Shifting Focus
By Mike J.
I've been an optimist throughout most of the season, looking on the bright side without trying to be a blatant homer about the whole thing. However, as Aramis Ramirez strained and stumbled his way into first base in Wednesday's game, the Cubs' already slim chances evaporated. Even with Derrek Lee batting .900 like he did in April and May the Cubs couldn't get far above .500: without Ramirez now, I can't fathom the Cubs putting together any semblance of offense.
So what's a Cub fan to do? There's a couple standard options:
- Speculate on September call-ups. As the roster expands, I expect we'll see Ronny Cedeno and Matt Murton in the dugout. Whether they see much playing time will depend on Dusty's level of delusion that this is a contending team. The funny thing is that if Baker does "give up" and let the young players start, it might remove enough pressure to let the team remember how to play baseball.
- Look forward to the offseason. While the Cubs will have a decent amount of money to spend this winter, there's not many exciting free agents available. Johnny Damon is at the top of a short list, but I'm sure once the playoffs are over the Hot Stove league will be even more exciting than usual.
- Play the blame game. It's finger-pointin' time! All sorts of accusations are possible, but let's start with an easy one: even though Aramis has had an incredibly productive season and was voted to the All-Star team, his unwillingness to hustle cost the team multiple games. Just ignore both of his bruised legs and it almost seems plausible.
In between the common three diversions listed above, I might turn my focus a bit toward baseball in general and look at what other teams actually have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs. For example, during my 3-week sabbatical from baseball, I failed to notice that the Cleveland Indians have made a push and are now tied for the AL Wild Card Lead with Oakland and New York. How did this happen? I think I could name maybe 5 Indians--C.C. Sabathia, Victor Martinez, Travis Hafner...ok, I guess only 3. And that's a damn shame.
I'm making my last trip to Chicago for a while to clean out my old apartment, and while I hate to drag figurative language in this, it will feel a bit symbolic to be shutting the door on the season when I move out entirely. The Cubs could still surprise us in the last month, but if they do, it'll still be too little and far too late. Check back for Cub news as it comes along with playoff race coverage.
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