Expect 3 More Games

The Cubs lost Game 2 of the best-of-5 series against the Arizona Diamondbacks last night by a score of 8-4. (I won't dissect the game like I did yesterday - the problem was we gave up 8 runs, simple as that). That puts them in an 0-2 hole as the series heads to Chicago for the next 2 games. As a Cubs fan, I went into the playoffs hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst (heartbreak is easier to handle if you are prepared for that possibility). But getting swept is not the "worst" that I had in mind.

I fully expect the series to go 5 games, and here is why. The Cubs getting swept out of the playoffs is not painful enough. It's not like being up 2-0 in a best of 5 and losing the next 3 (1984) or being up 3-1 in a best of seven and again losing the next 3 (2003). If the Cubs were going to disappoint their fans, they would certainly do it in a much more painful way.

They tried to collapse at the end of the season - knowing that if they lost a 3 1/2 game lead in the last week, that would certainly invoke some pain. But once they saw the Brewers weren't going to hold up their end of the bargain, they decided they might as well just win a couple. Now that they are in the playoffs, they can't just go 3 and out.

So, expect them to pull out victories in both games over the weekend in Chicago, thereby ratcheting up the pain factor on a loss in game 5. But, if they do win games 3 and 4, I would actually expect them to win again in game 5 as the young Diamondbacks could start feeling the pressure of an elimination game and would have just endured a loss by their ace pitcher in game 4. Besides, the Cubs know that a game 5 loss in the first round would not be nearly as painful as a game 7 loss in the next round, with the World Series in sight.

Cubs fans - be prepared.