First off, a quick shout out to TONI GINNETI (Sun Times). She is rapidly becoming one of my favorite writers. And, while we are not referencing her today, I didn’t want that little fact to get lost in the shuffle.

Now, on to the fun.

Yesterday saw the Sox accomplish something they have not done in over a month; they won 2 home series in a row. More importantly, they gained a little ground on the division lead which no longer looks like it is lost over some distant horizon.

It also saw the ‘perfect mixture of maturity and fire’ implode again and drop two games below .500. You do remember that this was the package Cubs fans were sold this year as the team became odds on favorites to win their third division title in a row?  RICK TELANDER (Sun Times) takes a look at the “big dog” status of the Cubs.

Sox pitcher John Danks was smoking (no, not Geovany Soto-style smoking), the Sox pounded out 13 hits—including home runs by Alexei Ramirez and Jermaine Dye—and the South Side boys did enough little things to drive the Cubs half-crazy with anxiety and frustration.

A metaphor comes to mind: The Cubs are a big, nervous, pedigreed dog snapping its jaws frantically; the Sox are a sly alley cat, claws out, riding the dog’s back.

My wife and I are owned by a couple of cats. I have seen one of them rip a pit bull apart by doing exactly that. So, while mildly imperfect (no one really thinks of Thome when they think of ‘feline grace’) it is an apt analogy overall.

As the National League’s first ever DH, Milton Bradley, continues to make people wonder what kind of photos he has of Jim Hendry, the team seems to have even more pressing issues.

A bigger issue is that the Cubs have two high-maintenance, high-strung head cases at their core—Sunday’s starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano being the other—while the Sox have an all-for-one mentality of near-equals.

A display of this came in the sixth inning, when Sox manager Ozzie Guillen called a suicide squeeze that sent Chris Getz flying toward home plate. The play unnerved Zambrano, who threw wildly to his unsuspecting catcher Soto, with the ball getting away and Getz scoring easily. Big Z then hit Dewayne Wise and walked Scott Podsednik before Piniella could yank him from the game.

Or, as my wife asked; “Aren’t they supposed to miss the bat person?” Why yes, honey, they are. But Big-Z doesn’t seem wired that way. For all his barking and finger pointing he seems to lose focus of the game pretty easily. And we all know that every scout is now telling their teams how to rattle him.

Yeah, I know, more good news for northsiders.

In keeping with the ‘add insult to injury’ theme that seems to be going on here, the (tied for first place) Cardinals just upped the ante by snagging Mark DeRosa from the Indians. For a manager like Tony Larussa, who likes to make fielding moves, this was a gift from the gods. DeRosa can play every infield position and, as noted last night on ESPN, will play anywhere but pitcher if asked.

Don’t yell at me. You can write to Jim Hendry in care of the Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field, 1060 West Addison, Chicago, IL. 60613-4397.

So, for now, the Crosstown Classic is behind us and we can get back to the business of watching our teams vie for their respective division titles. Only time will tell if our favorites hit the post season as Big Dogs or in the Dog House.

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