CHICAGO, IL - The Chicago Cubs capped their magical worst-to-first season by getting swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks, sending a strong message to the rest of the league about their commitment to a losing tradition. "This was huge." said manager Lou Pinella,
obviously relieved after the game. "After we won the pennant, we all kind of looked at each other as a team and said 'My God, we're in the playoffs. What do we do now?' I think we answered that question in a big way."
The heroes of the series have to be Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano, who gutted up and went a combined 2 for 26 in the series. "We knew what was at stake." said Ramirez, referring to the Cub's now 99 year world championship drought. "Nobody can come
close to tradition like that. I'm proud to be a part of it." Soriano, who signed a $136 million contract this year, agreed. "It would be a shame to break that record."
Faithful fans of the hapless Cubbies did their part by hanging a dead goat from the statue of Harry Caray, rekindling the Billy Goat Curse of 1945. There were
also reports that several dozen black cats were on stand-by if needed in Game 4.
Also available for Game 4, was pitcher Carlos Zambrano, who shamelessly pitched the Cubs into a sixth inning 1-1 tie in Game 1. "I had to give him the hook - he was settling into a groove." said Pinella. "I told him, 'hopefully your teammates will step up, or you'll have to pitch again.'"
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