DBAX BEGIN PLAY FOR NL PENNANT

If the Diamondbacks do nothing else this season, they have been very successful for me. They swept the Chi-town Cubbies in the first round of the playoffs. What a relief!

And what's with the attitude of the Cub fans? If you haven't won a title in now 100 years, how do you have room to talk and gloat and boast about anything? I mean 100 years. You'd think you could win one World Series title just by accident. Bartman and the Billy Goat? How long?

That's just it, too. If they were humble, if they joked about it, then maybe some empathy could float their way. But they want to run down other teams or ignore other teams' great players. Remember Harry Caray's song, "Jody/ Jody Davs/ Best catcher in the land." What land? Certainly not the US, certainly not even in the Central Division of the NL. Probably not in the city of Sha-cog-o. But it's their histrionics, their distortions, their lack of baseball knowledge--throw an opposing team's home run ball back onto the field? Now that's just stupid. And other teams have followed their lead. As Melville once said, "Aw, the humanity."

So thanks so much AZ and San Diego in '84, and any other team that's knocked the hapless ones off the el to success. Good luck, Diamondbacks. Now go out and show them how to win two World Series titles in your 9th year of existence. As for the Cubs and their sorry fans, "wait til next century."