CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN!

Watching the Cubs lose twice to Corey Kluber was excruciating. Time after time the Cubs swung at balls that were in the dirt. Finally, the first batter in game 7 solved him. (Whether it was a “solve” or just the effects of overwork may be debatable, but the results are unambiguous.)

Let me tell you a story. I coached a fast-pitch church soft ball league back in Peoria, Illinois. (Just a little south of Chi-town for those who care.) We faced a left handed pitcher who blew us away. He started every batter with a fast ball right down the middle. The first time I was up, I let that go. I was a cool, professional batter and wanted to “see what the kid has,” so I took the pitch. Strike one.

This big left hander, (did I mention that he was left handed?) poured the second pitch right down the same track. I bat (or batted) lefty so it looked too good to pass up and I took a powerful swing. Just as the ball got to the plate, it dropped off the table. Well, it looked like it dropped a foot and swerved away from me. This is what a left handed curve ball does. I missed it by a foot or more. Strike two.

The third pitch started about shoulder high and outside. Lefties will curve the ball to the right, so I knew that this was a “waste” pitch to get me to swing at a bad ball. Won’t fool me. I took it all the way. It snapped down and across the plate just as nice as you please. This is backwards for a left handed pitcher (did I mention that he was left handed?) and completely unexpected. Strike three. I did not even wait for the ump to call it. I just walked back to the bench.

All the rest of the game, I urged the guys to swing at the first pitch. That was going to be the only one we had a prayer (church league, remember?) of hitting. They were all “cool” hitters and disdained the easy pitch to get a feel for and a look at his stuff. I do not recall if he struck out every batter, but he did a lot of us. There may have been a lucky break or two, but we did not even score a run.

Back to the Cubs. Kluger started every at-bat with a fast ball down central. Then my boys were left swinging at those low outside or inside offerings that would have been a low strike, except that they went down just as they swung. Two games, well five or six innings each anyway, were about the same. A lucky stroke or two kept things interesting and avoided the no-hitter, but no punch.

Then game seven dawned. The first batter must have learned something. He did not let the first pitch go by. He parked it. (I guess you should say “bleachered” it. It didn’t get out of the park.) And the game was on. Whether it was a lack of efficiency due to fatigue or a wiser batting approach, we may never know. But the results were a W for the good guys.

The only thing different was that Kluger is right handed. His ball seemed to go down and to the left. But finally the Cubbies began to hit it. What a game. Way better than the results of our games. You can just call me Coach League.

You are welcome, Cubs fans.