I've moved into my new place, kinda sorta. My bed has sheets on it, my spices are in the rack, but I still have to wade through boxes to get from the TV to the bathroom. And my cable modem doesn't really work, blinking a steady, angry pulse of green at me, connecting only -- and only briefly -- during the five minutes I happen to be on the phone with the support people. Like a bad joke. Thanks, Time Warner. Not only does Roadrunner work about as well as Roadkill, but you refuse to transfer my MLB Extra Innings package to my new account. Thanks!

On top of the move, I actually spent the weekend in rural Vermont, not that there is really any other type of Vermont. I had no TV, no Internet, no newspapers, and had no idea what was happening in the Cubs-White Sox series. As seems to be typical of my travels in the Northeast, however, the Cubs won every game while I was away; last year, they won all of their NLCS games while I was vacationing in Maine, losing while home in NYC. Likewise, I come home and bam! Cubs lose two in a row, to the not-nearly-as-embarrasing-as-last-year Brewers. Not that I've been able to watch the games on TV. Time Warner, Thanks!

Matt Clement must be frustrated after Monday's loss. He's now given up a total of six earned runs in his last five games (1.71 ERA) and has an 0-3 record to show for it. Mark Prior, on the other hand, has yet to really establish a groove for himself, and has now walked an uncharacteristic 9 batters in his last 16.3 innings. I'm not worried about Prior, though. He'll get his command back, and he's still striking 'em out at a great rate (10 strikeouts per 9 innings).

I know that my Cubs win when I travel to New England, but do they win on my birthday? I'll put the theory to test yet again today. Some history:

JULY 7th GAME RESULTS
------------------
1975  PIT  0-5   L
1976  SDN  10-0  W
1977  SLN  2-0   W
1978  NYN  9-7   W
1979  HOU  6-0   W
1980  -no game-          
1981  -no game-
1982  HOU  1-5   L
1983  -no game-
1984  SFN  2-4   L
1985  SFN  6-5   W
1986  -no game-
1987  SDN  7-5   W
1988  -no game-
1989  LAN  6-4   W
1990  SFN  9-10  L
1991  STL  7-8   L
1992  CIN  2-3   L
1993  CIN  3-4   L
1994  HOU  3-9   L
1995  PHI  8-2   W
1996  CIN  7-6   W
1997  -no game-
1998  -no game-
1999  PIT  1-4   L
2000  CHA  2-4   L
2001  DET  10-6  W
2002  ATL  0-2   L
2003  FLN  6-3   W
------------------
TOTAL W/L: 11-11

So I dunno what this means for today's game, other than that if I really wanted to make sure that the Cubs won today, I'd hop on a bus for New Hampshire or its neighboring states. Heck, maybe I could even get my cable modem to work up there...