Sunday October 7

Well, the D-Backs outplayed us in every facet of the game in sweeping the series.  I wish them the best of luck the rest of the way.  They finished with the best record in the NL and proved why. 

Box:  http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/ps/y2007/boxscore.jsp?gid=2007_10_06_arimlb_chnmlb_1

The series was a huge disappointment and very frustrating, but it does not dampen my joy of winning the division.  Until we are getting into the playoffs at the rate the Braves did, or the Yankees do, then I am always going to be happy making the playoffs and hoping for a magical October run.  With the new tax system on the higher spending clubs there is more parity than ever before.  The playoffs are a roll of the dice as the last several years have proven. 

The Off-Season:  This winter is going to be very important.  If the sale of the team is transacted quickly, then the team can get to filling in holes and making the decisions necessary to improve.  If the sale drags out, then we could be frozen as far as moves go and be in big trouble. 

Make no mistake, we will have to improve next year to compete in the NL Central.  The Brewers are young and powerful.  They gained a lot of experience this season and will be better for it.  They need to improve their pitching, or get better pitching from their bullpen and a couple of their starters.  The Reds are scary good to me.  I was really impressed with their young talent.  And the Cardinals are the Cardinals. 

We could be a lot better if Soriano and ARam get healthy this winter.  Our offense underachieved big time, but that said, our starting pitching overachieved some.  I also believe that D. Lee's wrist could still use a little more down time to get fully healthy.  Soto could really help offensively and defensively.  What will happen with Pie?  Floyd?  Dempster?

We'll see.  But everything hinges on how quickly new owners can be finalized.

I will continue this blog, not that many people read it, but it is still fun for me to look back on.  I will do a review of the season within a few days and keep up with all the relevant news in the off-season.  I will also follow the rest of the October Madness.  It is great baseball and drama.  And I will report on how my other teams are doing:  the Bears, Blackhawks, and Jazz.

Go Cubs Go!!!