Morning Walk-thru - Et tu, Caesar?

Isn't this fun?...I love baseball season. Last night, it looked like the Cubs were on their way to a real major league win. No 14 hits and 9 runs with the wind blowing out. A genuine, bona fide, come from behind, show some guts win.

After HaGWilT was his usual mercurial self early on, losing a one-run lead in the first by giving up a three-run homer to Jeff Franceour and struggling with his control throughout, the Cubs actually (swear to God) overcame that. They scored two runs in the top of the 7th following a lead off walk to Pie and back-to-back doubles by Lee and Ramirez to take a one run lead and let HaGWilT off the hook.

Scott Eyre came on and pitched pretty well initially. Got two quick outs then got hosed on a close 2-2 pitch that should've ended the inning. Of course that led to a walk and then the next batter grounded to former Gold Glover Caesar Izturis who played paddycake with the ball, allowing the runner, some random pinch hitter who I can't remember, to beat it out at first. (Aside: If you're not going to play something close to Gold Glove defense, Izturis, you're worthless because you're bat isn't winning any games.) From there you can just assume the rest. This is the Cubs afterall. Consecutive hits, three runs, Cubs load the bases with one out and threaten in the 8th but ground into a double play, Bob Wickman is summoned from his bowling league and Chicago ultimately loses.*

I don't even know what else to say. I consciously choose to watch/listen to, root for and follow a team that reenacts my own personal nightmare night in and night out. There's no explaining why.

* - Author note: Everything prior to the asterisk above was written immediately after the Braves took the lead in the 7th. There was a moment when the bases were loaded in the 8th where I thought I might have to rewrite the entire thing. Stupid me. This is the Cubs. I feel like the half-boy, half-ostrich character from that PETA South Park episode. "Kill ME. Kill ME."

How 'bout a knuckle sammich?...Tim Wakefield has a 1.35 ERA right now despite the fact that he still looks like he's throwing coach-pitch to a bunch of 10-year-olds.

I love Tim Wakefield. I could go to the box right now, not having swung a bat in 12 years, and look at the guy and expect to get a hit, but the best baseball players in the world haven't been able to thus far.

The anti-salary cap...Brian Uhrlacher was fined $100K for wearing a Vitaminwater hat during Super Bowl media day. What a bastard. First Tank Johnson, now Uhrlacher. Don't the Bears have any respect for the laws and morals of modern-day society? Everybody knows that Gatorade is the official drink of the NFL. To suggest otherwise, by wearing the hat or drinking the candy water itself, is just about the most offensive thing I've heard in weeks.

That said, if I was Uhrlacher, I'd just send fellow pitchmen 50 Cent and David Ortiz to pay Roger Goodell a visit. They could probably change his mind.