Has anyone else noticed how this downturn has manifested itself? Allow me to illustrate:

WAS GM 1 - Loss
WAS GM 2 - Win
WAS GM 3 - Loss
MIL GM 1 - Loss
MIL GM 2 - Win
MIL GM 3 - Loss
STL GM 1 - Loss
STL GM 2 - Win
STL GM 3 - Loss
CIN GM 1 - Loss
CIN GM 2 - Win
CIN GM 3 - Loss

That's right, folks, the Cubs are currently in a pattern where they infallibly win the middle game in a series, while equally infallibly dropping the other two. The good news is, they don't get swept. The bad news is, if you win at a .333 clip long enough, the good news becomes moot.

Obviously, nothing good can happen relative to the season as a whole until they break that pattern. Naturally, they have to try doing that today against the best team in the Majors. Of course, if they can manage such a trick - in a positive way, I mean, realizing that getting broomified would also count as pattern alteration - it would, at least seemingly, have a lot more meaning than doing so in, say, the coming Pirates series. That said, remember that the sweep of the Mets was supposed to prove something, and this stretch of horror is what immediately followed.

Really, all I want are some wins, and some good play to build on. My schedule's clear. What say we do it now?