WHEN IT COMES TO THE CUBS I'M NOT WORRIED . BUT......

 I get a kick out of hearing meatball Cub fans who have waited decades for a decent and well built ballclub call sports talk stations and write letters to the editor panicking about the recent reversal of fortune suffered by their beloved Cubs. And I use the term "suffered" advisedly as it is hard to describe any team cruising along with the giant (oops did I say Giant!?) divisional lead they enjoy as suffering in any way. The Cubs red hot, almost historic start has given them the cushion and the means to put things on cruise control. They can put players on the disabled list, they can send a pitcher or two down to the minors, they can play a guy who just came up from the minors to catch at any position they wish to play him. They could appoint Dr.Seuss team trainer were he not deceased.
They can do anything they want thanks to the terrific start that has put them as high on top the division as any team in baseball because all that counts is October. All they have to do is win their division by one game and avoid the one game wild card playoff game, which they will. The Pirates are done. I know its a long season but they are treading water trying to remain above .500 and may even be sellers at the trade deadline. They don't want the one game playoff that they never win and I doubt they will make any big moves to try to play in that one game. They may even get rid of a few players. They are so far behind the Cubs and so lacking in what it takes to challenge them that they can have thoughts of 2017 dancing in their heads and play out the string.

While the Cubs have underperformed, the Cardinals have barely moved. Instead of taking advantage of this lull in the performance of the division leaders, the Cardinals have slogged their way through a so so week that finds them being beaten by a previously disappointing Mariners team. It isn't the fault of the Cardinals, they just aren't that good. Fortune smiled upon them in a 3 game sweep of the doldrum dwelling Cubs but instead of that propelling them into turning up the heat on the north siders, they have opted to nap.  They may, before it is said and done, pull close to the division leaders but barring a blockbuster deal at the deadline, this is not the Cardinals year in the division so wild card looks like their best chance.

The Cubs are going to win this division even looking as lackluster as they have the past week or so. The party room wasn't getting any business when they took to the road, and the road has been no smoother since. I'm not worried but I AM spoiled. The joy of watching the Cubs absolutely bash their opponents so that you could watch the game without the outcome in doubt, the night terrors absent, just enjoying the youthful exuberance and the raw talent that brought victory on almost a daily basis, THAT was something.  So yeah, I'm not worried but I am wistful. The pop gun offense minus the injured talent seems too often perplexed and incapable of mounting a late inning rally. If the Cubs are down 2-1, 3-1 or 4-2 after the 6th it doesn't feel like they will win. No late inning thunder. The players in the lineup now don't seem to be torturing the pitcher by making him throw pitch after pitch, waiting and patient to get something they could drive or take a walk to first to jam up the bases. And Madden's magic moves- once foolproof ..but now he does not seem to have the infalability previously reserved for the Pope. The whole team seems like they are just searching for a cold beer and some decent waves, riding the crest of the amazing start .

I don't like seeing teams with less talent and fewer managerial brains beat the mighty Cubs .It is disappointing. While once getting used to fine dining, we are at the baseball hot dog stand and I've lost my appetite. My rational self knows none of this matters....just get everyone healthy and be strong when the air regains its nip. This team will be even better after the trade deadline because the front office smells it and they know the time is now. But my emotional self bemoans the mounting losses and doesnt want to see replays or listen to sports reports because the Cubs are better than this and when they sleepwalk through another one run loss it is galling.  They are not embracing the target, they are rolling over on top of it and I don't like it.  This is what happens when you back a habitual losing team. You never feel safe, never feel secure and definitely never feel satisfied.

So tonight when another loon calls in the late night talk show and proposes trading Schwarber or Russell or some other inane point about the decline of the Cubs and the horrible fate that surely awaits them, I'll try to be more understanding and listen for at least 60 seconds before I turn off the radio.

AMERICAN POISON

     I am an unapologetic and in fact ,proud liberal who abhored Ronald Reagan when I was still new to the voting booth. So much so that I painstakingly cut out newspaper clippings and fashioned them into a scrapbook that pointed out the folly of electing the former movie star.  I presented this to my girlfriend who hailed from a staunch, republican family in an effort to have her deny those republican roots  and vote Carter, the democrat. I won that battle though we lost the war.

     I have always harbored great apprehension for republican candidates, particularly those desiring the highest office in the land, from the day I became politically aware. As a kid, I was sure Barry Goldwater and his hawkish initiatives would jeapordize our peaceful nation. And Nixon lived up to every reservation I had about him and is a stain on the American presidency.

      With their allegiance to the 1%, outdated and regressive policies that marginalize women and minorities and completely out of step with the principles of a country that holds it neediest  and most downtrodden with compassion instead of disdain, I have always had an abiding fear of what a country led by a party that sold itself to the religious right might look like and the debilitating effect it would have on the lives of all Americans.

      That apprehension was always tempered by the hope that even a backward, restrictive and unresponsive GOP presidential adminsitration would at least CONSIDER the values and policies that make this country great. Career politicians who realize they tread the sacred ground of our forefathers, representing this nation and its values on the world stage. I was able to derive tiny comfort in that.

      And now, Donald Trump.

      Donald Trump, a "gift" from a shredded, divided, splintered and confused shell of the party of
Eisenhower. Try as they might, the flaccid republican cult could not field a candidate with any more credibility than a former reality TV star with a distinct streak of madness that will divide this country as never before and ruin our standing in the eyes of our allies and embolden our enemies.

       This is not a drill,folks. This is the absolute worst thing for you, for your way of life, for your future and the future of your children.

         There is no need for me to list the reasons that Trump is American poison. It is all there, in plain view on any platform you favor. His quotes, his thoughts, his bias, his madness. It is no secret and it is there for you to consume. And it cannot be chalked up to the republican's favorite villain, "the liberal media."

          Trump's own words-the ravings of a lunatic more often than not- serve as a big, red flashing warning light to all thinking , functioning, right minded individuals.

           By its nature and through its history, the United States has been all inclusive, a model for the world. Has anyone read what is written on the Statue of Liberty of late? And now, a man possessed of nothing more than a massive ego  and minus any sort of knowledge that qualifies him to occupy the Oval Office has plunged the electorate into an episode of  "The Twilight Zone."

          You cannot vote for Trump as a joke. This stopped being funny a long time ago. You cannot vote for Trump as a protest to what you may perceive as a weak field of candidates. Indeed, democrats and republicans should unite to rebuke the blight on the political landscape that is Trump. You have Republican standard bearers saying the previously unthinkable--they will vote Democratic over a madman. I respect those GOP voices and hold the spineless likes of Paul Ryan and Chris Christie in the lowest regard. Laura Bush and the former president and all Republicans who cross party lines to keep us safe and sane are American heroes that demonstrate a love of country we all share. You cannot vote for Trump  because you consider him an outsider, an apostle of your disatisfaction . Our country is littered with outsiders that have no business being leader of the free world.

       As wrongheaded and uninformed as I believe your vote for Romney or Bush , late night talk show punchlines both- they were sane choices at the very least, hoping to do things  they believed would contribute to the greater good and aware of the gravity of the office they sought.

        Donald Trump is an affront to every American who takes pride in the precepts upon which this country was built. I have never felt as much pride in my country as I did the night our first black president was elected and never so ashamed of my country as I am today. A portion of my fellow citizens  have cast a vote for a buffoon-  a cartoon who will throw this great land into chaos and divisiveness driven by his ego and a prisoner of his own madness.

         Make no mistake, this is a danger for us all. Each and every one of us has a stake in this and need to unite to put a halt to this insanity. Analyzing how we got to this low point is for later. Voting to keep this vindictive man-baby out of the White House is the highest priority.

            I have no respect for anyone who in good conscience can cast a precious vote for an evil, divisive, unqualified, racist. Are these the values you prize to lead the free world? You will vote to make this country a laughingstock at home and abroad? Why would you do that to a country you love?