Maybe It's Not Gonna Happen

It was only six days ago when the Cubs took over sole possession of first place by one percentage point by virtue of their 5-4 victory over the Phillies. It was the high point of the season for the Cubs, who were at one point 8.5 games out of first place and looked like a lifeless team.

Unfortunately, I missed the last inning of what was arguably the most important game (to date) of the 2007 season. So it's quite possible that I missed the only time the Cubs were in first place all year.

That's because since the 5-4 win over the Phils, the Cubs are 1-5 since (including tonights loss in Houston) and have since moved back into second place behind the Milwaukee Brewers. And things don't look to be getting any easier.

The starting pitching isn't going deep into games. The bullpen is over worked. The offense isn't showing up. And to top it all off, they lost Alfonso Soriano to a quad injury that will keep him out of the Cubs line-up for about four weeks.

It looks like the ugly heads of billy goats, black cats and Bartmans are rearing their ugly heads again. Jay Mariotti says I shouldn't worry. But I'm a Cubs fan, I was born worried.

Times like these help confirm my belief that being a Cubs fan is like being in a toxic relationship. It's a love/hate kinda deal. A roller coaster ride full of teases, heartbreak and everything in between.

But sometimes it is more than that. Each victory puts the Cubs one step closer to their first division title and playoff appearance since 2003. Each loss puts the Cubs one step closer to celebrating 100 years of futility.

The victories, no matter how difficult they come by, make my day. The losses are agonizing and seemingly kill the mood. That's the life of a Cubs fan.

Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe, okay. I'm definitely overreacting....maybe. Thankfully, the Brewers are playing just as poorly as the Cubs are. Each team has had a chance to put distance between each other, but neither has capitalized.

If they can somehow make it through August within a shouting distance of first place or even the Wild Card, this could be a September to remember. Or another classic collapse.

The last time a Chicago baseball team made post season noise, it was in 2005 in which Chicago sports columnists dubbed "Soxtober."

Now that I think of it, "Soxtober" coincided with the lowest point of my college life and it has taken a long time to recover from that. The Cubs winning a division title could signify a complete turn around.

Or it could be another meaningless moment in Cub-dumb.

Who knows? Who cares? My rant is done. Maybe it could still happen, but if the Cubs keep playing like this, it won't.