(Mr. Modesty, Ronny Cedeno, out swaggers even Piniella after his Grand Slam)
I’m almost as excited as Cedeno after his 1st career grand slam pushed the Cubs to an 8-1 rout over the NY Mets yesterday, but I’m not so keen on picking out a World Series ring as he is right now. Still, when even Ted Lilly turns a corner as he did over his six innings, it’s tempting. Maybe that ‘s because my first listen to my MLB audio included Eric Gagne giving up a tying run in the 9th to Albert Pujols in a St. Louis/Milwaukee game. The result was learning that the Brewers, even with Gagne aboard, can beat Los Tards, which is good news and bad for the Cubs. As in, not everyone plays like the Pirates and Mets. As the gap in the NL Central widens, the early race looks like an evenly split division of Haves and Have-Nots with the Cards, Brewers, and Cubs high on top and the Astros, Reds, and Bucs in the basement, and not much middle ground. MLB also provided my first Ron Santo called game in years. Santo peppered it with Mets inspired memories of standing too close to a broadcast booth heater at Shea that set his hair piece on fire during a National Anthem, and then, when informed that this was the last year for the old Shea Stadium, said, “Oh, break my heart.”