Lee Me Down And Roll Me Off A Cliff (Right Now): Cubs 4, Phillies 3

Domonic Brown is available to pinch hit. I'm available to do another beer run. We could all probably use it.

If I were able to get the Drying Paint Channel (blame Comcast, obvs), the action over there just may be more compelling then this late August thrillfest at Wrigley. Occasionally the action picked up, but it was basically the team choosing a new color of paint, cracking the lid open, and stirring the stick around for a minute or so. When I was a kid that was kind of fun, but then I got bored and ran off to play Mega Man 2.

But before I wander down the familiar road of frustration, as always, the Great Mirage of Optimism stopped by before the first pitch. He assured me that Cliff Lee was on the mound, so there was nothing to worry about! And, hey, it's the Cubs...and they kind of suck. Obviously I reminded him that the Phillies are pretty bad as well, but he was having none of it.

"Turn that frown upside down, Dany. The Phillies got this one," he offered to me shortly before riding off into the hot, balmy afternoon.

Turns out that Mr. Optimism was full of shit. The Phillies lost 4-3.

Things started out good enough. Michael Young hit a single into centerfield and all seemed right in the world, until the familiar refrain of OUT-OUT-OUT occurred. For the most part, it was the verse-chorus-verse of the game. Each twist and turn revealed many of the same sights and sounds, everything from weak grounders to shallow pop-ups.

Cliff Lee, normally our savior, was not able to save us. Throwing 113 pitches over 5 innings gets you an early shower - and for his sake, I hope it was a cold one. Lee walked three and only struck out four which makes me wonder, was the real Cliff actually in Chicago today?

The Phillies and Cubs would essentially trade runs before the home squad seized control and pinned down the final OUT-OUT-OUT (it really was that quick) in the top of the ninth for the win.

It wasn't all doom and gloom because the Phillies did display some bright spots today. Michael Young, the guy who should have been traded weeks ago to a contender, garnered three hits, included a nice little triple that knocked home a run. The old man's still got it! Plus we had Kevin Frandsen, who must be really like the bratwurst-flavored water in Chicago, as he notched his second home run in as many days. Although it may have been a bomb of the solo variety, it was a bomb nonetheless, and those raise the adrenaline for at least a minute or two, right? Welcome to the Frand Zone!

Chooch contributed to the cause as well, and although he didn't get any hits (almost, though!), Darin Ruf continues to impress me mostly because he knows how to take a fucking pitch.

The Phillies got six hits today - three of which came from the guy who should have been traded already. Six hits don't win games, especially when one of the team's aces is having an off day.

The team has one more day in Chicago before they bring the bore back to Philly and the eastern timezone to face the Nationals. Let's all hope that there's some good news from Dom's impending MRI. The team needs it, and we need it...probably a lot more than we need another beer (but we'll take one anyway).

It's a Bear market. Sell! Sell! Sell!:

Source: FanGraphs