Right in the mean bean machine

(Right as I was about to post this entry, I happened to notice that Greg had noted the same thing in his blog. But Greg isn't a Cubs fan, so screw him.)

While I'm somewhat happy for the Cardinals' win in that it should get everyone off the National League's back for a while, I'm more than a trifle annoyed about it for two reasons:

1) The Cardinals just became, record-wise, the worst team in baseball history to win a World Series in a non-shortened season, passing the 1987 Twins and their 85-77 record (coincidentally, the Cardinals lost that Series). That's right, 83-78. 83 wins! That's 2.5 games over .500. Horrendous. As someone informed on the history of baseball, that really grates on me. Also, Jeff Weaver - with a career ERA of 4.58, cast off by the Angels in mid-season after going 3-10, 6.29 for them - became the winning pitcher in a World Series clincher. He won three games in this postseason, as many as he won with the Angels! Obviously it's idle speculation to say this, but there could well have been a reason Tony La Russa wasn't interested in pushing on the Kenny Rogers thing. I'm not saying there's no way a pitching staff built around one ace and a bunch of rookies and lousy journeymen can't win a World Series... but I am saying that that raises your eyebrow a bit, doesn't it? To be fair, the Tigers forgetting how to take pitches was as much to blame for their loss as anything.

2) This concludes three straight World Series that play like kicks in the pants for Cubs fans, with each one getting progressively kick-in-the-pantsier. First it was the Red Sox in 2004, our partners in famously "cursed" franchises. Then the White Sox in 2005, the obnoxious crosstown rivals who hadn't won in nearly as long. And now the Cardinals in 2006, only our biggest historical rival in league and division. And this is all on the heels of the 2003 NLCS, no less.

The one good thing is that it can't get any worse - even a Yankees "return to glory" in 2007, while annoying, wouldn't have the same meaning as these three did. Maybe the signs are pointing to the Cubs doing something good soon - after four years of misery in one form or another (piled on top of the 94 years before that), don't we think it's about time something happened?