I have been cleaning this house for two days. It is an endless task. 500 square feet is way bigger than it feels.
In other news, a few days ago the Cubs clinched their division. They would have done it sooner but their division is actually a tough one as opposed to a certain "cakewalk" division such as the AL West. Seriously, if we don't get a championship this year. . . well, I would do the same thing I have done every year since I began following that team: "We'll get 'em next year"
However, until that time I will be displaying the eternal optimism that makes Cubs fans Cubs fans: "Go Cubs! Its gonna happen!"
Oh, and although it would be interesting to see, please do not encourage the White Sox at all. I love Chicago way to much to see it burn down after the World Series, regardless of the outcome.
For the Hunts, I am not sure if I have explained the hatred that goes on between Sox and Cubs fans, but they are like the Hatfield and McCoys of baseball. Bad blood, I tells ya.
Ian
7 comments:
Yuh know, I probably woulda let all the Cubs boasting go by without comment, feeling sorry as I do for the poor, wretched Cubs fans. But the weak AL West remark just begs for a response. Sorry ahead of time, you long-suffering Cubs fan...but you started it!
Over the last 4 years the AL has won 576 interleague games while the NL has won only 432, a dismal .429 winning percentage. That is PIRATES bad. Angels might be in a weak division...Cubs are in a weak LEAGUE!
The Cubs were swept by the Rays and White Sox and dropped 2 of 3 against the lowly Orioles in interleague play this year. Total results vs AL teams this year? W6, L9.
The NL has won only 5 of the last 16 World Series. During that span, the NL is 35-54, a .393 winning percentage. That's '08 Padres bad. See above remark re the weak LEAGUE!
The AL has won 11 consecutive All Star games. The last time the NL won an All Star game, Ozzie Smith played for the NL squad and Harry Caray was in the Cubs' booth.
The Angels might be in a weak division, but they have the best record in baseball, playing most of their games against the stronger AL. This year alone they went 15-4 against the Yanks (boo!) and Red Sux (hiss!), sweeping the Sux at Boston, and sweeping the Yanks 2x.
And my final remark is....
1908!
This blog needs a way to insert a smiley face...you know I'm just funnin' with ya', I trust? Congratulations to the Cubs for a great year. Hope you get to join me at a WS game this year to watch the Angels SPANK the Cubbies!
Good Grief, Terry. This is our Son-In-Law, not Our Dinner. Be nice.
Go Cubbies! Go Angels! Go Everybody! Yay!
Whatza matter? You no speaka smack-talk? This is just how boys play, girl. I fully expect--and look forward to--a robust retort from the family Cubs fan.
Did I just read that right? You are criticizing the National League? The pure league? The one without the dreaded DH hitter which creates, effectively, three different classes of players, distinctly separating pitchers from other fielders and designated hitters? The use of the DH introduces an element of offensive and defensive specialization. This is not football, my friend!
And look at those nine AL losses. Six were away games, meaning that the DH rule was in effect. Who do you think has the advantage in this situation? The team who uses this rule 8 games a year or all but 8 games a year. When you put the White Sox in Wrigley, the sweeping was done to them.
As for the Orioles, unacceptable. I could site that Soriano was on the DL and Fukudome (back before pitchers figured him out, making him a huge waste of money) was out the second game but that would just be making up excuses.
Also, if you want to throw out All Star Game and World Series Numbers, you have to go back. The All-Star Game has seen several "eras" in which one league tended to dominate. During the 1930s and 1940s, the American League won the majority of the games. Starting in 1950, the National League reversed that trend and from the 1960s through the mid 1980s was winning nearly every one of the games. In the late 1980s that trend reversed again, and since then the American League has won nearly all the time, including an 11-game winning streak (excluding the tie game in 2002) since 1997.
With that oscillation of periods of dominance, as of the 2008 All-Star Game, the cumulative run totals for all 79 games played was 668, closely split between the leagues with 335 runs for the American League and 333 for the National League.
And and, if my count is right, the World Series is in your favor. However, if you discount the 26 titles won by those freaks the Yankees (which we should because they were clearly robots made for playing baseball from 1923 - 1962. I guess 77, 78, 96, 98, 99, and 2000 can be admissible), the NL is up.
And and and, although it has been 100 years, the Cubs still have 2 Series wins to their name while the Angels are sitting on one. 2>1.
Its gonna happen!
Oh, and sweeping the Yankees this year... not that big of a deal. I mean, weren't they behind Toronto for a period of time?
Also, here is some fun reading.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080925&content_id=3545804&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
It showcases some heartbreak and some triumph but through it all, you have to admit,
you just can't match our heart.
Great retort! I even agree with some of it, especially the DH bit. I am still a baseball purist at heart. However, the argument re who has the advantage in inter-league play is only 1/2 correct. I agree that the AL has the advantage in their home parks...but the NL has the advantage when they are home, probably by a larger margin. The NL pitchers are used to hitting, while AL pitchers haven't hit since Little League! When in the AL parks, the NL teams can add an experienced hitter as their DH.
Oh, that 2 Series wins vs. the Angels 1 is (at first glance) a good riposte, until one discovers that the Cubs have played in 10 World Series, total. That means their WS record is 2-8. Go ahead, hang your head in shame...I'll understand.
Truth be told, if the Angels fail to advance, I'll be joining the rest of the baseball world in rooting for the Cubbies. Gotta love 'em!
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