Is 9 Lives All the Cubs Will Get?

The not-so-magic number of losses rose to nine last night as the Cubs failed to beat the Joe Torre's Dodgers at Wrigley field. This puts them in a 0-2 deficit when entering Saturday's game in L.A.

The thought that's on all Cubs fan's minds right now is: "Why?...Why!...WHY!"

Well, I'll be honest, I don't know why. I don't think anyone does at this point.

At least this year no one's obsessed with the curse. I think that our regular season record of 97 wins speaks a bit higher of the team than being cursed. So, if there is an upside, I think not being pinned as a team with a curse is a good thing.

Now, the downside -- our entire infield played like Alex Gonzalez in game 4 of the 2003 NLCS. It was embarrassing. Error after error in the second, it was as if each player had forgotten the fundamental rules of playing in little league. Remember guys, keep the ball in FRONT of you. Go into the game with a LITTLE confidence, not a hot head. Stay patient. And, most of all, make sure you watch the ball come INTO your glove. Don't be cocky ... if you can't see the ball coming to your glove, than it probably isn't. Fundamentals were nowhere to be found on the field yesterday.

The Cubs defense last night was sloppy. As far as I'm concerned -- and don't get me wrong, I love this team -- this is a waste of a playoff berth. The Cubs that America's been watching in these two games are not the Cubs that were the division champions and number one team in all of the National League this year who had been slated to win the World Series and allow journalists to write the greatest sports story of all-time.

Instead, the Boston Red Sox 2004 recovery from a 3-0 deficit in the ALCS will remain the point in time where baseball fans and baseball history finally got their underdog story. I remember watching the third game of that series. It seemed like the run was over and the game was up. But, they came back the next four games -- for the first time in baseball history might I add -- and then went on to win the ring.

Now, with the Cubs down in the NLDS, whose to say they don't pull off an underdog moment? People can't say, "It's never been done before," because it has. Does that make the Cubs' chances higher or lower? No one can really say. But, what they can say is that the Cubs have been given the past nine playoff games to do something with themselves and have failed.

Do the Cubs deserve ten chances at inscribing the book of baseball history with their name? Most definitely. They just need to step up to the plate Saturday, have Rich Harden pitch the game of his life (which he is capable of), and swing those bats hard and early.

So, if any of you see Lou sometime before Saturday, let him know that we want his 2008 team back. Get those guys out of hiding because that's the team who should be on the field winning games and not crushing spirits.