May 5, 2019: Sweep Ville

Getting back around to those Cubs, who had quite the weekend series vs the Cardinals at Wrigley. Although it was one of those weekends where I didn’t get to watch much, I did hear plenty of Pat and Ron. Being the Cardinals, I was checking my phone more than normal. There was one thing in this series that pissed me off, but other than that, it was beautiful to be in Sweep Ville.

I missed the first game because we finally went to see Avengers End Game. What a crazy game. 18 balls thrown by Kyle Hendricks the entire complete game shutout?!?! If he can start pitching like that more consistently, watch out. We should have known better… it’s big game Kyle after all. When the moment gets bigger, he gets better. With the first game against our rivals who were in first place at the time, Kyle rose to the occasion. Bravo Kyle. I can’t say that for the starter of the second game…

And this brings me to the pissed off moment from the weekend. Maybe it had to do with sitting in traffic for what seemed like hours, causing us to be a bit late to our niece’s communion, but man was I pissed at Darvish. Walk the 7 & 8 hitter, and then let the pitcher do the damage. Honestly, it’s just more of the same from Yu. I was hoping he was trending upwards, and when given this opportunity at home in his first game ever against the hated birds, he flops. We should be used to it already. At what point is enough enough? I know, it’s a lot of money… what is looking like a lot of wasted money, but at some point, Maddon has to run his best guys out there. I would feel better with Montgomery starting right now over Darvish… But, the Cubs bailed him out. Out of all guys, Taylor Davis with the grand slam to tie it, as traffic started to open up a bit, and I raised my fist to my lips for a celebratory kiss and fist pump in the car. Checking my phone right after the ceremony, I saw the good news. Baez hit the game winning homer in the 8th, while Strop shut it down in the 9th. The stage was set for a sweep.

For the final game on Sunday night, we would again be in the car, again in ridiculous traffic, this time due to multiple accidents, on the way to one of our other niece’s concert. I listened happily on the way home that evening, as the Cubs poured it on, topping it off with a slam from Kboom. A clean sweep and first place for our Cubbies. It couldn’t have happened against a better team. There is not one team that I would rather have beat like this. I’m sure the Cardinals will remember this, and use this for motivation against us later this season. We will meet many more times… and that’s OK. Bring it on you phonies…

The Cards won’t last… the Brewers won’t last… the Pirates will decline… the Reds will improve… but at the end of the day, the team whose flag was flying on top of the NL Central Division standings after Sunday Night’s win, will be there many months from now. I know, I know… it’s early, but after that brutal start, it feels good to be in this position. Go Cubs!