The Cubs and Nationals

I'm very conflicted right now. I absolutely adore the Cubs, who once again are on the way to letting me down. But at least they are not going down without a fight -- literally. If they aren't fighting amongst themselves (Carlos Zambrano/Michael Barrett, Barrett/Rich Hill), they are fighting the Braves and Padres, as this picture of Derrek Lee and Chris Young from Saturday shows.

But they are killing me. I was so excited about them this year, especially after they hired Lou Piniella as manager. And they are in the right division, the very weak NL Central. The Brewers (THE FRICKING BREWERS -- are you kidding me?) are leading. So while I haven't given up on them yet, time's a wasting. I still think they can and will make a move. But if they don't soon, I may be cheering for the Nationals when the Cubs visit for four games over the July 4 holiday.

And speaking of the Nats, they are playing some inspired baseball, going 6-3 on a just completed road trip through Minnesota, Baltimore and Toronto. Not bad for a team that was predicted to lose more than 100 games and possibly be the worst in history. Their record is already better than A LOT of teams, including the Orioles, who just fired manager Sam Perlozzo today.

And the Nationals have a new stadium that is scheduled to open next April. Can't wait for that. Ed and I are hoping our seats will be above the Nats bullpen, but we'll be happy wherever our seats are located.

As for the Orioles -- Joe Girardi, if you are the man, you've got your work cut out for you. Good luck working for owner Peter Angelos.

Brawl photo by Nam Y. Huh, Associated Press