Sweeps, rookies and hope for the future?

Stop me if you've heard this one before, but how sweep it is! Heh. Our Cubbies (yes, they're still playing) beat the rival Cardinals last night, completing a three-game sweep in St. Louis for the first time since 1988. 1988? Some of the Cubs players weren't even born in '88 (lookin at you, Starlin Castro!). I realize this season is a wash, but still, it's always fun to beat your rival, right? Now, of course, Cards fans around here never want to give credit where credit is due, they say "oh, the Cubs didn't play well, the Cardinals were just that bad". Kids, I beg to differ. Yes, the Cards played like crap (they looked like, well, the Cubs-at least the Cubs of the first 4 months of the season), but I think the Cubs actually played pretty well. I saw clutch hitting, good pitching, ok defense and a bit of that Cubbie swagger is back. Too bad they couldn't play like that April-July, but better late than never, right? RIGHT? The Cubs are 14-7 under Quade. Now, I'm not gonna say they'd be shoo-ins for first place if Quade had taken over in, say, May, but they certainly are playing.....differently. I don't know what Quade is doing to make this happen, but I like it. Maybe it's the kids? The rookies are playing for their big shot in the majors. They are trying to prove themselves. And they've been impressive, I must say. Remember the name Darwin Barney people (as if you could forget a name like that, right?)! Kids goin places. Tyler Colvin? Sure, his BA has dropped down to the .250's, but 20 homers as a rookie? Are you kidding me? Only the 4th rookie in Cub history to do so. And we all know of Darlin Starlin's offensive abilities (his defense leaves something to be desired...let's hope kiddo will work on that in the off season). And our little rookie pitchers? How adorable are they? Andrew Cashner has struggled a bit in the bullpen (because he should be a starter, but I digress), Casey Coleman has glimpses of being a good major league pitcher, and even Shark had an impressive outing.

The future is bright my fellow Cubs fans, although, if I'm being honest, I think the 2011 season will be another struggle. I anticipate the Cubs may be ready to be competitive again in 2012. Hey, we've waited this long for a championship, what's another couple of years, right?