i remain (perhaps stupidly) confident in the cubs, despite this evening's frustrating loss.

it should be noted, however, what bobby cox did tonight and what dusty baker did not: coxy went to his bullpen ace before the time typically reserved for that person. (it didn't work as planned for the braves, but it worked.) as joe morgan wisely said referring to the wonderful top of the eighth inning, where dusty used five guys off the bench, "you don't want to leave any bullets in the chamber." in the same way, with veres looking as awful as he was looking, why leave the big polack in the 'pen?

if facing extra frames, you've got cruz. while not great, cruz is about equal to horacio ramirez, who would have been the bravos guy.

in other news, this series is taking over my life. my sink is dish-ful at the moment.

and i'm going to my cousin's wedding on saturday. this could mean that, similar to sixth grade, i'll be the dorky guy in the corner watching tv while everyone is dancing. as will my dad.