Cubs should learn from 2003 Red Sox

by Ken Rosenthal

Updated: October 5, 2008, 9:13 AM EST 101 comments

The Cubs are exactly where the Red Sox were in 2003, after Grady stuck too long with Pedro, after Aaron Boone went deep, after the Yankees stuck in yet another dagger.

Phantastic Phils

	World Series Phillies win 4-1
Kriegel: Phils win is vindicating Rosenthal: Rotation was the difference Perry: 10 keys to Phillies' victory Ringolsby: Manuel reaches pinnacle PHOTOS: Phils finish Rays in Game 5

Game 1: Phillies 3, Rays 2 Rosenthal | Kriegel | Video | Photos

Game 2: Rays 4, Phillies 2 Rosenthal | Fraley | Video | Photos

Game 3: Phillies 5, Rays 4 Rosenthal | Kriegel | Video | Photos

Game 4: Phillies 10, Rays 2 Rosenthal | Kriegel | Video | Photos

Game 5: Phillies 4, Rays 3 Rosenthal | Kriegel | Video | Photos

More on the playoffs:

• MLB Playoff Central | Video Central
• Fan reaction to every series

Of course, you could have said the same thing about the Cubs after their own collapse in '03, but the Red Sox weren't cursed and neither are the Cubs.

At some point, good teams eventually win championships, just as good hitters eventually produce in the clutch.

For the past century — and certainly in their most recent flop, an embarrassing first-round knockout by the Dodgers — the Cubs just haven't been good enough.

Such a statement might sound odd, considering that the Cubs won 97 games in the regular season, the most in the National League. But the postseason is a crapshoot, the best-of-five Division Series in particular. The Cubs are a good team that had a bad series. Nothing more, nothing less.

What do they do now? Very simple — try again.

Oh, the Cubs made six errors against the Dodgers, went 5-for-26 with runners in scoring position, played like chokers rather than champions. But they aren't the Mets, who gagged in the 2006 NLCS, gagged in '07, gagged in '08.

A year ago, the Cubs were an 85-win team that got beat by the 90-win Diamondbacks in the Division Series. This time, they got caught in a baseball never-land after clinching the division title early, then had to face a badly underrated Dodgers team.

Manager Lou Piniella will be second-guessed for not playing the final week differently. Baseball will be second-guessed for not making the Division Series a best-of-seven. Sorry, the Cubs understood the stakes, played by the same rules as every other club. They just got beat.

If you're looking for real-life goats, you won't need to search hard.

Left fielder Alfonso Soriano is 3-for-28 the past two postseasons, third baseman Aramis Ramirez 2-for-23. Right fielder Kosuke Fukudome turned out to be a disappointment. Right-handers Ryan Dempster and Rich Harden faltered at the worst possible times. Still, this group does not suffer from some deep character flaw. As the rest of the NL can attest, it's a reasonably tough-minded bunch.

The Cubs need to re-sign Dempster, a potential free agent. They need to obtain a left-handed slugger for their outfield, with Fukudome remaining in right or moving to center. They perhaps could use one more starting pitcher and one more spirited gamer — a Nate McLouth, perhaps, or an Orlando Hudson. But let's not forget what this team accomplished. And let's not turn this defeat into anything more than it is.

For the Red Sox to win the 2004 World Series, they needed to change their culture by trading Nomar Garciapparra at midseason, then rally from a three-games-to-none deficit against the Yankees in the ALCS.

Maybe the Cubs will need to undergo the same kind of catharsis to end their championship drought. Or maybe they just need to keep creating opportunities.

Cubs fans carry around signs saying, "It's Gonna Happen," as if the team is engaged in some type of mystical quest. Better the Cubs' motto should be "Make it Happen" or at least some other updated version of "Cowboy Up."

Ask the Red Sox, who after enduring the Bill Buckner miscue in 1986, suffered additional playoff defeats in '88, '90, '95, '98, '99 and, finally, '03.

It's always the darkest before the dawn.

Brewers may not win series, but this was big

The Brewers deserved this. So did their fans.

You don't wait 26 years to get back into the postseason, only to get knocked out in three straight games.

You don't make the brilliant CC Sabathia trade, fire your manager with 12 games remaining and squeeze through the tiniest of windows, only to get swept.

Make no mistake, the Brewers are still at a disadvantage after beating the Phillies, 4-1, on Saturday, trailing their best-of-five Division Series, two games to one.

What's more, the Brew Crew faces a near-certain breakup once their season ends; Sabathia and right-hander Ben Sheets are likely to depart as free agents, while shortstop J.J. Hardy and first baseman Prince Fielder are candidates to be traded.

Ah, but enough fretting over the future.

For Milwaukee, this is about enjoying the moment, enjoying a season that will last at least one more day.

Once again, Brewers fans can dare to dream.

Brewers right-hander Jeff Suppan vs. Phillies righty Joe Blanton in Game 4 is a tossup. Sabathia will face Phillies lefty Cole Hamels if Game 5 is necessary in Philadelphia — and Sabathia will be back on normal rest.

Doesn't sound so daunting, does it?

Not to a Brewers team that was 2 1/2 games out in the wild-card race with seven games left, then went 6-1 to pass the facing Mets.

The Phillies are better than the Mets, but as the Cubs have shown, even the best teams in the National League are flawed.

Two things bug me about the Phillies: The inconsistency of their offense and the underside of their bullpen.

Both were issues on Saturday.

The Phillies were 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, and are now 2-for-20 since Shane Victorino's grand slam in Game 2.

Their middle relievers, meanwhile, allowed 10 baserunners over a span of three innings — but thanks to the Brewers' own offensive futility, gave up only two runs.

Chances are, the Phillies will crush Suppan on Sunday — they scored six runs in 3 2/3 innings against him in Philadelphia three weeks ago, and for all their difficulties with runners in scoring position, they've still produced 11 extra-base hits in the last two games.

Suddenly, though, the Brewers can see an opening. The smallest of openings. The opening that a franchise going for broke deserves.