I Don't See Any Ushers Here...

Pour Some Beer On My Sacred Heart: Last night Amanda and I were invited to be guests at the Sacred Heart Ushers Club up the street from us. A woman she works with is a member there and has been bugging us for weeks to go.

I remember what it was like to go to 'clubs' like that as a kid; they have this mirror on the wall and you have to buzz someone to let you in or show your identification. I'm frankly surprised that those places still exist...

Anyway, the club was exactly how I expected it to be, pretty small barroom, but it was very clean and had these two huge big screens (that I found myself stuck to the White Sox - Twins game) and a nice sound system. It was a decent place, but I was tired. I guess there was some sort of subconscious effort to get Amanda to go home at 10:30 because she wanted to stay and I was growing really tired. After a Coke though, I felt pretty good about staying and we played a couple games of pool.

Its October: The baseball playoffs start tonight, so I figure its a good of time as any to make my picks for the playoffs and World Series...so here we go:

National League Divisional Series
Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Dodgers : I like the Cubs in this series...I think Manny Ramirez can only take Los Angeles so far. And when you have a pitcher who hit nine home runs this year (Carlos Zambrano), how can Chicago really go wrong here? Cubs in four games.

Milwaukee Brewers vs. Philadelphia Phillies : I'm seeing this as a five game series that ends up being closer than Wild Card vs East Champ should go...and I am going to stick out my neck and call it for Milwaukee. Sabathia's performance should give them two wins at least, and I hope that one of the Brewers other pitchers can pick up the slack and win them that third game.

American League Divisional Series
Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels : I'm going to go a little romantic, my dear. I'm enjoying the success that LA has had in the last few years, and I find them to be totally under rated. They won 100 games this year! I'm giving the Sox one game but the Angels will take this in four.

Chicago White Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays : UPSET! Yes! Stop The Presses!!! After watching that game last night, I'm convinced the White Sox are going to upset the first time AL East champion Rays...its a matter of experience AND the wave those guys are on. White Sox in five. Only because Tampa won't go down without a fight, because yeah, they're still good. No matter how hard it is for John Pritchard to swallow that. :)

National League Championship Series
Cubs vs. Brewers : Its their year. Brewers will run out of gas after pitching Sabathia on three days rest for the second time in two weeks and he'll prove ineffective in an important game... Cubs take this series in five games.

American League Championship Series
White Sox vs. Angels: This one is tough to call for me. Giving the White Sox the series against Tampa Bay may be the worst prediction I make, but if they knock off the Rays, don't be surprised if they give the Angels a run for their money and give the world the possibility of an all-Chicago World Series....but I'm still gonna give this series to the Angels in seven. They're just too powerful and you can't deny Mike Scoscia's club.

World Series
Cubs vs. Angels : A ratings bombshell this one will be! There's lots of talk about the fact the Cubs have gone a hundred years without a championship and how there is a curse...but I watched the Red Sox AND the White Sox roll over this myth and I'd like to hope we can move on in this 21st century world and be real, stop crying jinx and stabbing voodoo dolls for comfort.
The Cubs will face a steamroller in Los Angeles's AL team, and the Series will be a hard fought battle for both teams. I'm going to say the series will go six games and my choice for the World Series champion in thirty days is.... Chicago. The Cubs can't possibly screw this up this year.

So here's me saying, GO CUBBIES!