Jul 22 2008
All-Star Hangover in Chicago
Even thou we are only a few games past the All star game both Chicago baseball teams have seen their first place leads shrink. The White Sox have dropped three in a row and the Cubs are seeing two teams in their rear view mirror. This time of year or what I like to call the dog days of summer are here and they are showing their ugly face in the windy city.
The White Sox have dropped three in a row at home and they have not done that since early in the season. With most teams struggling mightily on the road this year all over baseball it is even more important to take advantage of home field advantage. Especially against teams that you should beat. With the Cubs this also has been the case as well if they are not successful at home then it carries over on the road. The road has been ugly for the Cubs this year as their offense has looked like polar opposites from when playing at home. What is the deal, it maybe that this is the trend in baseball right now and it may take a team with a strong road trip to take advantage of this trend.
The Cubs are currently in Arizona where they dropped their thirteenth straight to Randy Johnson. Which is quite amazing if you think about it. While the Sox who are finishing up a lack luster home stand and are about to go on the road where they will play eleven straight divisional games. Luckily for the Sox they have played their division extremely well and that will need to hold if they want to find themselves in first place after the road trip.
We all in Chicago would just love to fast forward to the end of September and just get this thing going as far as both teams winning their division. However there is a lot to play for yet, and these two teams better get it going if they want there teams to meet each other in the World Series. Last time I checked you need to win on the road in the post-season if you want to go all the way and both of these teams need to win on the road now if they want to prove they are true contenders. Both of these teams have the talent to win on the road they have just not executed yet and we all hope in Chicago that this trend will stop and we will see both teams in the playoffs. All it takes is a couple games to change this pattern and we will feel a little better about are chances for a red-line World Series.
