Playoff Expansion: The Next Big Thing

The Rays, even at 70-58, need a miracle to get in the
playoffs.  With a second wild card, however, they
would be in the middle of a heated pennant race.

A 10-team playoff system is coming, and this is great excellent for Major League Baseball and its fans

It's an exciting time for Major League Baseball, as this year's October playoff schedule will most likely be the last not to include 10 teams fighting for a World Series championship.  Commissioner Bud Selig visited the Cubs TV booth, highly rare for the somewhat secluded comish, and although he couldn't commit to a definite yes on expansion, it seems all but decided upon so far.

The details of how it all will work won't come until after the World Series even if they have been decided on.  The general details include a plan to add a wild card team in each league, creating a 10-team postseason instead of the current eight and adding a 'wild card round' before the Division Series where the two wild cards would battle to earn a spot in the regular eight-team bracket.  The wild card round would be either a one-game win-or-go-home setup or a best-of-three series.  Both would skyrocket TV ratings to begin the postseason, which MLB could use as the TV ratings from the 2010 playoffs were wildly variable depending on the round.

What does this do for the regular season?  Think about this the next time you watch a Yankees-Red Sox game near the end of this season.  While the game is between two excellent teams fighting for postseason seeding, the game really doesn't mean anything at all.  One team will win the division and the other will take the wild card, but both make the playoffs.  Next year and beyond, that same Yanks-Sox game will decide who cruises into the playoffs with a few days off to rest up and get ready for the ALDS while the other has to battle on little rest in a frantic few games to even get into the ALDS.  I can't wait for this newest postseason development.  It tests the true character of baseball teams.  It challenges the game within the game, including the mental game that allows players to overcome adversity when their bodies are overwhelmed physically and mentally.  Those results should be exciting.

Yankees vs. Red Sox?  An intriguing and historical matchup
but not one that really matters currently regarding the playoffs.

This postseason, on the other hand, will just that same old, same old three-round eight-team system.  But if this season were 2012, who would still be battling it out for an increased chance at the playoffs now?  This year's wild card races are slightly disappointing, as the Yankees/Red Sox and Braves have run away with the respective spots for each leagues, holding at least a 7.5 game lead as of today.  The Rays and Angels, both at least 10 games over .500, are well out of the wild card race.  But if there was a second spot for them to fight for, the two teams would all over it and battling like we haven't seen.

If there was a second spot in the NL, the Giants would hold it by just two games over the fading Cardinals, who would suddenly catch a whiff of October and go after it.  Even the Reds at five games back or Nationals at six back could make a run for it.  The possibilities seem to go on and give so many more teams in the league life down the late stretch run that seems to fade in importance for most teams.

Fans crave October baseball and owners do too for the money it reels in.  It has to be highly frustrating for teams like those Rays and Angels, both very good teams this season but both of whom will need a miracle to play in October.  Adding this new spot opens the door for other teams in the league that might not even be competing for the division to get it anyway.  It almost seems too good to be true, but I can't even come up with an even somewhat-convincing counter argument.  It's just the right thing to do.  If Selig pulls the trigger on this one, it will mark a new era as baseball's most exciting pennant race ever.

Big Z's Cubs Future

Carlos Zambrano in Atlanta, right after he was thrown out
for throwing at Braves 3B Chipper Jones.

Whether or not he pitches for the Cubs again isn't the real question


The latest blowup by Carlos Zambrano came a year after he took anger management classes as a result of his blowup before that.  Locating his pitches effectively when he returned, Zambrano went 8-0 to finish the season, which had Cubs fans thinking the man had finally reinvented himself.  Instead, he's been inconsistent and generally mediocre all season long, including a dismal strikeout rate.  He now finds himself on the 30-day disqualified list with no pay (not that he needs any) and his future with the Cubs is in jeopardy.  But the real question is, how will he be remembered by the fan base that made him what he is now?

Zambrano vs. Michael Barrett, 2007.

Zambrano's history of emotional temper tantrums goes way back.  His most notable incidents include numerous outbursts in 2006, his dugout brawl with catcher Michael Barrett at Wrigley in 2007, his 2008 attack on the Gatorade cooler at Dodger Stadium after giving up a three-run homer to Matt Kemp, his 2009 performance at Wrigley against Pittsburgh where, after being thrown out, he threw out an umpire then fired a ball from home plate to deep left field, his dugout yelling match with first baseman Derrek Lee over Lee not diving for a ball in 2010 at The Cell, and finally throwing at Chipper Jones twice in the same at-bat after giving up back-to-back homers and five homers in the game.

Zambrano vs. Derrek Lee, 2010.

Throughout all of this, Big Z has actually been a great pitcher over his 11 year career, all with the Cubs.  A homegrown prospect out of Venezuela, he asserted himself into the rotation as a 22-year-old on the 2003 team with a 3.11 ERA.  Eventually he became the ace for most of the mid-2000s despite his emotional problems.  His career record today stands at 125-81 with a 3.60 ERA.  Excellent for a homegrown prospect, no?  But of course, Cubs fans don't think of him in this way.  Instead, we wonder what could have been if he was able to control his problems at a young age.  Could Zambrano have won 20 games and/or a Cy Young?  Most definitely.

The daily warmup ritual with 5'7" Mike Fontenot.

If Zambrano pitches for the Cubs again, I think the fan base would get over this incident to some degree, just like they have all the incidents past.  However Tom Ricketts said on the ESPN broadcast on Sunday night that he has "a hard time seeing that happening," and with good reason.  If Zambrano never pitches in a Cubs uniform again, he will be remembered in a foggy cloud of potential and frustration.  I hope it's the first option.

Once he clears the 30-day disqualified list, I hope the Cubs let him back into the rotation for probably three or four starts, which is all that will be left in the season.  The ending in Atlanta is too abrupt for a veteran like Z, and I think it would be good for the fans and team to let him have one last (peaceful) goodbye before the team moves on.  This offseason, the new GM will probably come in with a no-tolerance-for-misbehavior attitude, and show it off by dumping Zambrano.  Whether this means releasing him or miraculously finding a taker in the trade market, the end will probably come at the end of this season for the big guy.

While I understand the anger fellow Cubbie fans have felt at Zambrano for all of these years of inconsistencies and questionable decisions, I know I'll be one who misses him for many reasons.  The awkward kill-the-ball swing that got him 23 career homers.  Zambrano pinch-hitting at Wrigley to a standing ovation out of entertainment and laughter.  The pointing to the sky coming off the mound which never seemed to help his anger issues.  Firing fastballs past the game's best hitters pack in the old days.  Breaking bats over his knee.  The bunt singles.  The traditional whack-a-mole warmup routine with Mike Fontenot.  The obscure, Red Bull-influenced injuries.  His insistence on wearing the blue alternate jerseys.  Even watching his BP sessions.  The overall energy and character that made the Big Z truly earn himself a place in Cubs history, for bad or (usually) good reasons.  And of course, the no-hitter against the hurricane-relocated Astros in Milwaukee.  Even if they drove us crazy mad, thanks for the good (and bad) times, Carlos.

A great teammate for the most part, smiles and jokes
were always in abundance during a day at the office for Z. 

  

Starlin Being Starlin?

Hopefully not.  But this is completely unacceptable in the Major Leagues.  In Sunday's loss to the Cardinals, Starlin Castro was caught on the TV cameras, on ESPN no less, with his back to the infield as a pitch was being thrown.  In the picture here, take a look at shortstop to see what happened.  Castro, who must have been thinking about his at-bat a half-inning before or something, wasn't paying attention for most of the half-inning, walking around and looking at the sky, outfield, and crowd.  On the pitch you see here in the picture, the batter is Daniel Descalso.  If Descalso hit a ball to shortstop it would just roll on into left field and Castro wouldn't have noticed until after.  This is crazy, and I've never seen anything like this at the Major League level.

ESPN analyst Bobby Valentine even said on the TV broadcast that this is totally unacceptable in the Majors.  We've all seen our share of baseball players slacking off- whether it be baserunners sitting down on the bases, outfielders picking grass or infielders kicking up dirt out of boredom.  These mistakes affect seven-year-olds, not 21-year-old MLB All-Stars.

Of course, Castro apologized for his actions and said they will never happen again.  Knowing how much Castro loves the game and wants to play every day, the apology was probably genuine and not a forced grumble.  But whether it will happen again is not the focus; one occurrence of this is one too many.  I don't think Starlin needs to be reminded that his job as an MLB player is one of the most coveted in the world and that focus on every single pitch is mandatory to earn and keep the job.  But he is young and a relaxed guy on the baseball field, and it showed here.

The fact that this happened on national TV has helped it become somewhat of a national news story, although it probably doesn't need to be.  In the long run, however, it could end up a good mistake for him to learn from.  If there is anything negative in Castro's game that scouts can pick up on besides his defense, it's that sometimes he seems a little too relaxed and lackadaisical out there, almost like a Hanley Ramirez.  This incident should make Castro more motivated to focus and prove to the organization and fan base that he can be the face of the franchise for years to come, which is definitely a good thing.

Aramis Ramirez has now said that he thinks too much is being made out of this story.  While that may be true, he should have done something about it himself.  Ramirez has never been a very vocal guy, and while he may be the hottest hitter on the planet right now, he needed to say something during the game Sunday night.  Sure, Ramirez's demeanor on the field comes off as being a lazy bum.  But at least he knows enough to be in ready position each and every pitch.

That was a time for Ramirez to speak up and say something to Castro about it, but didn't.  As a successful veteran and the longest tenured position player on the Cubs, that is part of his duty for his team.  Even though Castro obviously should've been focused, there's a learning process here that should help him mature, especially if his hispanohablante amigo Ramirez is there to help him out.

Jim Hendry Walks On; Randy Bush New Interim GM

Jim Hendry walks the concourse for the last
time as general manager of the Cubs.

Late August has become a time of change for the Cubs the past two years.  Last August, Mike Quade replaced Lou Piniella as manager.  In a move I never thought would actually happen in season, GM Jim Hendry was officially fired yesterday, ending his 9-year stint with the Cubs.  Assistant GM Randy Bush has taken over on an interim basis but will not be considered for the full-time job as the organization searches for someone outside the organization, said chairman Tom Ricketts at the press conference.

Being general manager of a big market team requires standing up to a lot of scrutiny.  Sometimes you have to make move, regardless of whether you want to or not.  But Hendry was in a very odd spot.  Ricketts told him that he would be fired in mid-July but that it wouldn't be announced until August, after the deadline to sign draft picks and after the non-waiver trade deadline.  So Hendry had to sign all the remaining picks, including top pick shortstop Javier Baez, and make a trade in the Kosuke Fukudome trade, while knowing he was going to be fired.  Now that's loyalty.

Hendry was choked up during his interview at the podium, and he shouldn't be ashamed.  The Cubs under Hendry went 749-748 during his tenure, but he was still their most successful GM in over half a century, building them to three division titles with essentially two different teams.  He brought in two high profile managers in Dusty Baker and Piniella, both of whom had a sizzling start in their first two seasons but faded in their next two.  Hendry, with Baker, came five outs from getting the Cubs to the World Series in 2003.

Interim GM Randy Bush

Despite all the success Hendry had, many fans thought it was time for him to go and the team to get a fresh start.  I can see understand the viewpoint, and although I didn't necessarily agree, I think the move sent waves in the form of a wake up call through the organization, specifically the players.  The next GM will be a high profile guy as well, which is a good thing.

The reason I didn't think they should remove Hendry is because, seeing the tough position Hendry was in the last two offseasons because of the large payroll, the Cubs have a bright future.  Of course, the payroll was Hendry's fault, but the draft class this year is one of the deepest they've ever had and lots of ending contracts should make this a bullish offseason.  Hendry was also prepared for the big free agent frenzy also, possibly going after Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder.  But if Hendry had to go, now is the right time.

Right now is a crucial time to get the Cubs back on the winning track, at least at the GM's desk.  With the draft picks signed, it's up to the GM (Bush, for now), scouting director Tim Wilken, VP of player personnel Oneri Fleita, and all of their staff to develop them and get 'em to the bigs as soon as they're ready.  While that is the focus for the next few years, the Cubs obviously have the opportunity to add more this winter in free agency and a new GM will want to prove himself by making a big splash such as a Pujols or Fielder.  Success or failure in these moves will decide the Cubs' success over the early 2010s.

Now the big question everyone wants the answer to is who the next GM will be.  Lists of candidates have already been thrown out there in the media and blogosphere.  Although Ricketts made clear in the press conference that the evaluation process will not be public at all, he did say he wants an experienced executive who comes from a winning culture.  This could include, but is not limited to, Josh Byrnes, Padres VP of baseball operations and former Diamondbacks GM who impressively built the 2007 NLCS team, Jerry DiPoto, Diamondbacks Senior VP of scouting and player development, or Rich Hahn, White Sox Assistant GM.  But if it was up to me, I'd go a different route.

Rays GM Andrew Friedman:
scouting and development master

The turnaround of the Tampa Bay Rays was been constructed by scouting and development.  They went from a 66-96 team to a 97-65 team overnight, and at the helm was GM Andrew Friedman.  In the process, Friedman mastered the art of winning from scouting upwards.  That combined with the free agent buying power and overall resources that the Cubs have, and Friedman could be the best in the business in no time.

Friedman is still the GM of the Rays, but reports have stated that, with the restrictions of the limited revenue sources the Rays have, he wants out.  Time to pounce!  

Road Trip Analysis: Atlanta, Houston

Record: 3-3
Final Record: 54-70

This road trip began like many other for the Cubs, as they were mauled on Friday night in Atlanta.  Dan Uggla extended his hitting streak with two homers, both off Carlos Zambrano.  Chipper Jones, Jose Constanza, and Freddie Freeman also homered off Zambrano, who took out his frustration on Jones by throwing at him twice, hitting him the second time.  The Braves won 10-4.

Zambrano was thrown out and walked out on his team, earning him a 30-day suspension on the rarely-used disqualified list which could mark the end of his Cubs career.  Apparently anger management classes last year didn't hold up, and Zambrano started telling everyone in the clubhouse he was going to retire immediately before he cleaned out his locker and beat it.  Later, calling in on Chicago Tribune Live on CSN, he said he was upset that word of his potential retirement escaped the clubhouse and got to the media.  Either way it was a stupid thing to say so he doesn't have much of a right to be mad.

The Cubs won on Saturday thanks to an array of RBI singles and doubles, but Uggla extended his hitting streak to 33 with a home run.  I was impressed at how the Cubs attacked Derek Lowe, knocking him out of the game after six, allowing ten hits.  Final score was 8-4.

They also won on Sunday 6-5, ending Uggla's hitting streak at 33.  The Braves rocked Matt Garza for four runs in the first four innings, but the Cubs fought back and eventually tied the game on a wild pitch. Although Alex Gonzalez got the Braves the lead back on an error in the next half-inning, Carlos Pena blasted a long two-run homer to take the lead.  With the tying run on second base in the ninth, Carlos Marmol got Martin Prado out to take the series 2-1 from the NL's second-best team.

As shocking as that series win was, I was even more excited for the Cubs to head to Houston to play MLB's worst team and hopefully go for the sweep.  The Cubs should've swept too, but the Astros took two one-run games to sneak out the series win.

Two two-run doubles were enough, barely, to beat the Astros 4-3 on Monday night thanks to a save from Kerry Wood, his first as a Cub since 2008.  The loss for the Astros dropped them to 19-41 at home.  On Tuesday night, the Cubs played a solid game and took a 5-2 lead into the ninth.  Tyler Colvin and Aramis Ramirez both hit homers in the game, but Ramirez's shot will be on highlight reels all season long as it landed on the train tracks above the wall in left field, an estimated distance of over 450 feet.  But what will most be remembered from this game will obviously be Brian Bogusevic's walk-off grand slam off Marmol to win the game 6-5.  I bet the Cubs wish they had used Wood again.  Marmol has this remarkable ability to somehow find a way to lose a game, and showed right here.  Brian Bogusevic?  Really??  And did I mention that this was his second career Major League homer, and his first ever at home?

Casey Coleman gave the Astros the lead in the 4th of Wednesday afternoon's game, and they would never give it back.  The Cubs offense was shut out for four innings by the Astros bullpen, which featured David Carpenter, Sergio Escalona, Fernando Rodriguez, and Mark Melancon, only one of whom has thrown more than 40 innings in the Major Leagues.  I might as well just have named four construction contractors.  Added with Bogusevic, and the Cubs lost a series to a team to a team that will be 50 games under .500 by the end of the year because of five nobodies.  Nice going, guys.

Cub fans should be pleased with their effort in Atlanta because they're not an easy team to face at all.  The important thing was that they scored early to avoid having to battle against the bullpen which is, in my opinion, the most dominant in baseball.  Hardthrowers Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel are two of the most toughest pitchers in the league because everything they throw is hard, hard, and harder.  Kimbrel hasn't allowed a run since June.  The results of the Houston series, however, is pretty much unacceptable.  Marmol found a way to lose then so did the offense the next day.  Although these two events probably didn't directly have anything to do with Jim Hendry's dismissal, it definitely didn't cheer up the franchise's outlook at all.

Changing Landscape on the Central Front

The Milwaukee Brewers are 19-2 in their last 21 games and now hold a seven-game lead in the NL Central over the Cardinals, a 12.5-game lead on the Reds and 14-game lead on the Pirates, but the story was drastically different not even that long ago.  On July 24, all four teams were within four games of first place in what was MLB's tightest division.  Now, however, the trade deadline seems to have separated the leaders significantly.

The Brewers, who acquired Francisco Rodriguez most notably before the deadline, are the obvious favorites to win the division now.  The Cardinals swung Colby Rasmus to the Blue Jays in a three-way trade that landed them Edwin Jackson.  In my opinion, this was a very bad move.  While Jackson could be  great rotation depth for a team that has lacked it this season and seasons past, Rasmus was too good to be traded, whether he gets along with manager Tony La Russa or not.  The Cards also acquired Rafael Furcal as a rental to start over Ryan Theriot.  The Pirates released Lyle Overbay after he was replaced by Derrek Lee and acquired Ryan Ludwick in two moves that appear to have backfired as they have dropped out of contention.  The Reds did pretty much nothing at the deadline and have dropped out of contention.  

What does all this mean?  It means that the Brewers should be the only team of the four to make the playoffs.  But if the Brewers don't make it far into the playoffs this season, they might not get another chance.  In case you haven't heard, Prince Fielder will be a free agent after this season, and the Brewers have little to no chance of resigning him.  According to sabermetrics, teammate Ryan Braun is actually slightly more valuable now to the Brewers than Fielder is (since 2007, Braun's 24.8 WAR beats Fielder's 19.1).  But sabermetrics, or any kind of metrics for that matter, can't measure clubhouse influence.  Fielder has played in Milwaukee since 2005 (two years before Braun arrived) and is the heart of soul of an underrated Brewers team.  Fielder showed real promise as a rookie in 2006, then broke out in 2007 with 50 homers, nearly winning MVP and putting his team in contention most of the season.  He nearly single-handedly woke up the Brewers from their early-to-mid-2000s slumber, and his loss to this team would be huge.

Just seven hours down the road is St. Louis, home of Albert Pujols and the Cardinals.  Pujols' WAR since 2007 is 38.0, making Braun and Fielder look mediocre.  Pujols is the longest-tenured player on the Cardinals and probably has been the best player in baseball since entering the league in 2001.  His consistent power and plate discipline for an entire decade has gone untouched until this year, when he landed on the DL in June.  But Pujols is still the best player on the team and one of the best in the league, and his upcoming free agency is a bigger story than Fielder's.  

Although the Cardinals have a better chance to sign Pujols than the Brewers do to sign Fielder, something tells me that Pujols has not been totally pleased with the loyalty shown to him by his front office in recent years.  The exclusive free agent period open for resigning players is not very long after the World Series, and I highly doubt a deal with any team will be done before he's officially open on the market.

The future of the NL Central will be dictated to a certain extent by where Pujols and Fielder land.  If they both walk in free agency, their teams will take a big hit and the power balance in the division will shift.  But the question is, who will be ready to take it?  The Cardinals will still have Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman to control the power department, while the Brewers will still have Ryan Braun and Casey McGehee, but the key cog would be missing on both teams.

Meanwhile, the rest of the division has an opportunity here.  The Astros don't have any talent ready to win, so they won't be taking advantage.  The Pirates got too many unexpected seasons from their pitchers to expect to compete again next year, unless they get some major help from the minors or free agency.  The Reds were supposed to be much better this year behind the power duo of reigning MVP Joey Votto and Jay Bruce.  If they could just add some pitching, they could take the division back next season.  That leaves just the Cubs, who aren't expected to contend next season but could if they sign Fielder or Pujols and add the correct mix of youngsters to the group.

The bottom line is that with Fielder and Pujols possibly on the move this fall, the NL Central, baseball's unfairest division, will be slightly evened out, at least for a couple years.   

              

Homestand Analysis: Cincinnati, Washington

Record: 4-2
Final Record: 51-67

Fresh off that major sweepage in the Steel City, the Cubs returned home to face a reeling Cincinnati team that had pretty much knocked themselves out of postseason contention.  The underperforming Reds, expected by many to battle the Cardinals and Brewers for the division all season long, came into Friday's game at 57-61 and 10 games behind division-leading Milwaukee.  The Cubs wouldn't make it any easier for them either, as the Cubs, or Tony Campana rather, motored past the Reds in a 4-3 win to open the series.

Campana's first-inning inside-the-park-homer, which also scored Starlin Castro, was the first home run of his career.  In fact I remember Len and Bob once remarking on a broadcast that it was as likely that Campana's first homer came in the park as it was over the wall.  It was just an amazing sight to behold and one of the most exciting plays in baseball, although near the end there was little doubt the little guy would make it.  The left fielder was a first baseman named Yonder Alonso who apparently hadn't adapted well to his temporary position, as he ran into the wall and let the ball skip right past him.

Tyler Colvin homered an inning later to make it 3-0.  Ryan Dempster ran into a bit of trouble in the 4th, allowing two runs, but the Reds never got the lead back despite a late homer by Ramon Hernandez which cut the lead to one.  Carlos Marmol saved the win, but Campana's clutch catch in the center field ivy (Sam Fuld-style) robbing Brandon Phillips of extra bases gets the real save.  A solid, solid victory.

On Saturday, the Cubs beat the Reds in blowout fashion.  Carlos Zambrano earned his ninth win of the season which could be his last win as a Cub.  Zambrano homered, Castro picked up four RBIs, and Carlos Pena picked up three in the 11-4 win.  On Sunday, Sean Marshall's midseason slump appeared to pack in one last stand as Marshall blew a one-run lead in the 8th, allowing the Reds to win 8-7.  The win snapped the Cubs' season-high seven-game winning streak.

Following the Monday rainout, the Cubs played the first of three against Chien-Ming Wang and the Nationals on Tuesday.  Wang stymied the Cubs offense, allowing hardly any baserunners and no runs while Matt Garza on the other side continued to receive the world's worst run support.  This one of Wang's first few starts in over two years, so the effort by the Cubs offense is pretty disappointing.  Golden boy Castro homered in the 8th, but the rest of the lineup stayed quiet in the 3-1 loss.

Batboy?  Nope, the dude in the middle is
the scrawny little Campana.

Homers by Reed Johnson, Geovany Soto, and Alfonso Soriano were enough to put away the Nats on Wednesday, thanks to a solid start by Rodrigo Lopez.  Although Lopez is just a short-term fix for this season's lack of rotation depth, it's good to see the Cubs be able to win with him on the mound.

Dempster again had great stuff in his Thursday start against the Reds, a 1-1 tie until homers by Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Pena made it 4-1.  A late rally nearly tied the game for the Reds, but a huge clutch performance by Carlos Marmol got the Cubs their third series win in a row and left them 9-2 in their last 11 home games.  Rick Ankiel hit an all-or-nothing blast to deep center that was caught near the warning track with the bases loaded and everything on the line with two outs in the 9th, giving the Cubs the win.

The phrase 'home cookin'' hasn't really applied to the Cubs this year or the last, but their 'road cookin'' in Pittsburgh carried over and kept on rolling back to Wrigley anyway.  This homestand just had a fun, positive feel to it which made it so fun to watch.  MVP honors goes to Dempster, who gave the Cubs everything in two very solid starts.  After the tough summer this has been for the Cubs and their fans, it's about time for some winning.  And according to Mike Quade, this could still be the year!

Four Nights in August

After the big 10-game road trip started off so terribly for the Cubs, dropping all three in Milwaukee and the first two in St. Louis, it seemed hopeless to think any positives could be taken from it.  But after a surprising win on national TV Sunday night in St. Louis, the Cubs came to Pittsburgh for a four-game series and did something they hadn't in over 50 years.

On the other side of Chicago, the story unfolding at the same time was nowhere near as bright.  In fact, some of the ugliest baseball the White Sox have played in quite some time.  The fact that the Yankees' only loss in Chicago in 2011 came against the Cubs is extremely rare; actually, that's never happened before.  The Sox were completely incompetent against the Yanks this season, and the series appeared to give the Sox little postseason hope remaining.

Outscoring the Pirates 24-15 and outhomering them 10-5, the Cubs took all four games for the first time since 1959 to incredibly break even on the trip.  While this series probably represents the only bright spot on an at-first atrocious 10-game swing, plenty of positives can be taken from it.

The Cubs beat the Bucs in all four games, they beat them in pretty much every fashion that a team can be beat.  On Monday the Cubs scratched together runs from sacrifice flies and fielder's choices and such, winning a tight battle 4-3.  On Tuesday, the Cubs blew them out in humiliating fashion with six homers in the first four innings!  Geovany Soto, Aramis Ramirez, Marlon Byrd, Tyler Colvin, and Alfonso Soriano (twice) all went yard as the Cubs won 11-6.  In all my years of watching baseball, I have never seen such an amazing power display.  On Wednesday, there were 16 total runs less scored than in the game before; just one.  A classic pitcher's duel between Matt Garza, the most under-appreciated starter on the planet and Charlie Morton, scrub, was destined for extra innings when Starlin Castro homered to help his cause for National League Player of the Week honors, which he ended up winning.  Final score: 1-0.  On Thursday the Cubs pulled out with an early lead, only to blow it and then make a marathon comeback in the 8th to win 7-6.

This compilation of victories is nothing short of a masterpiece, and will not soon be forgotten by this writer.  The term 'textbook' baseball applies.  This sweep effectively knocked the Pirates out of postseason contention, not just because of the four losses, but because of the drastic effect the losses must have had on the team morale.  The Pirates did go out and acquire Ryan Ludwick and Derrek Lee at the deadline, but these moves appear to have backfired and the NL Central is now a two-team race.

After the White Sox were swept by the Yankees, they handily swept the Twins in Minnesota.  In reaction, a panelist (and Sox fan) on CSN wondered why his team is 'doing this to me again', referring to the Sox blowing important games and look hopeless only to win games out of nowhere and be back in contention in no time.  The panelist just wished the Sox would lose and stop toying with their fans' minds.  When a team's own fans want the team to lose, the team has definitely been through some confusing and ridiculously aggravating stretches.

The Yankees series was one such stretch.  A lifeless stretch for the Sox saw all four starters get the loss in Jake Peavy, John Danks, Gavin Floyd, and Phil Humber.  The Yankees also played around with different variations of beatdowns, in the form of a blowout (18-7), a tight win (3-2), and simple superiority (6-0 and 7-2).  The series left the Sox in third place behind the Indians and Tigers by a total of 6.5 games.

As a Cubs fan, obviously I'm very pleased with the outcomes of both series.  Although this is probably not a harbinger (in that the Cubs will probably go back to consistently and the Sox back to hovering in a tentative in-contention holding pattern), it was fun while it lasted for sure.  And it probably isn't going to happen again anytime soon, so I am taking advantage of this for all it can be.  Not just the four-game sweeps on both sides of town (and winning on the right side, no less), but the authenticity of the the wins provides a lesson: in how many ways can a team beatdown another?  A comical and interesting question in the same, and it was definitely explored by our two Chicago teams last week.        

Trade Deadline Winners and Losers

The non-waiver trade deadline has come and gone, but that doesn't necessarily mean teams are done dealing.  Losing teams will continue to unload pieces through the waiver wire, but the biggest prizes are usually found before the deadline.  And there were some real sweet prizes this season for contenders.  The three teams that upgraded their team most effectively and least effectively, if at all, are listed here.

Winners:

1. San Francisco Giants
Although the Giants' acquisition of Carlos Beltran came at a huge price in what scouts are calling a future Cy Young-candidate in starter prospect Zach Wheeler, Beltran provides offense the Giants are absolutely desperate for.  It's not every year, or every decade even, where there's a team that 13 games over .500 and breaks even in run differential.  Entering today, the Giants have scored 384 runs and allowed 384 runs, a tribute to their penchant for winning close games and losing lopsided games.  While TV broadcasters Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow comically dubbed this penchant as 'Giants Baseball: Torture', the Giants offense has been nothing short of atrocious this season, especially since the loss of Buster Posey for the season.  In response, the Giants went out and got Beltran, Jeff Keppinger, and Orlando Cabrera.  Keppinger and Cabrera are definite offensive upgrades over scrubs like Mike Fontenot, Brandon Crawford, and even Miguel Tejada.  Beltran, who even earned a trip to the All-Star Game this year, has proven he still can produce this season.

2. New York Mets
The Mets weren't even a buyer at the deadline this year but this managed to nab the second spot on my list.  How?  By unloading Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez, two seemingly unmovable contracts, the Mets have already begun the process of improving for 2012.  The Mets will be big spenders this offseason, and these two deals saved them about $5 million in total which means more than it seems.  Although the plans for the future aren't totally clear yet, like if the team will retain Jose Reyes and David Wright for their next attempt at a contender, the Mets are giving themselves financial flexibility by dealing away two guys who definitely weren't going to be a part of those plans.

3. Atlanta Braves
Atlanta ranks 27th in MLB in stolen bases this season, uncommon for a playoff contender.  Michael Bourn, on the other hand, ranks first in the NL in steals, and has for the two seasons as well.  So when Bourn was acquired by Atlanta for Major League center fielder Jordan Schafer and three prospects, it was an understatement to say they improved.  Bourn's impact on the lineup should have immediate results in a lineup that had to use the miscast Schafer in leadoff for a while.  The 2011 Braves don't feature a star power hitter.  Although power-hitting Dan Uggla has recovered from an awful start back to respectability, the Braves are still more of a contact-hitting and line drive-hitting team, exemplified by fan favorite Martin Prado's 35 strikeouts in 371 at-bats.  All of this means that Bourn doesn't fit into the team philosophy, which in this case is a very good thing.  Bourn will be the instant spark plug the Braves will find to come quite in handy to get their rallies going.

Losers:

1. New York Yankees
The latest of the annual anarchy that is the Yankee rotation has begun to take in effect, as CC Sabathia remains the only fearsome starter in the entire borough.  The only reason the Yankees are in such a great position heading into the playoffs is their successful gamble on relying on a pair of washed up veterans in 34 year old Freddy Garcia and 38 year old Bartolo Colon.  The astounding performances of both at a time when the Yankees needed starting pitching so desperately (as they always seem to) have been nothing short of incredible, if not the backbone of how the Yankees are winning at all this season to support their high-powered offense.  But can the two be trusted down the stretch and all the way into the playoffs?  I wouldn't put my money on these guys.  Colon, who made only 19 starts in the three years combined before 2011, and Garcia, who made only 23 starts from 2007-09, will not continue this miracle run into the postseason.  The Yankees also severely overpaid for starter AJ Burnett in free agency, and Burnett is now just the mediocre starter that he was for pretty much his entire career before one season where he led the AL in strikeouts.  So the glaring necessity for starting pitching was there, and the Yankees did nothing about it.  Now Yankees fans will just have to pray that the arms don't fall off of Garcia and Colon before they get deep into the playoffs.  If only Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira could pitch....

2. Houston Astros
Obviously, a team at 37-74 is not in the position to 'buy'.  Clearly, this record makes them sellers.  And sell they did, leaving a team that won 86 games just three years ago without any stars or real impact players.  The best player remaining on the team might just be starter Wandy Rodriguez, whose contract was also one the Astros were trying to unload.  If he were traded, that would leave fellow starter Brett Myers as the team's best player.  But he too was being shopped by the Astros, and so on.  With the trades of Michael Bourn to the Braves and Hunter Pence to the Phillies, the Astros just single-handedly turned the heat up a few notches on the NL East pennant race.  The speedster Bourn brought fans to the ballpark and sold jerseys in Houston, while Pence was the heart and soul of the team who was a very productive run producer despite playing for a team where Bourn was the only real table setter.  But both are gone now, and Astros fans have to pay the price.  The team's lineup from its most recent win reads as such: CF Jason Bourgeois, 2B Jose Altuve, LF J.D. Martinez, 1B Carlos Lee, RF Jason Michaels, SS Jimmy Paredes, 2B Clint Barmes, C Humberto Quintero, and P Jordan Lyles.  Wow.  I never thought it would be so easy to make Carlos Lee look good.  If the Cubs really do resemble a Triple-A team as Carlos Zambrano suggests, the Astros resemble a Double-A team. 

3. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Halos have a solid rotation and closer, but need help in middle relief and on offense.  The offense has been carried a great deal by surprising first baseman Mark Trumbo, who came out of nowhere to replace Kendrys Morales' production.  Vernon Wells, the desperation move by GM Tony Reagins to settle down critics that he didn't get the big bat the Angels were looking for in the offseason, has been a complete bust.  And yet Reagins did nothing about it.  Unless Reagins has some big tricks up his sleeve, Angels fans can't be pleased with the effort of their GM over the past year.  Reagins didn't even pick up a reliever either, meaning that while the Rangers acquired the two best relievers on the market, the Angels did nothing to counter in an area that was already sort of a weakness.