The 100 year curse looks to be alive and breathing. The Chicago Cubs lost their first playoff game in 2008 by a final score of 7-2 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
At first, things looked fine for Chicago. They got up 2-0 by scoring two in the bottom of the second inning. But then James Looney of the Dodgers hit a grand slam in the top of the fifth inning to put Los Angeles up for good.
Not surprisingly, Manny Ramirez shined for the Dodgers. He was 2-4 with a walk, two runs, an RBI and a homer run. Derek …read more

My latest article is up at Hardball Times. There are several story lines for the 2008 season that intrigue me, including that of Kosuke Fukudome:
I’m curious to see how well Fukudome’s game translates to the North American version. On the Matsui scale, will his transition land closer to the Hideki end or to the Kazuo end? And if the latter, how long will it take for Cubs fans to turn on him and start intentionally mispronouncing his name?
Check out the whole shebang at Hardball Times if you’re so inclined…