What Happened Today? 6/19/08 Or: The Least Secure Best Team In Baseball Ever

So, Cubs fans, not only have we lost Carlos Zambrano for at least one start, but for the first time in 2008, the Cubs will be entering a series coming off a sweep. The Cubbies choked away a 3-1 lead in the 7th inning in Tampa tonight, as Carlos Marmol walked 2 and hit 2 in the only 4 batters he faced, followed by Scott Eyre immediately giving up a grand slam to Carl Crawford followed by about 17 more line shots - I lost count after a while because I was washing the gushing blood from my eyes.

Next up for the free-falling but still best-in-baseball Cubs is a home set against the White Sox. There will be literally thousands of articles published about how the teams are "archrivals" in the next few days, but the fact is, they are just not. Apart from the minor annoyance of Sox fans paying far too much attention to a team that has literally zero effect on their playoff hopes, I could give a rat's ass about this weekend's series. Sure, the Sox annoy me, but no more so than any other team on the schedule does once the game starts. Tomorrow's pitching matchup, John Danks vs. Ted Lilly, could be an even one if the Cubs get the Lilly of the last few starts or could be wildly mismatched. Who knows. All I know is the Cubs need wins, no matter who they're against. Luckily, they're headed back to Wrigley, where the team is nearly invincible. (By the way, if you want Len and Bob rather than the completely unwatchable Hawk and DJ to call the game, watch Comcast Sportsnet Chicago tomorrow and WGN on Saturday - and NOT the reverse.)

Elsewhere in sports:

He's out! The latest manager to join the unemployment lines is Mariners skipper John McLaren. This makes far more sense than the Randolph axing, as Seattle is the worst team in baseball and McLaren had already gone through his prerequisite meltdown press conference a couple of weeks ago. Taking the reins will be former Cubs manager and ex-Mariners bench coach Jim Riggleman. That should go well. Rumors are swirling that the M's aren't done with their reshaping, even after dumping their G.M. and their manager.

Shocking - Chicago native wants to play in Chicago. Derrick Rose, he who has already said he believes Michael Beasley is the best option at the top of the draft, is now publicly asking the Bulls to take him. I'm on record as wanting this since I found out about the Bulls' being handed the #1 pick by a desperate David Stern...err....I mean, catching a lucky break with the lottery balls. Rose is a franchise PG. As has been proven over and over again, a franchise PG means everything, provided you aren't stocked with stars at other positions. And the Bulls are not. What they do have, however, is two pretty good players - Luol Deng and Drew Gooden - in the spots Beasley would be playing in. Not quite as good a fit.

Last Word: But seriously, to quote one of my friend's Facebook statuses, in what universe do Sox fans care if the "Cubs are swept by the Rays", let alone "walking on air" about it?? If anything, they should be unhappy - the Rays would be the White Sox's chief competition for the wild card should they fail to win the AL Central division. Ah, the mind of a Sox fan.