Cardinals 1, Phillies 0. It's Happening!

OK, so commenting on a Cardinals-Phillies playoff game isn't technically within the jurisdiction of my blog.  Of course, since this is a Cubs blog, commenting on any playoff game isn't going to fall within my jurisdiction.  But with the Cardinals advancing to the NLCS by virtue of Friday night's 1-0 win over the Phillies, I wanted to make sure to call your attention to a prediction I made in a Bleed Cubbie Blue Game Thread last week:

Just watch - The Packers sneaked into the playoffs on the last day of the season and went on to win the Super Bowl. Now the Cardinals are going to sneak into the playoffs on the last day of the season and win the World Series.

Thank you, Cardinals.  You're going to make me look like a supergenius!  And thanks, Phillies and Diamondbacks, for leaving me with a Brewers vs. Cardinals NLCS!

First Place! Woo-Hoo!

On a day where the Bears outgained the Lions 463 yards to 168 and knocked the Lions starting QB out of the game just before halftime, they still needed a technicality to beat the Lions 19-14. Bears' fans should be thankful that Matt Forte was there to provide some very powerful deodorant (the same goes for referee Gene Steratore). Otherwise, with the next three games being at Dallas, home against Green Bay, and at the Giants, we'd almost certainly be looking at an 0-4 start (not that 1-3 is anything to write home about).

Of course, this game shouldn't have been close, considering the yardage edge and the fact that the Lions played prevent offense for the entire second half with Matthew Stafford out of the game. Then again, the four Bears turnovers didn't help, nor did the 100 yards in penalties. And don't get me started on the Bears' decision to use the same goal-line playbook that Joe Paterno used in the 1979 Sugar Bowl. Seriously, they hire Mike Martz because he's some sort of offensive supergenius, and that's what they come up with - four runs up the middle on five plays from the one-yard line?

The good news is that Dallas appears to have a coaching staff that's just as stupid as ours, which gives us some hope. Wait, whom am I kidding? The Cowboys will probably be p***ed off about losing and take out their frustrations on the Bears. Whatever - I'm still going to enjoy looking down the standings at the Vikings while I can.

Jim Hendry - Supergenius?

After all the bashings I've given to Jim Hendry, I have to give him credit today. He managed to find a trading partner for a soon-to-be 35 year-old first baseman with a sub-.400 slugging percentage and close to $5 million left on his contract. But Derrek Lee rejected the trade, saying that he wants to stay with the Cubs for the rest of this year. Lou Piniella was quoted as saying he was "very pleased" with this news, probably because it not only allow him the opportunity to continue playing the guy who ranks last among all NL first baseman in OPS, but also to keep putting him in the 3rd spot in the batting order.

It gets better, though, fellow Cubs fans. Lee also said he'd like to play next year - and he'd like to play with the Cubs again. But I'm guessing Lee will be gone next year anyway, because Hendry has already decided to trade Lee once, and when Hendry makes up his mind to do something (see, e.g. signing Milton Bradley or Marlon Byrd), not even a Krispy Kreme truck crashing outside of his house can stop him.