Baseball Blues

The state of affairs in Thailand wasn’t the most discouraging headline I read during my time in the U.S. My beloved Chicago Cubs win that prize, alas.

The Cubbies just rolled over and died in the first round of the playoffs. This happens from time to time in baseball. Teams that dominate in the regular season forget how to win when they reach the postseason. As people have been saying about the economy lately, past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Yet despite the disappointment of watching the lads flame out, I’m still grateful to them and to Lou Piniella for giving me lots to smile about this year. Maybe the biggest smile of all came when I called Jip from Philadelphia and casually mentioned that the Cubs were finished for the year. I didn’t expect her to have much reaction.

To my surprise she immediately blurted out, “Oh no! Sweet Lou!” I didn’t know she knew the Cub manager’s name, let alone his nickname.