Perspective: Part 1

So I know it's been a while since my beautiful writing has graced this blog, but I figured I would wait out the Cubs before I came back to Chicago sports. Seeing as though they are picking on the Pirates, I have decided to come back in a way that honors their accomplishments over the past 10 games. Seeing as the rain stepped in yesterday and prevented the bullpen from destroying another quality start, and that the Cubs offense allowed a sigh of relief (no pun intended...seriously our relief pitchers are abysmal) today, I am happy to report that the Cubs are on a winning streak. The thing about being a Cubs fan is that you cannot get so invested in the early part of the season that you lose track of the overall goal.

That brings me to the titular reference, perspective. As we wind down the second month of the season, the Cubs currently stand a game over .500 and are gearing up for a four game series against the Dodgers, the team with the best record in baseball. They have been a little off the past two weeks, mostly having a hard time with their bats. Until Dempster's implosion on Monday, the starting pitching had been giving us a chance, but the bats just couldn't get it going. That may be one of the reasons that Jake Fox, the hottest hitting prospect in the minors just got called up to the majors, and promptly doubled in a run in his only at-bat today (the other notable move was getting Neal Cotts the hell out of the bullpen...the thing is Neal, I too could have walked batter after batter and inspired no faith in my teammates, but then again, I'm not a major league player). But on the other hand, the Cubs have had a slew of injuries and slow starts. We are playing in a tough division, and yet we aren't way behind (although I should add that looking at the standings is pointless until after the All Star Break). The losing streak pitted us against a team that has featured incredible starting pitching (the Cards) and another team playing really hot ball (the Padres). Before I completely give up on this team, I'm going to have a little faith that we can turn around a little losing streak and right the ship.

You can look at it from the vantage point that we are 2-8 in our last 10 games, or that we are on a winning streak and playing fiery ball (see Big Z erupt today). Either way, it's all a matter of perspective.