The Short Series

The pain I'm feeling right now is unreal. There are a million hateful things I could type. I am full of burning frustration and a deep sense of confusion and loss. What makes it so hard is having enjoyed 6 months of magical baseball only for it to become meaningless in the blink of an eye. This felt like a car crash. You're driving along on a sunny day, and next thing you know a car slams into you from nowhere and your world is turned upside down. As soon as Loney hit the grand slam, the Cubs began pressing. And I have to believe that the shorter the series, the harder the pressing. And the harder the pressing, the uglier the baseball. Next thing you know, you're down 2-0 in a short series and you realize you're pressing, so you try to be patient at the plate. Well, the opposing pitcher knows that, and, like Kuroda did tonight, throws about eight million first pitch strikes because he knows you finally figured out you need to be patient at the plate.

My question is (and I'm not saying it's necessarily a good idea), why can't all three rounds be best of 7? Because it would make the season too long? Okay, play 156 or 158 games instead of 162. Is there a magical rule about 162? I'm honestly asking, because there may be one I'm not aware of. Couldn't you cut out some of the more ridiculous interleague games to get to 158? Was a Cubs-Blue Jays series really necessary? Marlins-Mariners? Astros-Orioles? Nationals-Twins? Really? Really?

I'm not blaming this sweep on anything but horrendous, shameful, embarrassing play. But I'm also saying that the short series makes it more likely that we'll see more bad baseball like this from other teams who were really good in the regular season. What's the saying about baseball? It's a marathon, not a sprint? Well that doesn't seem to apply anymore once you get to the part of the season that really matters.