The Cubs won their first game against the Dodgers last night, hopefully it won’t be the last in their quest for back-to-back Championships. Javier Baez was the hero, clubbing two home runs, to go along with Jake Arrieta’s stellar pitching performance.  They get to play another, but still badly in a hole. I thought it was interesting that the announcers talked about the fact that Arrieta had just tied “Three-Fingers” Brown for the most Cubs post season victories. (See Post #2).  I think it was an unfair comparison.  Mordecai “Three Fingers” Brown pitched for the 1906-1908 Cubs, losing their first World Series to the White Sox and then rebounding with back-to-back titles against the Tigers.  That was the last time that the Cubbies found the magic to win consecutive titles, with last year finally ending an 108-year drought of just winning one.   Back then, there was only the regular season and the World Series, not the Wildcard, League Championship series, and World Series that count towards post-season stats.

It’s not easy to go back-to-back.  The Yankees hold most of the records here winning 5 straight 1949-1953, 4 straight from 1936-1939, 3 straight from 1998-2000, and two straight 1927-28 & 1961-62.  The last National League team to do it was the Cincinnati Reds 1975-76, and the only other team to win 3 straight was the Oakland Athletics 1972-74. Besides the Cubs, the only other two time winners were the Philadelphia Athletics 1910-11 & 1929-30, the Boston Red Sox 1915-16, New York Giants 1921-22, and the Toronto Blue Jays 1992-93.  Only 8 baseball clubs in history have done it!  The odds are against the Cubs, as they face elimination tonight.  The Cubs, by the way, have now won five consecutive elimination games!

It was not a convincing victory against the Dodgers last night, but it was a start.  Arrietta gave them seven strong innings, holding LA to just one homer.  Puig was not a long ball threat for once against Cub pitching, but Turner has continued to be a problem.   Cubs relief pitching is giving up twice as many runs as starters, and that’s why the champagne is on ice in the Dodgers’ locker room.  Not to mention, 26 Dodger walks in the first four games.  It’s the Cubs job to keep the corks from popping.  At any rate, it was good to avoid the sweep and to Fly The “W” one last time.  Can we keep it flying?