I'm Dreaming. Please Don't Wake Me. Please.

???!!!??!

Can this actually be happening? Can people actually think Sarah Palin did well in last night’s Vice Presidential debate? Can people actually think Sarah Palin would make a good Vice President? Can people actually think John McCain would be a better President than Barack Obama, especially after having demonstrated his Presidential judgment by selecting Palin as his running mate? Can the best fielding team in the National League suddenly perform like circus clowns in the infield with big floppy shoes and rubber gloves? Can the 8th best team in the National League actually be leading the BEST team in the National League 2 games to zip in their own ballpark???!! Strange things are happening in this country and, as far as I’m concerned, very few of them are good, except the latter baseball-related phenomenon. Yes, friends and enemies, your Los Angeles Dodgers made mince meat out of the Cubbies last night at Wrigley for the 2nd night in a row. Yes, the Dodgers I’ve complained about all year – the dumb as a stump Kemp, the overrated Martin, the dispassionate, inconsistent and power starved Loney, the strike out waiting to happen, Casey Blake – those Dodgers – are one win away from advancing to the National League Championship Series. The fabled NLCS. It would be the first playoff series the Dodgers have won since the Year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Eight. As I type, out of the corner of my eye, the Tampa Bay Rays are now crushing the hapless Chisox in Game 2 of their series in an ALDS game, and the Dodgers are rested after a practice day at the Ravine and ready to go. I just don’t believe it, and, frankly, I just don’t trust it.

The best of 5 playoff series was born in 1969 when the Padres and Expos were added to the National League and the Royals and the Pilots (became the Milwaukee Brewers the following year) were added to the AL. That’s when they broke the now 12 team leagues up into divisions (just 2 divisions in each league back then) and that’s when the need for a playoff round prior to the World Series began. Since that time, no NL team has ever come back from a 2-0 deficit to win a playoff series. Hopefully, the Cubs won’t be the first. Now, as far as the AL is concerned, it may have happened more than once. The one that sticks in my mind, of however, was 1982 when the Halos had a 2 game to nothing lead over the Milwaukee Brewers – an AL team back then – and wound up getting swept the next 3 games and being knocked out of their first shot at a World Series. Heartbreaking. A couple of years later – ’85, I think, maybe ’86 – they changed the playoff series to best of 7 games. Had they not, the Dodgers would never have gotten to the World Series in ’88. But when they added another division to each league – ’94 - and another tier to the Playoffs in 1995, they made the Division Series best of 5. Okay, enough history. My point is, if there was ever a team that was capable of breaking the hearts of LA fans, it’s these Chicago Cubs. They’re pissed off, their manager is pissed off, their fans are pissed off. Did ya see their faces last night at Wrigley? It was pitiful. I wanted to hug them, pour souls. There’s a reasonable chance the Cubs could come into the Ravine tomorrow with their backs against the all and, with murder in their hearts, they can decide to make sashimi out of Hiroki Kuroda. The slumping Kosuke Fukudome will not be in their lineup, so they’ll be one hitter better. Rich Harden has been called their best pitcher by many peops. He can shut the high flying Blue down. Hopefully, this does not occur. Hopefully the Dodgers close this thing out tomorrow night and we go crazy. But if it does happen, then we have Professor Maddux going Sunday against Ted Lily and thatt’s by no means a good match up for the Blue. If the Cubs manage to gain some momentum and win both games, then we have to go back to Wrigley and our dream can get flushed and their 100 year dream can still be realized. After all, three games are a lot easier to win in a row than four. It can be a close game and we can bring Saito or Broxton in and if they look anything like they did last night – especially Saito – we can lose. But, doom saying and moribund fantasies aside, lets face it. The Dodgers are sitting in the catbird seat. They have beaten the Cubs in Wrigley 2 straight and are primed to move on to face the Phillies or Brewers. (Likely the Phils who are up 2-zip) They are playing great ball, they’ve gotten excellent performances from Lowe and Billingsley, great at bats from Manny, Ethier, DeWitt, Furcal, Loney and Martin and they have that October mojo, that autumnal equinox spell that’s been cast over them, that magic dust that’s been sprinkled upon them by dancing sprites and fairies in the crisp Chicago air. The Dodgers will win. They have to, now, don’t they?