Gaining ground while standing still
While the Cubs finally had an off day yesterday to spend with their families and friends, the Brewers were busy losing to the Braves. That puts the Brewers 1 1/2 games behind the Cubs with nine games left for the Cubs and ten games left for the Brewers. The Cubs by far have the easier schedule from here on out, but even Pittsburgh, Florida and Cincinnati aren’t going to lie down and hand the Cubs the division. Hold onto your hats, this one is going down to the wire. If the regular season ends with the Cubs and Brewers tied for 1st, there would be a one-game playoff played at Wrigley. Come on Cubs, we really don’t need that stress!
For those who wondered why Dempster didn’t pitch the 9th inning in the last game, it wasn’t due to a lack of confidence by Lou. Dempster had ‘flu like’ symptoms and required two IVs before the game to rehydrate him. Howry pitched his usual stellar 8th inning, then stayed on to get the save in the 9th. The timely day off yesterday should have given Dempster a better chance of fighting off the bug. Hopefully the other banged-up Cubs took the opportunity to rest, soak in hot tubs or do whatever it is that will get their bodies prepared to charge into the postseason.
The NBC show ER was in Chicago to film exterior shots the last few days. Apparently Derrek Lee will appear in an episode, playing himself at the ballpark. In exchange for Lee making the cameo appearance, ER has agreed to include the disease his 4-year-old daughter suffers from in a future episode. Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis is a rare vision disorder and Lee hopes that exposure on the popular ER will help raise funds for research and a potential cure for the disease.