I don't really believe in devastating losses in sports "setting the tone" for the remainder of a season. Professional players often just want to get back playing after a loss, even one that the Chicago Cubs suffered today at Wrigley. However, this two-game mini-series sent the Cubs looking for the wild card because the St. Louis Cardinals are the class of the Central. And unfortunately for the Cubs, the wild card is crowded and they are 4th in that race, behind the Reds, Padres, and the current wild-card leader Giants. Staring up at them are any team in the East that currently don't have a hold on the division and yeah, the Brewers. The Cubs can't seem to fight the injury bug, and guys, I said it last year, Mark Prior had no business pitching all of those innings in 2003 (211, which is a lot even for a veteran, which he is not). It has caught up to him. And Wood, too. And Sosa (also one of the wounded of the year) can't seem to get on a roll because his usual rolls start up in June, which has long passed by. They need all three guys to play like they can to get back into it, and at last check, none of them have.

The Cubs and Red Sox, poster children for the devastating loss, have been ultra-disappointing this year, losing big games (Cards and Yanks, respectively) and neither even have a hold on the wild card. I guess we can root for the Chicago White Sox if we're going to see a long World Series drought possibly come to an end, but even they are head-scratchers with that lineup and that good young pitching, why they can't seem to zoom past the Twins. I think all three teams need to do whatever is necessary to pass the teams that give them trouble. The Red Sox missed out on ARod because of a silly amount of money, and watched him go to their hated rival. The Cubs should have been all over the other great Rod of our time, Ivan (they settled on just good defense, Michael Barrett, and didn't get the guy who can change a game). They didn't do what was necessary, and the mistakes at the top have filtered to the bottom.