I have been accused in several places of being a pollyanna who, because I won't give up on this season, am "actively contributing" to the Cubs' problems.
This is silly. First of all, I'm not here to moderate a bitchfest. Second, I'm not going to play Jay Mariotti. There's more than enough of him right where he is, thankyouverymuch, and if anyone else desires to play Mariotti-wannabe, be my guest. I won't do it. It's just not in my nature.
I'm well aware of the shortcomings of this team, and yes, their playoff chances stand at a little over 2%, pretty darn small.
But I will NOT let these sad facts suck all the enjoyment of baseball out of me. When this season ends -- however it ends -- we can and will talk about how to improve the Cubs so that 2006 can be the season we've all dreamed of.
Random statistic: Tom Skilling's weather page in today's Tribune says that the 2005 Cubs are 14-19 with the wind blowing in, 16-11 with the wind blowing out. This should surprise no one.
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Maddux, as has been his pattern the last few years, is throwing much better in the second half (3.75 ERA since the All-Star break, and a 2.75 ERA so far in August) than in the first (4.67 ERA).
The Rockies' Canadian-born pitcher, who Rox fans have tagged "Jeff Franchise", has odd pitching splits: 8-4, 4.72 at Coors, 3-5, 7.24 on the road. The Cubs beat him up pretty good at Wrigley Field in May.
Enjoy the game. Really. I mean it!
Discuss amongst yourselves.