June 8, 2014: Fever

posted in: Blackhawks, Cubs, White Sox | 0

Fever can you hear me.  Five was alive on Saturday.  From the Cubs to the Sox to the Belmont Stakes to the Stanley Cup, the number five was prevalent.  It wasn’t always a good thing, but it was there. Let’s take a look at the Saturday that was…

We’re starting with the Cubs, where else?  Five was a good thing for the Cubbies on Saturday, as they extended their winning streak to 5 games.  Saturday brought some different heroes for the Cubs as they enjoyed their first 5 game winning streak since last May.  Emilio Bonafacio hit his first home run since last July.  Junior Lake went deep… twice.  Jeff Samardzija pitched a solid game as he picked up win #2 on the season.  When you start seeing different people step up each game, it’s usually a good thing.  You can’t always rely on the same guys day in day out in a 162 game season.  You need some other guys to “be the man” to get as many wins as you can.  Now just 9 games under .500, the Cubs are creeping up to the win percentage I expected for them this year.  Let’s keep riding it, and get another one Sunday boys.

Next, we head to the Sox, where five looked to be plenty of runs with Chris Sale on the mound.  How good is Chris Sale?  He looked absolutely dominant for 7 innings last night.  When I heard Steve Stone say that he just gave up his 1st hit to a left handed batter, I couldn’t believe it.  They were 0-33 against Sale prior to the single by Josh Hamilton last night.  That’s crazy.  Me and my 2-year old son dozed off watching the game, as the Sox led 5-0 with Sale cruising.  I woke up in the 8th inning to find Sale still on the mound (no surprise), the score 5-1, and runners on 1st and 2nd with nobody out.  OK, no big deal, until Howie Kendrick singled to right, loading the bases, bringing the tying run to the plate.  I still wasn’t worried until I realized who that tying run was:  Mike Trout.  It’s not that often where you see one of the best pitchers in baseball square off with one of the best hitters in baseball in a pivotal moment in the game.  Needless to say, Trout, the 5th batter in the inning, launched a Grand Slam to deep center, tying the game at 5, and ending Sale’s night.  The bullpen then came in and promptly gave up the go ahead run, as the Sox failed to muster a comeback in the 9th, and lost 6-5.  This was a punch-in-the-gut type loss.  It came out of nowhere as the win seemed in the bag.  I’m familiar with these types of losses.  Let’s see how they bounce back from this one.

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Last stop on the Tour of Five is the Stanley Cup finals.  The LA Kings (bastards) scored their 5th goal in 2OT to go up 2-0 in the series.  I watched maybe 2 minutes of 2OT, and turned it off immediately.  I’m sorry, I’m still sick to my stomach, knowing that could and should be the Hawks out there.  We missed out on an opportunity, although as the playoffs continue, maybe it’s just the Kings year.  Back to MSG for games 3 and 4… here’s hoping the Rangers make it a series.

OK, enough of the fives.  Let’s talk about 6.  I hope to be talking about at least one 6 after Sunday’s games.  Will the Cubs extend their winning streak to six?  With one of my fantasy pitchers on the mound for the Marlins on Sunday in Henderson Alvarez, I’ll gladly take the loss in exchange for that Cubs win.  Let’s keep it going, Let’s stay on a roll.  Fever can you hear me.

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