2008 Playoffs: Day 4

Chicago Cubs 1 - Los Angeles Dodgers 3

And so the Baseball Gods determined it was not meant to be. The Cubs could not get the monkey...er... goat off their back, and the 100 year drought continues. The Dodgers won their first series in 20 years and unfortunately for Cubs fans across the country, it's "Wait 'til Next Year" again.

The big stat of the series: the Cubs were 5-for-28 with runners in scoring position.

Pinella's quote: "You got to score more than we scored if you want to win."

Cubs fan on ESPN: "This is what it's always meant to be a Cubs fan."

Jay Mariotti: "Soriano has become the A-Rod of the NL with a .212 postseason batting average." (This series: .071)

I actually think I feel to bad to write about the game. As a Red Sox fan who recently disposed of his curse, I have an unbelievable amount of empathy for Cubs fans. I urge you all to stay positive and support your team next year. If you can look at one bright spot for the Cubs, it's that they are actively trying to win a championship - as opposed to the Royals who haven't seemed interested in putting together a winning team in years.

Win: Kuroda (1-0 0.00)
Loss: Harden (0-1 6.23)>
Player of the Game: Jonathan Broxton. Came in to put out the Cubs 8th inning rally and pitched a shutout 9th for the clincher
Series MVP: Manny Ramirez - .500/.643/1.100 with 2 HRs 3 RBI (WHAT!? That's it?) 5 Runs.
Cubs Kudos: Derrek Lee - .545/.583/.818 and was the ONLY Cubs hitter consistently getting on base and hitting the baseball. If the Cubs lost because their offense couldn't get off the ground, that was not the fault of Derrek Lee. Everyone else's combined batting average: .204.

Milwaukee Brewers 4 - Philadelphia Phillies 1

Milwaukee finally gets one in the win column with Dave Bush pitching 5.1 innings with 1 ER, while Jamie Moyer only lasted 4 innings, and gave up 2 runs. The Brew-Crew scored two runs in the first inning and Bush and their bullpen - 5 pitchers - held down the fort. The Phils threatened in the 9th, loading the bases with no outs but a weird interference call double play stopped the threat and Solomon Torres slammed the door on Carlos Ruiz. The Phillies did not have a better bat on the bench to hit for Pedro Feliz or Carlos Ruiz? Apparently, and that was the game.

Not too much more to say about this one - it was a classic baseball game. They capitalized on uncharacteristic walks by Jamie Moyer, as well as Mike Cameron getting hit. They scored on two sacrifice flies, and just grinded out runs in three innings and that was enough to win. It was a great baseball game to watch, but not a great one to write about.

Win: Dave Bush (1-0 1.69)
Loss: Jamie Moyer (0-1 4.50)
Player of the Game: uhh... Dave Bush? J J Hardy (3-4 1R 1RBI)? Solomon Torres? Mike Cameron (1-2 2BB 2R)?

Wait, I got it - the Brewers fans. Don't be fooled, they won this game because they were at home.

On Tap For Sunday
A FULL SLATE OF NFL GAMES AND PLAYOFF BASEBALL. BEST. DAY. EVER!

Baseball
Philadelphia sends out Joe Blanton to try and close the series. Milwaukee counters with Jeff Suppan who has a 3.00 playoff ERA.

The Rays are trying to sweep the White Sox on the road for the afternoon game, today. Graza has struggled a little in September and will look to right the ship in October. Keep an eye on how some of these young guys hold up now that we're getting into playing frequently in October. Also, the Rays get back Carlos Pena in the middle of their lineup, which should be a boost. The White Sox play better at home and throw John Danks - hero of the one-game-playoff.

For the nightcap (8:37!? F*** you MLB) the Boston Red Sox look to win their 12th straight playoff game against the Angels. The Angels brought in Mark Texiera with the intent of getting past the Red Sox in the playoffs. Well the middle of that lineup are hitting - Texiera, Guerrero, and Hunter are hitting a combined .608 - but with only 3 runs, 4 RBIs, and no extra base hits, they're only doing half the job. Playoff stud Josh Beckett goes for the Sox, and lefty Joe Saunders goes for the Angels.

Football
The Pats look to right the ship against the 49ers at 4:15. With Belichick getting two weeks to prepare for this game, I think we'll see a much better game from them this week. Look for the Pats to get back to running the ball, even if they get behind, as the throwing attack was not effective enough last week. Watch for Cassel to air out a few throws this week too - I'm guessing play action to Randy Moss up the sideline. Remember you heard that here first.

The Titans take their 4-0 record to Baltimore to face the Ravens. For those of you not aware, the Titans D is holding teams to under 12 points per game on average. Look for a smash mouth game here that will be fun to watch, as it could literally end 7-5 and no one would be surprised.

The Houston Texans host their first game of the year against a reeling Colts team. Both teams are in a must win situation - the Colts could fall to 1-3 while the Texans could drop to 0-4. Texas running back Steve Slaton has emerged as a solid running back and could run all over a weak Indianapolis run defense. Peyton Manning has Dallas Clark back, and he'll be hoping to get back to form throwing the ball.

For the night game - who cares you'll be watching the Sox, right?

Ok if you want to flick over the banged up Steelers face off against the Jacksonville. The Steelers D has been stepping up big, but their offense has gone through two offensive linemen, two running backs, and Ben Rothinmyturdberger has a sprained shoulder. Should be a great matchup between the dual running backs for Jacksonville against the Steelers front 8.

Did I mention that I LOVE OCTOBER!

Post Written by October Lover: Kyle Baxter