Once again, amidst the thunderous roars of the coliseum, the mighty gladiators will gird their loins for ....oh, who am I kidding? The Cubs and Sox, two sub .500 teams, will play each other and hopefully one will win.

That doesn’t actually seem like a given. The two teams have redefined mediocrity by going 34-34 over the life of the series. 3 ties wouldn’t shock me. Sure, that is almost impossible to do in baseball, but if there is a way to make that happen I am convinced these are the two teams that can find it.

On the plus side, the Sox are 7-3 over their last ten games and have won their last three complete series. While they still do not seem like they are on path to become a juggernaut, they have started to show consistent signs of life between the lines. That is a good beginning.

On the down side, the Cubs are 5-5 over their last ten games and are on a 4 game losing streak coming into today’s series. Lou Pinnella looks as though someone darted him with Valium and the team seems to be grooving on his new mellow mood. So much so that Soto’s recent acknowledgment that he tested positive for pot in the WBC seems fitting somehow. Sadly, they don’t seem to be grooving at the plate which would be more effective.

But, since everyone seems to be in a good mood, it can be further enhanced if you CLICK HERE and help vote Bobby Scales into the NL All Star Team at 2nd Base. Really, do it and you will feel virtuous about everything. I promise or your money back.

RICK MORRISSEY (Tribune) notes that the lethargy emanating from Wrigley seems to have enveloped the fans as well.

Media members tried to make last week’s Cubs-Sox series into something epic by asking player after player about the “intense” atmosphere they had just experienced inside Wrigley. They were hoping for the easy story, and you couldn’t blame them. They wanted someone, anyone, to say Cubs and Sox fans were so loud that hearing loss was a distinct possibility. Let’s face it, a story about dogs and cats fighting is a lot more interesting than a story about two-toed sloths napping.

But Cubs newcomer Milton Bradley blew to bits the fiction of amped-up emotions in the stands. He said his team’s previous series, against Minnesota, had more energy.

Cubs-Twins fever: Catch it.

Hopefully this weekend will be livelier. My guess is that it will. Sox fans have never been good at attending weekday day games. Plus, the allure of spending a day off work sitting at Wrigley just doesn’t hold the same appeal for them. The schedule for this weekend’s series should help fill the seats with conscious adults who are in the mood to root for their team. Because, as Rick notes, last week wasn’t very impressive.

But for both sides to just sit there last week, well, it was borderline embarrassing. It doesn’t matter that the Game 1 rainout might have set the tone. Doesn’t matter that the teams had been scuffling most of the season.

We expect more out of our combatants. I’m not condoning violence. I’m condoning a pulse.

Heartbeat, it’s a LOVE beat ... sorry, it just jumped into my head.

Anyway, Defranco Family flashbacks aside, I am looking forward to this series for the best reason there is. I will not be forced to root for the Cubs.

CLICK HERE SING ALONG!