I should feel good that the Cubs swept the Cardinals at Wrigley, exactly what they needed to do to start showing dominance in the Central.  It’s also what they should have done to the Brewers last weekend, instead the tables were turned.  All the Cubs really needed to do was win or tie all of their remaining series, but the Brew Crew was not to be denied  The Cubs are on a 6-game winning streak with 13 games left on the schedule, and about to go on a decisive ten-game road trip.  The road to the playoffs passes precariously through St. Louis and Milwaukee, and I’m on the edge of my seat.  The Brewers have two more games with the Pirates, 4 with the Cubs, 3 with the Reds, and 2 with the Cardinals, and remain 3 games out of the Division lead or two games out of the Wild Card.  The Cards may very well be out of contention after the trip to Wrigley and falling six games behind, but will play a major role in the playoff picture.  They finish the season with two games against the Brewers, but more importantly have an opportunity to seek revenge on the Cubs directly, with the four-game series at Busch.   Will they be a best friend or worst enemy?

I always worry about former Cub, Dexter Fowler, who always seems to come up big.  He hit a three-run homer to tie the final game of the series, when it looked like the Cardinals couldn’t score.  It was then former Cardinal, Jason Heyward, who put the Cubs back in front.   I did breathe a sigh of relief as Wade Davis , thinking he had given up a go-ahead home run to Fowler in the ninth, thankfully watched the ball become a routine fly to deep center.   It’s situations like this that show that the Cubs and closer Davis are vulnerable.  The only blown save he has this year was in the All-Star Game, as the Cubs sole player representative. (See Post #174).  The Cardinals, in general, make me nervous, especially Yadi Molina and Dexter Fowler.  The Cubs have four more games against them this year.

The Cubs are 11-5 in September, while the Brewers are 10-6, including a major set-back in Cincinnati with three losses to the last place Reds.  This was just before their sweep of the first place Cubs, that also cost them the services of starting pitcher, Jimmy Nelson.  The Central Division is mediocre, and yet the Cubs can’t take command.  This is what worries me about the Cub playoff chances.  They’re in Tampa Bay tonight for a Joe Madden homecoming, and can’t afford to look beyond these games to the upcoming showdown.  If they can go 6-4 on this road trip and don’t let down against the Reds, they should clinch the Division.  If they go 4-6, they may still have a shot at a Wild Card.  That depends on Colorado, and their remaining games against the Giants, Padres, Marlins, and Dodgers.  What they can’t afford is another road trip disaster, like the trip to California earlier this year.  (see Post #101).  Hopefully, they’ll leave their leisure suits behind.

Over the weekend, while I was enjoying the Cubs success against the Cards, I went to a baseball card show and was given a copy of the Chicago Daily News from September 28, 1920. That was 97 years ago, and the headline reads: “EIGHT OF WHITE SOX INDICTED.”  The paper came out just after a Sox victory over the Tigers, positioning them just a half-game behind the first place Indians, as they hit the road for St. Louis to play the Browns.  Charles A. Comiskey, owner of the team, suspended all eight players from organized baseball that day, and virtually eliminated any chance of winning the American League pennant.  Of the three remaining games, the Sox were able to win just one, while the Indians won 4 of 6, claiming the crown by a two-game spread, and eventually winning the World Series over the Brooklyn Robins.  I was aware of the 1919 “Black Sox Scandal” as part of the 1919 World Series that enabled the Cincinnati Reds to win it all, but I didn’t realize how the timing of these charges affected the 1920 White Sox team.  In effect, the gambling scandal really cost the White Sox TWO World Series Championships!

Eddie Chicotte told the jury he received $10,000 to “throw” the series and that “Shoeless” Joe Jackson got $5,000.  “It (the money) was placed under my pillow in the hotel the night before the first game of the series,” according to the article.  “Chick” Gandil, former first baseman for the Sox, reportedly acted as the chief go-between with the Rothstein gang.  Charles Risberg, Happy Felsch, Claude Williams, Buck Weaver, and Fred McMullin were the other suspended players.  The 1921 White Sox fell to 7th place in the American League standings, and it wouldn’t be until 2005 that they won another World Series.  Before the scandal, the Sox had beaten the Cubs in the 1906 Championship and beat the New York Giants in 1917 to claim the title.  Cicotte, Felsch, Gandil, Jackson, and Weaver all won rings for the Sox, but World War I cost them a chance to repeat, and the scandal effectively ended their careers.  This year’s White Sox will finish over 30 games out of first place in the AL Central, and perhaps with the worst record in baseball.

Chicago baseball is at two extremes this season, but has a history of misfortune.  I would hate to see the Cubs make headlines for a late season collapse. There’s still a chance for back-to back titles, but the Brewers and Cardinals are first to stand in the way.  On the actual 97th anniversary of the “Black Sox Scandal,” as the Cubs face the Cardinals for the final time this season, the fate of the 2017 Cubs will be much clearer.