Welcome Cubs!

Does anyone know what the price of gas was in 1918? How about a loaf of bread? If you don’t know, don’t worry. I’m sure Fox will tell us about 1 billion times Saturday night. Can’t make Saturday’s broadcast? No problem. I’m sure ESPN will have you covered on Sunday night.

Are we finally done with this? Are the Cubs the last team to visit for the first time since the Roosevelt administration? I can’t wait until all these interleague match-ups are just “another game.”  I’m tired of the throwback uniforms from the last time the teams faced each other. Sometimes they just look goofy. I’m tired of the endless graphics showing how life was different back then. Just play the games for goodness sake. Please?

I have to admit. I’m a little worried about the impending Judgment Day. Everyone always used to say that neither the Red Sox nor the Cubs would even win another World Series. In fact, if the Cubs and Red Sox ever faced each other in a World Series, the stadium would be swallowed by an earthquake just before the start of game seven. And, now, here we are. The Sox have won their World Series, but the Cubs are still without theirs. So, what’s going to happen just before the second game of the series in Fenway on May 21, 2011? A giant earthquake is going to signal the end of the world. Tell me that’s not creepy.

Assuming the world doesn’t end, the Sox will have an interesting task. They need to cobble together a pitching staff to get them through the series. Hopefully the offense will be able to carry them for a little bit until they figure it all out.

I know I have long been a fan of Terry Francona. But, only recently has his true genius been revealed. When the Red Sox signed Carl Crawford, most people assumed that he would bat second or third in the line-up. After all, any moron off the turnip truck will tell you that a player earning $20 million a year should bat at the top of the order. Not Francona. He could see that Crawford had value in other places. He knew that if he had Crawford bat second, someone else would bat seventh. So, in the bottom of the ninth, with the game on the line, it would be someone else at the plate. Francona knew this, and knew he wanted Crawford in those spots. So, three times in recent weeks his plan has worked to perfection. Crawford has been at the plate in crucial times, and won games for the Sox. True genius. But, now it’s time to stop showing off and get Crawford back up to the second spot. That’s where he deserves to be for the rest of the season.

As long as the world doesn’t end tomorrow.