It’s been five straight losses for the Cubs – three to the Dodgers and two to the Padres.  I can’t remember the last time that has happened, but it used to be the norm before last year’s Championship season.  This particular road trip started with the Cubs adopting an “Anchorman” theme for their traveling attire.  Their Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) outfits attracted a lot of attention, including a special baseball card featuring Kyle Schwarber and Anthony Rizzo that Topps produced for the occasion.   Disco-era dews, gold chains, and flashy suits were supposed to set a carefree tone for the trip west.  Instead, the World Champion Cubs have played like Ron Burgundy!

After some quick research, the Cubs did have a five-game skid back in July of last year, so it’s no reason to panic.  The rest of their division have struggled, as well, and the Cubs only remain 1.5 games behind the first-place Brewers and tied with the Cardinals.  However, they are only 2 games ahead of the last-place Pirates.  It’s not so disturbing that they lost to the Dodgers, but San Diego is 21-33 for the season.  The Cubs are now below .500 at 25-26, after a decent first half of the month.

It’s too early to tell if the Cubs can regain their swagger from last year.  They have not been plagued with injuries, just poor starting pitching.   Also, Kyle Schwarber, despite great expectations, is hitting a miserable .174 with only 8 home runs, and only Miguel Montero (.309) is hitting over .300.  They’ve also only scored 8 runs during this five-game losing streak, while giving up 29.  The month of June will tell the tale, as they return to division play at Wrigley with a four-game series against the Cardinals.

It’s time to fly the “W” again, as Jake Arrieta takes the mound today with a disappointing 4.92 ERA.  Jake has struggled in his starts so far this season, so let’s hope he can get it together in sunny San Diego.  The last time the Cubs won back-to-back World Series, it wasn’t easy either.  Back in 1908, they won 99 games, but still needed two key umpire decisions to even return to the Series.  We’ll need that kind of magic this year!

Apparently, even Joe Madden has finally bought a leisure suit, so they haven’t totally given up on the “Anchorman” theme.  Hopefully, they can salvage one game today and head home in style.  If not, I would certainly not miss the Ron Burgundy look.

Meanwhile, on the south side of Chicago, the White Sox are 3.5 games behind the division leaders, Minnesota and Cleveland.  The Indians, hoping for World Series revenge against the Cubs, are in a better position to get there than the defending Champions.  The Indians have won 27 games, keeping pace with the Major League leaders, including the Red Sox, who battle the White Sox today.  White Sox fans gave Chris Sale a standing ovation in his return to the Windy City last night, and proceeded to get the win 13-7.  The White Sox won the series opener after taking 3 out of 4 from the Tigers.  They hope to recapture their momentum with Mike Pelfrey on the mound against Drew Pomeranz.  Let’s see if we can “Guarantee” a home field victory for the Pale Hose!

While Cleveland is looking for revenge, I’m still looking for a Cubs vs. White Sox World Series rematch.  Another Cubs World Series would be even sweeter if they could beat the White Sox and get retribution for the 1906 loss.  Let’s Go Back-to-Back!