| Dennis Silva II. 1st August, 2008 - 1:57 pm
 When the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers look back at their late July four-game series once the 2008 season is all said and done, it may not mean much.
After all, there are still, as of Friday, 51 more games left to play in spite of the Cubs? series sweep to take a five-game lead on the National League Central.
Five games. 51 games.
All is nowhere near lost.
The series' win validated Chicago?s decision to stand past at the non-waiver trading deadline on Thursday.
They?re the best team in the National League and among the best in baseball.
That was known heading into the series, and, obviously, nothing was done to waver those sentiments.
But for the Brewers, who are used to hovering around the bottom of the bottom, the next challenge is greater than any series' loss against a hated rival could provide.
How will they respond? How will their pride and commitment be affected, and how much will they let this affect them?
After all, this series will only have as much impact as they allow.
Frustration mounted for Milwaukee in Thursday?s series last game, as evidenced when closer Eric Gagne was ejected in the ninth inning for throwing behind Jim Edmunds, who had hit two bombs ? including a grand slam ? to propel the Cubbies to the series' sweep.
Frustration. Irritation. That?s what happens when the team you?re battling for the division outscores you 31-11 in four games.
?This is not a death sentence by any means,? Brewers' Manager Ned Yost said. ?If it was in September, yeah, this would hurt. But we have plenty of time to recover from this and get back on track and right the ship.?
He understands that, and it?s unfortunate that he?s probably the only one who sees the bigger picture.
Lately, the Brewers have seen both sides of the coin.
Prior to their hellacious showing against Chicago, they had swept St. Louis, another division foe whom they are battling, in four games.
The Brewers? next 19 games come against teams that should have no problem in helping get their confidence up.
They?re on the road against Atlanta and Cincinnati. They host Washington before another six-game road trip at San Diego and Los Angeles Dodgers.
They finish at home against the Houston Astros.
Only the Dodgers stand at .500, and the Padres and Nationals are settled comfortably in last place of their respective divisions.
Of the Cubs? next 15 games, six are against St. Louis (.550 win percentage) and Florida (.532).
So while the morale may be down, today is a new day.
The most difficult thing for a young and inexperienced club to do is shake off a bad stretch and play do-to-day.
Often they let situations linger, and what was once a tiny blip on the radar screen becomes bigger and bigger with each and every mistake.
The Brewers are in position to gain the ground they lost and take advantage of the upcoming schedule.
Yost sees that. It remains to see if his team does, as well. |
