The Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers opened their respective seasons in a three-game series this past week. While Chicago Cubs baseball salvaged just one win in the three-game set, more importantly, the opening series may very well have established the tone for the remainder of the year.
Four series and 13 more games await the two squads. Six of those games happen in September where fans of both teams anticipate their clubs to be in the thick of a division title chase.
To expect the Central Division championship to be decided in that last three-game set in Milwaukee is not far fetched. As all of Cubdom knows, the Cubs have never made things easy on themselves or their fans.
The differences between the clubs are obvious. Milwaukee showed themselves to be what they are - young, brash and above all else, hungry. Chicago’s Cubs are, well, the Cubs.
At times the Cubs played far too close to their performances of season’s passed. Fundamentally lacking at times, unsure of themselves at others were just a couple of traits that even an untrained baseball eye could track.
As for the lack of run production, Cubs manager Lou Piniella remains forever the optimist. Or until the eraser wears out when making up his lineup card.
Piniella used 125 different lineups in 2007. My guess is he may actually eclipse that number by the time 2008 is through. For example, after a two-game experiment in the second slot, Alfonso Soriano was back batting lead-off in game three. I guess when you’re paying $14 million a year for a player batting oh-fifty-nine some kind of change is in order.
The good news is it looks like Piniella is getting as tired about being asked about his lineup changes as Cubdom is of watching the batting lineup version of musical chairs.
“I’m going to ask you all to call me before you write your articles and I’ll give you some pointers,” Piniella told a group of reporters.
That’s great, Lou. Now can I make out the lineup card?
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