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"I Don't Believe What I Just Saw!" -- Cubs 7, Brewers 6

(with all credit to the late Jack Buck for the headline)

Walking down Sheffield back to my car, I ran into a man wearing a BCB shirt -- sorry, I didn't even get your name -- and we shook hands and hardly even knew what to say about the Cubs' incredible, dramatic, awesome, breathtaking, electrifying, exciting, gripping, intense, moving, riveting, sensational 7-6 win over the Brewers. (Yes, I got all those from thesaurus.com.) We marveled over the comeback, the ups and downs, and he walked one way and I walked the other... and I still almost can't believe it.

There have been quite a number of incredible comebacks this season -- the comeback from being down 9-0 to Colorado on May 30 comes first to mind, along with being down 5-0 to the Marlins in the third on July 27 and winning 9-6. There are others. But I don't think I have ever seen, ever, in all the years I've watched baseball, a last-of-the-ninth comeback that good -- two out, nobody on base, down four runs, and having it capped by a three-run, no-doubt-about-it, first-pitch homer by Geovany Soto. He was the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year anyway; I suspect that clinches it, and it might get him some MVP votes, too. But as Lou said in his postgame press conference, "Let's knock two more numbers down, then we can talk about awards." (And let's stop talking about when we 'want' the Cubs to clinch, too -- just do it!)

Amen, Lou. And here, I was getting ready to write a scathing criticism of Lou for the way he mismanaged the sixth inning into a four-run rally for the Brewers. Not for putting Jeff Samardzija in the game -- although Samardzija didn't have much, it was Mark DeRosa's error that opened the door for the four unearned runs, and that's a play DeRo makes 99 times out of 100. No, it was for not bringing in Neal Cotts to turn Ray Durham around, after Mike Cameron had driven in the first run of the inning. Durham's hitting .305 lefthanded and .224 righthanded this year. Why wouldn't you want a lefty pitching to him?

Lou seems to have an aversion to the LOOGY idea -- and I'm not married to it, like Dusty Baker was -- but this was absolutely, positively the situation to use it. Instead, Samardzija was left in, and predictably, Durham singled in a run. It took two more hits and a walk before Lou finally yanked him for Randy Wells. Wells walked in a run before ending the carnage.

And then it started turning around. Wells retired the next seven hitters he faced; give the guy credit. He's not really a prospect at age 26, and he won't be on any playoff roster (at this rate, neither will Samardzija), but he kept the game close and then, after Cotts finally got into the game in the 9th, he gave up a leadoff double to Prince Fielder -- that's when good defense helped the Cubs out... the Brewers ran themselves into two outs on the basepaths, setting up the incredible bottom of the ninth.

Dave said he had never heard the ballpark that loud -- and that's with about 20% of the crowd having left early, too.

The game moved on, with neither team being able to capitalize on opportunities. Carlos Marmol threw a 1-2-3 tenth, and Kerry Wood had excellent stuff in striking out the side in the 11th -- then he ran into trouble in the 12th, but got out of it in a way you hardly ever see (and having thrown 33 pitches today, won't be available tomorrow. Marmol threw only 12 pitches, and so will likely close on Friday if needed). I hate the pulled-in infield, because so many times you'll see a ball that would ordinarily be an out with normal defensive positioning get through for a hit. Today, two balls were hit right to fielders, one for an easy 4-3 play, the other catching J. J. Hardy off third base in a rundown. The Cubs had a shot at it in the last of the 11th with the winning run on third -- Felix Pie, forced in to pinch-hit after Jim Edmonds was tossed -- but Soto's ball didn't quite have enough to get over Mike Cameron's head.

And that set up D-Lee's heroics, following a leadoff walk to Daryle Ward (it almost didn't seem as if he knew he had walked, with no signal from plate umpire Ed Rapuano. This crew did a horrendous job the entire series -- to assign a crew with two umpires as bad as Joe West and C. B. Bucknor to a series like this was a real, real bad decision by MLB schedulers), and Jason Marquis, pinch-running, scoring the winning run on Lee's single. Before that, D-Lee had gone 0-for-5 and hit into his 26th DP of the year, one short of Ron Santo's dubious 1973 team record. It's nice to see him get a huge hit like that and it just shows, once again, how much of a team this is, with every single member contributing to victories.

All of this was hours after Rich Harden threw an alarming 115 pitches in five innings, having good stuff but absolutely no command, walking six, but giving up only one hit, a double to Durham in the fifth, and walking in a run in the first inning. After having watched Harden throw 29 pitches to the first five hitters, Larry Rothschild went out to have a word with him. Whatever he said turned on a switch, because Harden retired the next ten hitters he faced, at one point striking out five in a row, and though the Brewers loaded the bases in the fifth, he got out of it with an easy fly to right.

There really are no further superlatives I can write -- I'm all out of 'em. Last winter, sort of on a lark, I did a "top 20 Cub HR of all-time" list. Geo's no-doubt-about-it, first-pitch blast today would jump into the top five. In one week I've been lucky enough to be in attendance at my first Cub no-hitter and the most dramatic last-of-the-ninth rally I've ever seen. And it has to be a devastating blow to the Brewers' wild-card hopes, even with them playing the Reds and Pirates the next six games. At this writing the Mets have a 3-0 lead over the Nats in the 3rd inning; the Mets could take a 1.5 game lead over Milwaukee (or even take over the NL East lead if the Phillies lose).

Ain't this great? Press this one in your memory books forever. Now, on to clinching in the next two days, and getting the job done in October.

Click here and here for my scorecard from today's game; it took two separate sheets to finish!

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Can this be the Geo pic we use for tomorrow's game thread?

Geo Curtain Call in the 9th 9-18-08

(This story was produced by BCPDnewservice. Our motto: If you don’t like this story then suck it!)

by BrewCrew'sPrinceofDarkness on Sep 18, 2008 6:52 PM CDT   0 recs

Good choice!

"Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball." - Jacque Barzun

by Bump Bailey on Sep 18, 2008 6:53 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Perfect.

I’ll use it!!

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Sep 18, 2008 6:55 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Bracelet power!

Hey SWLGS! My Believe bracelet is still going strong. Thanks again! :D

Dave

by Dave in the basement on Sep 18, 2008 6:54 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Good to know! Glad to see you on here...

it’s been awhile!

As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.

by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 18, 2008 6:56 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I bought ten a few years ago

and I vowed not to take it off until the CUBS win the series. I have worn down and broken one but put a new one on immediately. Hoping after this season they have a new one that I can wear that says World Series 2008

by ThisOldCub18 on Sep 19, 2008 7:57 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

me too.

"That’s the great thing about baseball, you never know what’s going to happen till you get the final out." — Lou Piniella

by drewishdrewid on Sep 19, 2008 9:00 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Project 3000

I swapped my blue ‘Believe’ bracelet for the red ‘Believe the Unseen’ Project 3000 one and haven’t taken it off since.

by rgonzale on Sep 19, 2008 9:44 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I LOVE SUE

I LOVE SUE I LOVE SUE I LOVE SUE (thats it, its a pain to copy and paste on a MAC)

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on Sep 18, 2008 7:03 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

you gotta get a grip there, Hammer

That's the beauty of baseball. You never know what's going to happen until the final out -- Lou

by Emelie on Sep 18, 2008 7:10 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

twss

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on Sep 18, 2008 7:11 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

twhs... heh

That's the beauty of baseball. You never know what's going to happen until the final out -- Lou

by Emelie on Sep 18, 2008 7:17 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I guess the Geopic retains its magic, after all.

"I see the playoff schedule posted in the paper, and that stuff makes me nervous because you can't take anything for granted. We have a great team. We have a really good team. We're playing well, but we haven't won yet." - Jim Edmonds, 8/31/08

by dat cubfan daver on Sep 18, 2008 7:02 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

That's an understatement

I love to play baseball. I'm a baseball player. I've always been a baseball player. I'm still a baseball player. That's who I am. - Ryne Sandberg

by Trey2317 on Sep 18, 2008 7:38 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

OUR MAN

Geo love abounds

That's the beauty of baseball. You never know what's going to happen until the final out -- Lou

by Emelie on Sep 18, 2008 7:10 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Thats a great pic.

:-)

"He's a pro. Me? I just try not to swear on the air.'' Bob Brenly talking about Len Kasper

by halfblindcubbiegirl on Sep 18, 2008 8:02 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

That has my vote!

"I've never complained about it. I'm thankful to have a jersey." Mark DeRosa, 22 Aug 2007

by DeRoMyHero on Sep 18, 2008 9:16 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Holy moley!

Just saw the score. When I left work the Cubs were down like 6-2. Haven’t seen the details yet, but can’t wait to do so.

Amazing!

Dave

by Dave in the basement on Sep 18, 2008 6:53 PM CDT   0 recs

Don't forget Wells

he gets a lot of credit for holding our bullpen together until our “more experienced” guys took over. He’s just another hero in the long line of heroes we’ve had this year.

This is only the beginning....Lou Pinella end of '07 season and Chicago Transit Authority (the band when they were really good).

by mrcubsfan on Sep 18, 2008 9:14 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

absolutely!

he pitched VERY well.

"That’s the great thing about baseball, you never know what’s going to happen till you get the final out." — Lou Piniella

by drewishdrewid on Sep 18, 2008 9:18 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

CSN is re-airing the game shortly

for those of us who missed it

"I see great things in baseball. It's our game - the American game." - Walt Whitman

by hip2bsquare on Sep 18, 2008 6:57 PM CDT   0 recs

I'm recording it.

I think I’ll burn a DVD at the end of the year of some of their best games – the Zambrano Game and this one are good places to start.

I love to play baseball. I'm a baseball player. I've always been a baseball player. I'm still a baseball player. That's who I am. - Ryne Sandberg

by Trey2317 on Sep 18, 2008 7:39 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Any chance I can get a copy of it?

Yesterday was my sons first game and I could never have dreamed of seeing such a great game.

conner_justin at hotmail dot com

Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand. - Homer J Simpson

by MikeOxbyg on Sep 19, 2008 1:30 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

They replayed it twice yesterday

and yes, I watched it both times.

Go All In and Enjoy The Ride.

by Jayo525 on Sep 19, 2008 9:52 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

This team is different than all those other ones we watched.

they find ways to win instead of ways to lose. This has been an amazing week.

"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been . . . baseball. It rules over America like an army of steamrollers." Terrance Mann
Tommie Agee was out.

by Weeghman Park on Sep 18, 2008 6:58 PM CDT   0 recs

Al, you are right about this being the Cub's year, I have never seen better (b.1953)

I have seen about a 1,000 games (most from the 6th inning on after my paper route) and never remember a comeback like this. With 2 outs and nobody on the Brew Crew must have been popping a few in the tunnel and all of a sudden all hell broke loose and Soto definitely cemented his ROY coronation. Let’s get two!

Mike=Milton+Eamus Catuli = AC000000

by Cub's Paperboy on Sep 18, 2008 6:59 PM CDT   0 recs

World Series or not

This is a season that one day we will see a documentary movie made about. It’s just incredible!

by ak123 on Sep 18, 2008 7:00 PM CDT   0 recs

There's already a movie being made about this season.

There’s been a crew following the Cubs around all year. What a great story they have to tell already!

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Sep 18, 2008 7:01 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

don't we all?

:-)

"He's a pro. Me? I just try not to swear on the air.'' Bob Brenly talking about Len Kasper

by halfblindcubbiegirl on Sep 18, 2008 8:03 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Oh I know

We emailed each other earlier this year about it….but this is beyond a film crew following our team, this is a season you make a blockbuster out of!

by ak123 on Sep 18, 2008 7:04 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

My Favorite part will be seeing fans reactions

 to the ups and downs of the season. Cubs fans are so manic (I should know…god knows I feel like I should be on psychotropic medication because of this season) and fan shots will tell the whole story as the season goes on.

(This story was produced by BCPDnewservice. Our motto: If you don’t like this story then suck it!)

by BrewCrew'sPrinceofDarkness on Sep 18, 2008 7:15 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

regardless of the ending it's going to be a gripping doc

That's the beauty of baseball. You never know what's going to happen until the final out -- Lou

by Emelie on Sep 18, 2008 7:12 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

How serendepitious this is...

I heard about this before the season and all throughout the year I’ve been looking forward to it! Just hope they do it justice.

by cubsonWGN4ever on Sep 19, 2008 1:23 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

believe it

I am in the 11th inning on my DVR. Kendall ground ball causing the rundown.

Compelling and Rich.

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on Sep 18, 2008 7:00 PM CDT   0 recs

I think it was 1999

Cubs had a similar comeback, also against the Brewers. They were down 5 with 2 outs, nobody on base. HRod capped the rally with a 3-run homer. They would go on to win in extras.

Of course, both teams were out of the running at this point, so it wasn’t as big of a game.

by salparadise23 on Sep 18, 2008 7:02 PM CDT   0 recs

Oh Henry...yum

…just had a twix

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on Sep 18, 2008 7:03 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

nah....

….the place right under the Sheridan EL serves their Twix warm. Honestly every time I get something from there its melted. OK ILL STOP.

Ground out to end the 12th. Love my some DVR

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on Sep 18, 2008 7:07 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Oh no

We all know that Twix is the only candy with the cookie crunch

For your information, the Supreme Court has roundly rejected prior restraint.

by Less is Walrond on Sep 18, 2008 7:30 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I don't like Twix

Too much coconut

For your information, the Supreme Court has roundly rejected prior restraint.

by Less is Walrond on Sep 18, 2008 9:37 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Here's the game I think you are talking about.

May 10, 2000. H-Rod’s HR made it 8-6; they scored two more runs on an error and won in 11.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Sep 18, 2008 8:21 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Bah

I guess I gave up on the 2000 team in May!

by salparadise23 on Sep 18, 2008 8:39 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I think we all did.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Sep 18, 2008 8:55 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Please don't remind me

of 2000, or 1999, or 2002 or 2006. Or 1978 or 1980 or any of the other years I suffered through.

"Hey hey, kiss it goodbye! That one's in Milwaukee! Man oh man did he hit it. Isn't that something?" - Lou Boudreau, May 17, 1979

by danimal15 on Sep 18, 2008 10:06 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Clinching

When the Cubs clinch the division, I hope the celebration is mild and the theme is we haven’t won anything yet. Don’t get me wrong, they deserve to celebrate as hard as they want to but I wouldn’t mind seeing the focus being on 11 wins in the post season. Am I wrong to feel this way?

by LT on Sep 18, 2008 7:04 PM CDT   0 recs

No, I think they will jump around and be very happy

It took 6 months to get to a place to party and they should. But something tells me Lou will have them focused on the next game once their hangover is gone.

(This story was produced by BCPDnewservice. Our motto: If you don’t like this story then suck it!)

by BrewCrew'sPrinceofDarkness on Sep 18, 2008 7:12 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

and Lou will keep them happy and focused

That's the beauty of baseball. You never know what's going to happen until the final out -- Lou

by Emelie on Sep 18, 2008 7:13 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I hope Lou has learned from this play off loses in Seattle

It always seems like his teams in Seattle would come undone in the playoffs.

(This story was produced by BCPDnewservice. Our motto: If you don’t like this story then suck it!)

by BrewCrew'sPrinceofDarkness on Sep 18, 2008 7:16 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Gail Fischer said on Sport Nite

tonight that if the Cubs don’t find out til tomorrow night if they clinch it the team will be in a secret place to do their celebrating. She said they were going to try really hard to find out where the team will be,

by sue369 on Sep 18, 2008 7:32 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

A secret place?

Y’mean, like an underground party bunker?

"I see the playoff schedule posted in the paper, and that stuff makes me nervous because you can't take anything for granted. We have a great team. We have a really good team. We're playing well, but we haven't won yet." - Jim Edmonds, 8/31/08

by dat cubfan daver on Sep 18, 2008 7:34 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

A bunker at an undislosed location? They stole Dick Cheney's idea!

Yeah, I know, that joke is a bit dated, but I couldn’t resist.

"I see great things in baseball. It's our game - the American game." - Walt Whitman

by hip2bsquare on Sep 18, 2008 7:36 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I would have done it

if you didn’t.

"Destiny is a matter of choice, not chance"

by MerlinDog on Sep 18, 2008 7:41 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

She didn't know where but

was going to try and find out. Maybe a bar or restaurant?

by sue369 on Sep 18, 2008 7:46 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

i've heard that team leaders

(woody, demps) are talking about finding restaraunt to watch the game in private so they can celebrate together and by themselves.

"He's a pro. Me? I just try not to swear on the air.'' Bob Brenly talking about Len Kasper

by halfblindcubbiegirl on Sep 18, 2008 8:04 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I hope they will let us in on their party (at least on television)

as this is a celebration for Cub fans everywhere and the entire City of Chicago!

Hey, it's a new century!

by cowsarecool220 on Sep 18, 2008 9:20 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Gabby Hartnett is perfect for the new magic number

After Geo’s big day, how appropriate that the magic number honors the best Cubs catcher of all time?

"I see great things in baseball. It's our game - the American game." - Walt Whitman

by hip2bsquare on Sep 18, 2008 7:06 PM CDT   0 recs

+1

If Gabby’s was the "Homer in the Glommin’ " then what can we call this one?

"Destiny is a matter of choice, not chance"

by MerlinDog on Sep 18, 2008 7:09 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

The Rally Capper?

That’s the best I can come up with right now. I’ll just se