive 96-65 record. Even more impressive was on their heels were the up and coming New York Cocaine is a hell of drug Mets led by phenom Doc Gooden, the always tough St. Louis Cardinals, and defending NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies. The team was led by MVP second baseman Ryne Sandberg and mid-season acquisition and Cy Young winner Rick Sutcliffe. They lead the National League in Runs scored and were second in attendance, a feat that the Florida Marlins will never, ever achieve.

Everything seemed to be going right for the Cubs that year, but of course, they’re the Cubs.
When Leon Durham failed to field that groundball in the NLCS against the Padres, I cried. Hell, if there was a doody in my diaper or I was hungry I would’ve cried even if the Cubs won because, I was barely a year old. But from that moment, I was hooked. I was always watching games with my dad, and they were always on because Miami didn’t have a baseball team, our cable company piped in WGN, and games that usually weren’t on WGN were on NBC. However after 1984, they wouldn’t regain the magic touch they had that year. No playoff appearances until 1989.

After losing in five in 1989, it would be almost a full decade until the Cubs got back to the Promised Land. In between that time, we saw the best pitcher in baseball leave the Cubs for Atlanta because the Cubs didn’t even offer him a contract (because trying to keep a Cy Young winning pitcher in his prime and building your team around him is never a good decision), a strike that cancelled the World Series, four baseball teams added in Denver (the Rockies), Phoenix (Diamondbacks), St. Petersburg (Tampa Bay Rays), and of course my hometown of Miami (Marlins, and yes I know, each team has reached the World Series while the Cubs haven’t), the rise and fall of Canseco, the end of the concrete ashtray stadium era thanks to Camden Yards in Baltimore, and of course, about ten billion Tony LaRussa pitching changes.
During that time, I also kind of committed a crime. After seeing on opening day 1997 that the Marlins had a shot at winning the World Series while the Cubs had a shot of starring in Bad News Bears, All Grown Up, I latched onto the Marlins that year. Yes, Tommy became a bandwagoner. Thankfully God works in mysterious ways, like having the first ever dismantling of a World Champion the same year that one Kerry Wood came into my life.

You really had to be there to appreciate 1998 Kerry Wood. The 20 year old fireball throwing Texan was just bigger than life. Nothing intimidated this guy, he not only threw fast, but he had balls too. On top of that, he carried himself with more swag than any Cubs pitcher had in my lifetime. (Maddox was more methodical, nothing really much in the swag department.) I still remember where I was and what I was doing when Woody struck out 20 Astros, just an incredible afternoon.

Then came June, and Sosa hit 20 home runs in one month. Now I know steroids played a huge part in it, but please remember he wasn’t the only one using, and there were pitchers using too. Sosa competed with McGwire for the Home Run crown, the Cubs were in contention, and just like that, the franchise was hooked to the juvenation machine. It ended with a tie breaker against Barry and the Giants (managed by Dusty, more on him later) where we defeated them and went to the post season to take on the Atlanta Braves. Yes we were swept, and yes we ended up sucking for another five years, but I was hooked.

Of course, that would be 2003, which everyone blamed Bartman for. I can’t blame Bartman for that, I refuse to. Reality is Dusty should’ve pulled Prior before that inning began. He just didn’t have anything on his fastball, and his breaking ball wasn’t breaking. He became easier than Amber and Tiffany, and everyone would have their turn. Bartman just gets the blame because, well, I’ve realized why the Cubs really haven’t won anything in over 100 years.

This curse is used as a crutch, a marketing tool, and a way to cover up incompetence. Fact is, you don’t win a World Series by signing people like Milton Bradley to $10 Million a year contracts, you don’t win a World Series by putting together teams with no semblance of chemistry, and you sure as hell don’t win a World Series by having players on the team that don’t seem to have an “EFF YOU!” mode. The 2004 Red Sox had that mode, and used it, and that’s why the Red Sox went from being a tortured, cursed team into being the team of the decade, and the team that I’d most want the Cubs to play if we make it to the World Series this year. (Ok I’ve wanted the Red Sox since I was a kid, but even more so this year because of everything that’s happened since 2004, and so that Albie and I can have a reason to talk shit to each other and make stupid bets that involve drinking.)

The curse sells t-shirts, making a cottage industry around Wrigley that stimulates the economy better than any stimulus package, but most importantly, it takes the responsibility off the people who are in charge. Truth is the law of averages dictates that no team should go 100 years without a world title, curse or no curse. But with bad management, That’s different. Trading Lou Brock was a historically dumb idea. Letting go of Maddox after his first Cy Young season was a stupid decision. Not trading Sosa in 2000 when the Cubs were hopelessly out of it and the whole steroid thing hadn’t happened yet for prospects that would still be helping out was stupid. Signing Milton Bradley was stupid. Trading DeRosa was stupid. Not trading Derrick Lee is so stupid that when the Cubs come down here I might bring a shit sandwich to his hotel room. I could go on and on.

At the beginning of this decade, I was so sure we’d have at least one World Series appearance. There’s still time, we’re only two games back, there’s still hope, and that’s why I still cheer for the Cubs. I’m a hopeless romantic, when I want something really bad, even if it seems like there’s no hope, I’ll still hold on to some. Some years its better than others. If they do terrible, then when Training Camp starts I’ll pour myself into the Dolphins (another hopeless case for another time). But only once in the last ten years have they been terrible (2006, Dusty’s final season). Will they win it all this year? Well, I’ll tell you next week when I do my all-star break predictions. But the fact is, part of being a Cubs fan, it’s like being a Dolphins fan, or some other aspects of my life, I just got to hold on to hope, and it will happen…am I right?

Tommy on Sports, both real and of the "Sports Entertainment" variety.

2008 Started off horribly for me as a sports fan. The Dolphins were coming off a 1-15 season that saw more turnover, the Heat were the worst team in the NBA, and the Cubs are the Cubs, we'll get to October in a little bit.

However, it turned out to be a great year. The Heat got Beasley in the draft, which has worked out very well. He has shown progress in every game this year, and looks to be the Pippen to Wade's Jordan (fingers crossed). On top of that, no one seems to be noticing that Erik Spolestra is a great coach. Last summer when Pat Riley stepped down, people outside of South Florida were shocked that he would go with the 37 year old rookie head coach over a more proven name such as former Celtics coach Jim O'Brien, former Bulls coach Scott Skiles, or even Jeff Van Gundy. However, not one of them stops to think that the reason that all of these coaches have the title "former" precede there names is because, well, they just aren't that good. That's not always the case, (sometimes politics plays into the firing of a head coach in any sport), but in those cases its abundantly clear. Jim O'Brien really had one magical season with Boston before he showed that he's better as an assistant, Scott Skiles has been shown the door after a couple of successful seasons with young players and one horrible one mainly because his schtick tends to wear thin after 3 or 4 years, and Jeff Van Gundy, well, he is good, but when his heart is not into it, you can really tell (see the 2000-2001 Knicks, or the 2006-07 Rockets.) So when those are your options, why not take a chance on someone that has been with the organization for a decade, and already has the trust of your superstar who happens to become a free agane in 2010 and will be sought after by any of the other 29 teams that fail to sign LeBron?

Speaking of taking a chance, that's what the Dolphins had to do on so many aspects this season. First it was taking a chance on Tony Sparano (pass), then on Chad Pennington (emphatically pass), Ricky Willilams (pass) and on an innovative yet old school formation we know today as the Wildcat (pass, unless the opponent is the Baltimore Ravens). All of these risks led to an improbable as late as my birthday (on October 21st in case you're interested) 11-5 season that included our first AFC East Championship since Bill Clinton was in office. (Don't tell me Bush was President at the time, we won the AFC east in 2000, when Clinton was still in office, and were eliminated about a week before Bush took the oath, therefore, I'm correct.) Yes we were eliminated against the Ravens, and yes, that elimination was a humiliation, an abomination, and disgrace to Dolphins fan-nation (sorry for sounding like Jesse Jackson) but, we got there, something we as Dolphins fans could never have imagined. Of course thanks are in order, and I hope that Brett Favre is enjoying that lovely fruit basket I sent him. Brett, remember, if you want to come back, you're more than welcome to, just make sure its with the Jets! And to Bernard Pollack of the Kansas City Chiefs, thank you for playing football, and to Lil Wayne, thanks for performing a concert in the New England area that got Kevin Faulk suspended because apparently he wasn't allowed to go.

Now before I get to the Cubs, I'm going to take a minute and discuss pro-wrestling...sorry Vince McMahon hates that term and since he's so egotistical he'll read anything with his name in it odds are he's probably reading this right now so by pro-wrestling I meant "sports entertainment." (Whats the use for that term? Isn't all sports, both real and fake technically entertainment when you really think about it? What other reason, besides gambling, is there to watch sports if its not to be entertained?)

Right now as it stands, John Cena is the World Heavyweight Champion (puke), and Edge is the WWE Champion. Technically there the same thing, but they're not, whatever. Meanwhile, Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy are apparently enemies now, and Shawn Michaels is working for JBL. Eddie Guerrero's wife has a problem with Triple-H, and black wrestlers still don't succeed even though the two guys in the WWE that have the most talent and best in-ring personalities are African-American. (Shelton Benjamin and Kofi Kingston). Now not to sound like Keith Olbermann but, if we have an African American president, don't you think its time that African Americans can succeed in pro wrestling/"sports entertainment" as well? Well not to the WWE, instead they'd rather give us John "I stole my act from Marky Mark" Cena and Adam "I stole my ring name from the guitarist from U2" Copeland as champions, while their number one contenders are a guy that works for Fox News, a guy who's married to the boss's daughter and has already won the damn thing so many times that people who think its real are starting to think its fixed, the underrated Randy Orton and the always entertaining when he has his head straight but that's always an enigma Jeff Hardy. (If you wonder where Jeff Hardy gets his nickname "The Charismatic Enigma" well look up his wikipedia page and you'll see why.) Meanwhile Shelton Benjamin holds a downright meaningless title (The United States Championship) while Kofi is seen more as an entertaining dude.

(Turns to the next camera a la Olbermann)

The blatant Racism that has been shown by the WWE is something that I'd really like to see changed, however thats probably not going to happen until VKM finally meets his maker. You may love Triple-H or hate him (I actually like him which doesn't exactly make me a lot of friends amongst the Internet smark community) but I've always given him credit for making his opponent look good when he loses, always trying to be entertaining despite the fact that in reality he lost his fastball when he dropped the title to Batista, and because, lets face it, between him, Shawn Michaels, Kane and The Undertaker, they're all we have left of the "Attitude Era" which was probably the best era in pro wrestling/"sports entertainment" history. Well, odds are when VKM does die, it won't be Shane or even Stephanie that takes control of the company, it will be Triple-H, and, I think he's actually going to do more for that company behind the scenes then he could as a "superstar". I'm Thomas Galicia, good night, and good lu-

Oh yea thats right, I almost forgot about the Chicago Cubs. Last year they were the best team in the National League, and were the favorites of many to win the World Series. If you blinked you missed their playoff appearance though, getting swept by the Dodgers. This year again they will be the favorites in the National League Central, despite the fact that the team got worse, not better.

First, they let go of Kerry Wood. Maybe that's not such a bad thing, he was shaky towards the end of the year, but, its a blow because of what he meant to the team. He's been through it all, and is the only Cubs player in history to go to the post season four times with the Cubs. (1998, 2003, 2007, 2008.) Then they traded DeRosa, even though he was their most consistent clutch hitter. Now he may not get the publicity that Soriano, Lee, Ramirez, or even Fukudome do, but without him, they're not in the playoffs last year.

Instead they trade for Kevin Gregg. Now my cousin is a huge Marlins fan, upon hearing the trade he laughed. Never a good sign. Then, instead of thinking "maybe we should move Fukudome to Center or trade him then sign Manny" they instead sign Milton Bradley, who's great when he has his head straight, but has massive problems controlling his temper and when that's not an issue, injuries are. Oh and by the way they're paying him $10 million a year for the next two years, money that would be put to better use had they just brought back last year's squad.

They're probably going to win the NL Central, and probably by about 5 to 10 games. Every team has either stayed the same (St. Louis, Houston) or gotten weaker (Milwaukee). As for the Reds, well I really can't take them seriously, they have a great young team, but a manager that doesn't know how to utilize young talent the way you should, oh and his name is Dusty Baker, meaning if we're getting into a one game playoff for the NL Central crown with Cincinnati, we're probably going to win because Dusty really seems to have problems in those circumstances unless his charges are playing the Atlanta Braves. Then the Pirates are the Pirates so we can just move on.

Its in October where I'm worried. The Phillies are the team to beat in their division, and if the Dodgers re-sign Manny like they should then their going to be a force. Plus the NL will probably have this year's surprise good team that could sneak into the playoffs and cause trouble. (I'm down to two candidates right now, the Giants and the Marlins, and I'm leaning towards the Giants, although if they sign Manny then it wouldn't be a surprise.) It is October where everything really comes together, unless you're the Cubs, then October is where everything falls apart, so I have this to say to my beloved team from the North side of Chi...If you win 100 games, I don't care, if you win 85 games, I don't care, if you just get in, I don't care, because like many other Cubs fan, what matters to me is to win 11 in the month of October.