Cubs Win

Are there two worse words to hear together in the English language? I suppose "chick flick" and "baby shower" are close to the top. Last night ESPN teased me by showing the White Sox take a 3-1 lead followed by some excellent defensive plays. Octavio Dotel and Scott Linebrink, the two guys Kenny Williams overpaid to bolster the bullpen, gave up three homers and that was that. Today, Jose Contreras got rocked and the Sox were unable to rally from a 10-4 deficit. I did see a mild rally in the ninth inning as Kerry Wood was called upon for the one-out save, a fantasy owner's dream. I'm not sweating it too much, although I hate to see the Sox lose to the Cubs in a way that no opponent of the Titans brings out. The Jags, Texans, and Colts don't have the personalities to draw out enough hate. I miss having the Ravens in the same division.

The Sox still have the best run differential in the American league. Only the surprising As have given up fewer runs. We'll survive this hiccup, although winning tomorrow is critical. Javier Vazquez has given up 10 runs in his last two starts over 12 innings. I'm not loving that.

Fantasy magazines are starting to appear on newstands. The break between minicamps and training camp is good for all of us. We can relax and read critical stories of the day, like Adam (no longer Pacman) Jones defaulting on his mortgage. This economy affects us all.