…so there.

The poor air quality that has hunkered down over Chicago the past few days certainly can’t be helping. If it were my ballclub I would do the radical on Tuesday…sit Lee, Soriano, Edmonds and Soto for the day and play Hoffpauier (1st), Ward (LF), Johnson and Hill.

Literally the first two games I’ve missed (not seen or heard) all year and they lose – and look bad doing it.

Remind me not to miss any more…

There is no question that this is a good team, a team worthy of going to the postseason.

However…

Based on what I have seen over the course of the season, and particularly over the last few games, I have concerns about how far this team can go in the postseason. My concerns:

They can score runs in bunches, but they are inconsistent. The number of come-from-behind wins have been great, but how often could those deficits have been avoided with a couple of timely hits in the first few innings?

Soriano – the man just has no interest in playing team baseball. I love the home runs, but I would trade them for a few more clutch hits. His stats in that area are pitiful. I am tired of watching him strike out on a breaking ball in the dirt or while trying to pull a pitch on the outside half. He is what he is and he isn’t likely to change, which is all the more disappointing.

Lee – Watching him roll over and hit grounders to short in clutch situations is sad. I don’t know what he is doing differently, but his ability to consistently drive the ball seems to be missing. I wonder if he has a hidden injury, or perhaps if other issues might be on his mind.

Fukudome – We have all talked about it. He is clearly a different hitter than he was four months ago. The league has adjusted to him and he has not yet been able to adjust back. Love his defense and love his hustle, but his decline at the plate has been alarming.

The Pen – Cotts and Howry are not playoff caliber. The nouveau Nasty Boys are intimidating and may be enough, but can they go in back-to-back-to-back games?

Z’s tired arm – I don’t think the Cubs are hiding anything, but still, it is a concern.

Taking pitches – God forgive me for saying this, but this weekend there were a ridiculous number of called third strikes on pitches that should have been hammered. I love patience at the plate, but not at the expense of multiple called third strikes.

Fatigue – 20 games in 20 days, this team is just tired. I would love to see them start the Iowa all-stars tomorrow, get some hunger and fire out there and give the regular guys a blow, maybe even for a couple of days. This is the sort of thing that could linger for a long time and debilitate the team.

Pressure – Nobody in the Cubs club house talks much about it, but whenever this team gets close, this year, next year, 100 years, the pressure to “break the curse” could become overwhelming. It will take a mentally tough group of men to overcome.

I do not intend this to be a “Sky is falling” post. These are concerns I have had for a while now, as I have watched this team evolve. It does nothing to diminish my excitement for the season. I think this team could win it all, but (like many teams out there) there are many issues it will need to overcome. I really don’t want to see a repeat of last year’s Arizona series.

I will now put the shields up to defend myself from the multiple slams I will receive for being a naysayer, gloom and doomer, negative person, non-fan, closet Cards or Brew Crew fan, or any one of a number of insults that will likely come my way.

In conclusion, go Cubs!

pretty much sums it up.

I start school tomorrow!!

We have had a 4 game losing streak this year, June 26, 27, 28, and 29. We lost to Baltimore and then were swept by the White Sox (Crawdad, I said the magical word!). Puts things in perspective a bit once we know that the “worst” we have been this year was losing four games!

Dan

that want to sit the entire starting roster tomorrow, have you looked at the schedule? Do you not realize that there are 2 off days in the next 7 days, and 3 in the next 14 days? What do you want, rest now, or rest all of October?

Moose