Milton Bradley Lights A Fire

Sorry for my lack of Cubs Bloggin' the past week or so; I've been trying to concentrate on my feature for the final project. In family-related news, I will become an uncle AGAIN in June and my brother Blake has just proposed to his girlfriend Marni, who has an athlete friend who will be her made-of-honor (they went to Hononegah High together in Rockton, Ill.), you may recognize her by taking a peak here.

It has been quite the week in Chicago sports: The Bulls have a legitimate chance to defeat the defending champion Boston Celtics, in a series that has seen explosive play from Chicago guards Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon and also chippy play by Celtic guard Ray Allen in their game two win.

The Blackhawks are up 2-1 on the Calgary Flames in the Western Conference First Round Playoffs.

And now to the good stuff: The Cubs, after a two-game split with the Colorado Rockies, took 2 out of 3 from in-division rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals. In that series, Milton Bradley was ejected in his first Wrigley Field plate appearance for arguing balls and strikes. We all knew what Bradley was bringing to the North Side: In Finance they call it "No Arbitrage", for all of us J-School majors, this simply means he is high-risk, high-reward.

I gotta be honest on this one: I like the intensity.

When Sweet Lou snapped off a year ago, he lit a fire. When Barrett jacked AJ Pierzynski, the Cubs started to perform up to their potential. Do fights and arguments always mean that a team will play better? No.

I'm not saying that the Cubs are playing badly so far, although their bullpen has issued more walks than my dad has given to my 18-year-old Golden Retriever. All I am implying is that maybe this will show some fire, some grit, some NO More Loveable Losers From The City. In some years past, the Cubs have played passively, particularly in the playoffs. I think that in 2009, they need to play with something to prove, not to me as a fan, but to all of the MLB.

The need to prove that they are The Team. That this is Their Year and that they will not sit back on their heals anymore.

If anyone is watching the Cubs/Reds game right now, I hope you noticed the "Cat" that just ran onto the field...I wonder, who is the first sports columnist to pick this one apart? I'm sure we will hear the echoes I always hate...a five letter word of pure ignorance, it starts with C and ends with -URSE.