I am where you should be

The Cubs-Cards rivalry gets taken up another level this afternoon as I make my first appearance at the new Busch Stadium!

WOOT! WOOT!

Seriously, the Cubs better win today, especially after last night's debacle.

What's up with Rich Hill? Why can't he throw strikes any more? Why is he walking everybody? Why did he pick the game against the Cardinals to pitch like crap?

Kinda makes GM Jim Hendry look foolish for treating Hill as "untouchable."

...

Despite that, and his defensive blunder in the 7th inning, it was good to see Alfonso Soriano jack one out of the yard against Jason Isringhausen. I still think he has a 30-homer season in that bat of his, and I think he'll get better defensively as he gets back into the swing of everyday baseball.

He probably should have taken a rehab assignment or two, but according to my sources, he's seen what that has done for Lindsay Lohan and declined it.

And really, Skip Schumaker? I know the old adage is that you don't let their best player beat you, but I disagree.

I would rather lose on an Albert Pujols single than a Skip Schumaker home run.

Here's hoping the Cubs win today and tomorrow. The Cards have no business being in first place and the Cubs should be showing them why.

It's Theodore Roosevelt Lilly versus Kyle Lohse in game two. Here's hoping Mr. Neversmile gets his act together.

A rivalry renewed

Don't believe the hype, the best rivalry in baseball renew acquaitances moments from now.

As explained in today's Sports Banter, I believe the Cubs-Cards series is the best rivalry in baseball.

Why?

Because it doesn't need the media hype Red Sox-Yankees gets from ESPN.

In fact, markets that do not have a direct correlation between Chicago or St. Louis will probably brush it off as a Midwest thing.

But that's the point.

Cubs-Cards divides friends, families and the state of Illinois. Cities like Springfield and Peoria are split 50-50, while college campuses like SIU or the University of Illinois have the same kind of split among the students, faculty and staff.

It's a fan thing, and really that's what matters the most.

The players will come and go. Managers will get hired and fired. But the fans will always be there.

Sure, this edition of the rivalry doesn't have the player rivalry that Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire gave us.

It doesn't have the hate-filled managerial rivalry of LaRussa and Dusty Baker.

It doesn't have Steve Kline's hatred for Mark Prior.

But it does have two teams, battling for their constituents for bragging rights, and that's what a rivalry is all about.