So much for new beginnings

You may have noticed--or maybe not--that there has been no talk of magic numbers here at SBW. We don't like to buy into that chatter with more than two weeks left in the season, unless a team is so far ahead , they can clinch earlier... and that definitely isn't the case with either of our teams this year, who both could very well end up need to win games during the last weekend of the season to determine postseason positions.

Case in point: The Cubs blew another game, this one in a most Cub-like fashion, 4-3. The key play was a tailor-made double play ball in the bottom of the 9th that took a bad hop on Cedeno at short and allowed the Reds to tie a game the Cubs had led 3-1 when the inning started. Shortly after that, Woody gave up a run-scoring single to end it.

Cedeno's got as good a glove as anyone--it's his hitting that makes me nervous, though the Cubs were only ahead in this one because of his 2-run double earlier. Bad bounces are bad bounces, and that's what this was. Blame Woody for this loss, with an assist from Jim Edmonds, whose 9th inning error put one of the runs in scoring position. That's 7 losses in the last 8 games, though I know no one needs to be reminded. Piniella didn't talk to reporters after this one, though I'm not sure how that helps or hinders anything. The Cubs players still insist they are a great team having a bad run. OK, we believe you. Now, let's get back to winning.

Unbelievably, the Cubs are stil 4 games up in 1st place, as the Beermakers lost to the Lowly Padres. The Cubs are still have a very good chance to make the postseason one way or another, but what kind of psychological state will they be in when they get there?

The Sox came very close to sweeping the Angels, but lost 3-2 on a strange play in the 8th. The Angels had the bases loaded with one out, and JeDye made a good catch of a tough fly ball, but was unable to nail the runner tagging from 3rd base. The strange part is that the ball was in foul territory, and JeDye could have let it drop harmlessly, and let pitcher Ehren Wasserman continue to take his chances against Garret Anderson, who is slow and a great double play candidate, but also is traditionally a great RBI man (Let us not forget his surprise HR Derby win during the 2003 MLB All-Star gala at The Cell.)

JeDye's move is getting some heavy media analysis today. I think for his great offensive contributions and sometime sterling defensive play, he occasionally under-plays balls hit into his range, and also occasionally has what you might call brain-farts in the field. Still, I don't think this was a brain-fart. I think with the Sox having a strong bullpen and two more at-bats left in this game, JeDye absolutely made the right decision. The Sox just couldn't stage a comeback this time around. In any case, the Piranhas lost again (!). The Sox are looking good, and the Piranhas are looking like the plain old Minnesota Twins.

A new beginning

Who had a good feeling about last night's Cubs/Reds pitching match-up? That's right, you heard it here first that Marquis would have a strong outing and lead the Cubs out of their 6-game losing streak. OK, maybe Soriano's 3-HR performance had something to do with it, too. Marquis kept the game in hand despite an bases-loaded walk on a questionalble call that looked like it would get him tossed early.

The Cubs offense--AlSo, DeRo, D-Lee and the rest--scored in every inning after the 2nd, but in the end, the bullpen did a lot to make this one a more painful experience for some fans than the 14-9 final would indicate. Mrs. SBW and I were heading back from dinner and listening to the radio when the Cubs were ahead 11-1, and I made fun of Ronny for feeling nervous about the 10-run lead. Then, the Reds scored 4 runs in the 8th, and by the time D-Lee was up in the 9th with the bases loaded, the Mrs. was screaming at the radio demanding more runs. Again, I had to laugh with the Cubs still up 11-5 at the time, but Lee and then Mighty Mite together drove in 3 runs to make it 14-5, I felt good with Wuertz on the mound to start the 9th, giving Marmol a rest with a 9-run lead, but Wuertz loaded the bases and Marmol came in looking like someone woken up in the middle of the night. He promptly gave up a grand slam to Jolbert Cabrera (Who?), but then came to his senses.

Hopefully, the Cubs are back to their winning ways, though their tough road to October gets tougher later this week.

I hate giving the White Sox second billing today because their 7-6 15-inning victory was a hugely significant game (while we were in the car with the Reds scoring runs late against the Cubs, I was switching from 720 AM to 670 AM frequently to track both games.)

Not long after we got home and the Cubs had sealed their victory, Thome obliterated an 0-1 pitch for career HR No. 537 and a White Sox winner, a turn of events which I called from my own couch just before it happened (my dog is a witness). I couldn't tell whether Thome's smash landed on the right field consourse or not, but yes, it went that far. Jenks had given the Angels a 6-5 lead in the 9th after the Sox had tied the score in the 7th an a 2-run HR by Dirty 30. But, the Sox tied it off K-Rod in the bottom of the 9th, thereby keeping Thiggy's 57-save record safe a little longer (K-Rod has 54 saves and certainly will break the record, though he has been off lately.)

The Sox blew a great chance to win the the 10th, wasting a man on 3rd with no outs situation. A.J. again showed poor base-running choices in getting caught off 3rd base for the second out of the inning (Doug Eddings wasn't around to save him this time.) A.J. wasn't replaced with a pinch-runner presumably because Ozzie used both Wise and Owens as PRs in the 9th (Owens getting himself thrown out at 2nd after doing a delayed tag-up from 1st base on the sac fly that scored the tying run.)

Despite the base-running gaffes, the bullpen was in lock-down mode. Even Jenks pitch a strong 10th after his bad 9th. But, Matt Thornton was more impressive, pitching 2-2/3 scoreless innings and Ehren Wasserman got the Sox out of a 14th inning jam--and got the win--by de-clawing the aging but still dangerous Vlad Guerrero.

The Piranhas lost, so the Sox are 2-1/2 games up in 1st place. They have already won the series against the postseason-ready Angels, and go for the sweep today. Both of our teams suddenly look fresh with new beginnings.

We're going streaking!

Yes, the Cubs are still losing, this time finding a way to lose before the game was half over, getting pounded by the Lowly Reds 10-2. This one looked like a bad match-up from the start with Lilly going to the mound (he's now 0-4 with an 8.15 ERA against Cinci this season after getting tagged with 5 runs in 2 IP Friday night.)

No offense again. The Cubs are hitting so little that Koyie Hill, the catcher now know more for his mangled hand than anything else, drove in both runs (though the second only scored because uber-rookie Jay Bruce, who earlier in the game hit a grand slam, bobbled the ball, so no RBI). much was made of Piniella and Sinatro getting lost on the drive to Cincinnati from Chicago, just the kind of thing you might think would lighten up the mood and loosen up the team a little, but it only served as ample metaphor for how the Cubs are losing their way.

Tonight, Marquis goes against Cueto, which most nights would otherwise be described as a match-up of a middling, inconsistent veteran and an incredibly talented rookie, but for some reason, I'm feeling good about this game. Marquis looked strong last time out, and Cueto is coming off a sore elbow. The Cubs have to win sometime...

And now, for a much more enjoyable analysis of a 10-2 game: The White Sox didn't let a possible season-ending injury to their best hitter bring them down as they opened a weekend series against the play-off-bound Angels. CQ was out for the first of many games, but Junior had 2 RBI, Uribe tapped his occasional power streak for a pair of 2-run HRs and Paulie hit another round-tripper as he gradually works his way back to normal. Buehrle was unscored-upon for 6 IP with an uncharacteristic 7 Ks. And, Linebrink is back and looked pretty good.

CQ has been getting criticism for breaking his wrist against his bat as he was punishing himself for missing a pitch against Clieff Lee in Cleveland. Don't get on him too much though, for a freak injury. I have seen other players, such as Zambrano and Geo on the Northside, break bats after poor at-bats, which is much more dangerous and unnecessary. You see some guys get so upset, you wonder how they can keep their focus the rest of the game. CQ was doing something anyone with a competitive streak would do in the same situation, and which he noted he has cone many times over the years. Unfortunately, fate took over.

Meanwhile, Uribe, for all his expendability earlier this season, has proven to be a key part of this club yet again, particularly with Joe "My achin' back" Crede now done for the season, according to the Great and Powerful Oz. The Sox won big, and have tougher match-ups the next two games, but a little of the swagger that the Cubs lost recently has re-emerged on the Southside.

Injury report

Is it possible that injuries to star players on both the Cubs and the Sox could threaten our dream of a Windy City World Series? Zambrano has tendinitis, and now comes the news that Carlos Quentin, AL HR leader and our town's best candidate for a league MVP award (sorry A-Ram), will be out at least a couple weeks with a broken wrist. Can he come back in time to make a difference?

After both teams have come so far, injuries were the last thing we expected to possibly derail post-season hopes. But, make no mistake: The Cubs and Sox are still both in it, and better than that, they are both in the driver's seat in their respective divisons. CQ's absence may hurt the Sox more than Zammy's short leave from the Cubs, assuming Zammy doesn't take a turn for the worse, and further assuming Harden doesn't miss too much time with his own pains. At times, CQ has been the Sox offense, amazing in that he wasn't expected to even be a factor on this team. Also, the Sox are only a game up in 1st place and must win their division, whereas the Cubs have some flexibility to lose a few (more) games. The acquisition of Junior may prove fortuitous for the Sox if he can pick up the slack offensively (though we really need the Junior of 10 summers ago).

Skidding and standing firm

The Cubs are still skidding and not even looking good doing it, getting shut out Wednesday night 4-0 by the resurgent Astros. Dempster wasn't bad, but he needed to be perfect and also supply his own runs, with the offense back in slumber after Tuesday's 7-run output. We're not in panic mode here, no more than we were yesterday, anyway.

We're still believing this is just a bump in the road on the way to making the play-offs, regardless of how the division race ends, and with Zammy now out until at least next week with tendinitis (could have been worse) we might want to couch things in exactly those terms. On to Cinci!

With the Piranhas skidding, the Sox are in 1st place alone, standing firm and awaiting the Angels' visit tomorrow. Hope it stops raining by then.

September to mis-remember

Pardon the time off--I was waiting to have something good to say, and finally I do: The White Sox just beat Cleveland 4-2, escaping town with a win and winning for the second time in their last six games. The story was solid pitching by Vazquez and a 1-2/3-inning, two-double-play save by no longer rusty Bobby Jenks. the Missile and Dirty 30 had HRs.

More importantly, everybody looked loose in this one. Last week, there was a call for more urgency and intensity, but maybe this Sox team is tougher to beat when it isn't trying so hard to find its inner strength. The Sox had been shut out on Labor Day, but the victimizer was likely Cy Young winner Cliff Lee, who won his 20th game. Last night's 9-3 downfall was tougher to take, as Danks tanked again and th Sox left 10 men on base. But, the bright spots were Dirty 30 and Paulie, who are both getting better at the plate. And... the Piranhas lost last night, so things are looking up... a little.

What's worse than leaving 10 men on base? 12, which is how many the Cubs stranded in a tough 9-7 11-inning loss Tuesday. After three games in which they had barely mustered any offense--peaking in a 3-0 loss when Mrs. SBW and I were in attendance on Labor Day--the Cubs had 15 hits, but could only bring 7 home. Geo, Edmonds, DeRo and AlSo (yes, Soriano) all hit HRs and there were even some other non-single run-scoring hits by The-Riot and Mighty Mite.

But, after Zammy left (more on that later) in the 5th with the score tied 3-3, the bullpen--more specifically Howry--couldn't hold. Woody gave up a game-winning 2-run HR to ex-Sox World Series hero Geoff Blum, but after multiple innings in which the Cubs left the winning run stranded, it didn't seem like such a surprise. Woody actually was otherwise good, striking out 4 in 2 IP, as was Marmol, who had 2 IP and came away clean. Fortunately for the Cubs, the Brewers lost their last two.

Well, the Cubs have now matched their longest losing streak of the season at 4. Hopefully, the fact reminds them of how good they really are.

Now, about Zammy. His 5 IP were by no means great, but he looked better than he had in recent games. But after the game, word come out that he "didn't feel good." When pressed, Lou said, according to the papers, "I think it's his arm." Do you really think so?

Zammy was supposed to be examined today, but no news yet on how that turned out. But, I bet Lou's right--it's his arm.

Is it too soon to start Samardzija?

Laboring for wins

The White Sox finally toughed out a win in Boston. Even with a 4-1 lead in the 9th, I was squirming a little as the ball was handed to Rusty Jenks, but he allowed minimal damage and saved the victory, getting White Sox-killer Dustin Pedroia (who had gone 8 for 8 in the previous two games against the Paler Hose) to fly out with the tying run on 2nd base. Your final: 4-2, leaving the White Sox 1/2 game up in 1st place as the Piranhas cam to their senses and beat the A's.

Gavin Floyd was fantastic in his 15th win and Thome pounded career HR No. 536, tying him with Mickey Mantle. Speaking of The Mick, my Sox-crazy friend The Commish and I will be heading out to NYC in a couple weeks to pay our respects to Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium in their final days. Hoping to make it to make it to Mickey's Mantle's Restaurant, too. Expect some "Live from New York" posts the weekend of Sept. 12-14.

Getting out of Boston with at least 1 win was huge as the Sox prepare to face-off with Cleveland, a team which suddenly remembered it was supposed to be good this year. The Sox need to remind them their season is actually over.

Meanwhile, the Cubs lost their 2nd consecutive game at home for just the third time this year against a solid Phillies team, as Zambrano missed his start with a tired arm. Ugh--but again, the bigger story was that the Cubs left numerous men in scoring position. The 5-3 final makes it 4 of 5 games in which the Cubs have failed to score more than 3 runs, the exception in the run being A-Ram's grand slam in last Thursday night's comeback victory.

The red-hot Astros come to town today, and Mrs. SBW and I will be taking in the late-afternoon contest from the upper reaches, where hopefully we'll still feel a stray breeze or two with the temperature expected to hit 90. Marquis vs. Oswalt is not a match-up I like late in the year, as Oswalt always finishes strong, but it's definitely time for the powerful Cubs offense to come back to life. After the Reds, the Astros are probably the second-worst team the Cubs will face the rest of the way, but even the Astros are arguably still in the wild card race.