Put On A Happy Face...

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"You'll eventually hit no names,

Put on a happy face;

The Cubs still play with shame,

Put on a happy face..."

Did you hear the singing coming out of the Skipper's office the last couple of days.  My pal Randy Karraker was singing the great Leslie Gore hit "Sunshine and Lollipops" in fererence to the Rams yesterday.  Apparently that Koolaid is being passed around the pro franchises in town.  The difference for LaRussa is that he needs to show his club that he is not worried.  Players smell fear coming from management types, uniformed or not.  As I have suggested for nearly a month, this thing is not over...well it sort of is...but, for me, the real issue is peaking.

How do you get your team to be playing at it's best when post season begins.  It's really an unanswerable question.  neither players nor managers can tuen the switch at will.  Can you work to put yourself in the best postion to succeed?  Sure.  And I will tell you that I am really  not that worried about it.  But I am very worried about this team getting hot as October rolls around. 

Many think that the success of wild card teams in post season can be attributed to the notion that they have to be hot at the end to get in.  Therefore, they're playing the best baseball at the right time.  Note: see St. Louis Cardinals 2006...At the last minute The Skipper puts Waino in the closer spot just in time to right the ship and off they go.   

What should Tony do?  Play it straight with one codicil...give ouchy guys more rest.  That does two things. First, it gets the injured party closer to 100%.  Second, the reserves get enough playing time to get sharper then if they were just sitting down the stretch.

There is one more thing that might inadvertenly helped the Redbirds.  Having two guys get drilled with no chance for retribution.  It just might light a fire...just in time for the Cubs.