Certainly not over but tonight was easily the worst they've looked all month.

Still, don't stop believing.

I was at Game 4 in person. I'll copy what I wrote at the end of the Omnichatter about it:

Honestly, everything about tonight was awesome except for the final score. Seeing a World Series game in Wrigley Field was amazing. Seeing the Cubs score their first run in a World Series game in Wrigley Field since 1945 was amazing. Seeing the Cubs take the lead in a World Series game in Wrigley Field was amazing. Seeing the first home run hit in a World Series game in Wrigley Field since 1945 was - well, it kind of sucked, because it was hit by Indian Carlos Santana. Seeing the first home run hit by a Cub in a World Series game in Wrigley Field since 1938 (I just checked - Hank Greenberg hit the only HR in Wrigley in the '45 Series) was amazing. Seeing Andrew Miller allow the first postseason run of his career was kind of cool (it, of course, would have been much cooler if it had been more meaningful than making the score 7-2).

Less cool was seeing John Lackey #### the bed in a postseason game since ... well, earlier this month. Lackey's kind of sucked this postseason.

I would say this loss was the least annoying / frustrating of the postseason to me, because at least I had the offsetting positive of going to a freaking World Series game at freaking Wrigley Field. Would it have been better if the Cubs had won? Hell, yes! But it was still a really cool experience that I'm glad I got to do.

As for the next three, I think the Cubs should be the favorites in both Games 5 and 6 and, at worst, a very slight underdog in Game 7 (fully-rested Hendricks vs. short-rest Kluber in Cleveland). But even if you think the Cubs' win probabilities in the next two games are 2/3 and 3/5 - both of which are almost certainly too optimistic - that's only a 40% chance of the Cubs even reaching Game 7.

But this is a great team and I agree with Moses, I don't expect the Cubs to go quietly.

Thank you for the write up, kiko.

Its not over yet dammit. We still have 3 great starters in this series ready to pitch on full rest on any given day. This cubs team can easily win 3 in a row did it plenty of times this year.

Less cool was seeing John Lackey #### the bed in a postseason game since ... well, earlier this month. Lackey's kind of sucked this postseason.

Lackey has been bad this postseason, but .....I don't really see singling him out for yesterday. The bullpen did the real bedshitting last night, with Montgomery, Grimm, and Wood all taking turns pitching poorly. Lackey allowed 3 runs in 5 innings - but only 2 earned. (And boy was that third run unearned in the give-'em-five-outs second inning). He threw a lot of pitches early, but retired the last eight batters he faced. He only lasted 5 innings because he was pulled for a pinch hitter, not because he couldn't pitch anymore.

Random fact: the Cubs haven't lost three games in a row since before the All-Star Break. Sure would be a #### of a time to end that streak.

Posted in the Game Chatter (because I couldn't get in here to post it - GC really isn't working well for me at all today).....

There have been 107 previous best-of-seven World Series contests. In them a team has won three of the first four games 44 times. In those 44 World Series:

The team that won 3 of the first 4 managed to win Game Five 25 times to clinch the title. 19 times, the Series went to Game Six.

In Game Six, the team ahead three-games-to-two clinched the title 11 times. Eight times the Series went to Game Seven.

In Game Seven, the team that had once been ahead three-games-to-one won the title three times (1912*, 1967, 1972). And the other team completed the comeback the other five times (1925, 1958, 1968, 1979, and 1985).

*I'm ignoring the tie in the 1912 World Series because it was a tie.

I'll co-sign Kiko's post. Coming up the ramp and seeing the field through what I can only assume was a sudden wave of mist blowing in from off the lake, well, you couldn't have wiped that goofy grin off my face.

Will be there again tonight. Let's do this.

If it makes anyone feel better about last night's bad performance..... Those five teams that came back from a 3-games-to-1 deficit? In Game Four they were outscored 29-7. The 1979 Pirates blew a 4-0 lead to lose 9-6. The other four were outscored by a total of 20-1. Those four combined for just 18 hits.

All five teams committed at least one error in Game Four.

If it makes you feel better, remember: this team came back to win the World Series.

The missus and I will be there tonight. Every comeback starts someplace.

Dag, your link doesn't work, at least on the mobile site.

It's one win at a time. A win tonight (the Cubs are -230 favorites right now) buys us another shot on Tuesday.

It probably wouldn't be right if this were too easy.

As stated last night, the game had a real 2003 NLCS vibe to it. How many times did we get a quick 0-2 count only to have to throw 4-6 more pitches and the AB frequently ending up in a walk or a hit? Well, let's see:

bottom 1: Lindor 0-2, finally struck out on pitch 8
bottom 2: Chisenhall 0-2, ROE on pitch 5
bottom 3: Lindor 0-2, singled on pitch 7
bottom 7: Crisp 0-2, doubled on pitch 8

OK, that's only 4, but there's also the 8 pitch PA to Kluber which ended up a single, the 6 pitch K of Kluber, the 8 pitch groundout by Perez. Here's an idea to pick up the pace of the game, a third foul ball in an AB is a K.

the Cubs are -230 favorites right now

Wow! Those are steep odds. I think the Cubs are favored (Lester vs. Bauer, no Miller), but 70:30 is heavy.

Kiko, thanks for the writeup. I'm very happy for you that you could take a positive experience away from that game.

I wish I was going tonight. I will say this: Cubs fans better ####### bring it. The last two games have been a shock, I get it, but if they expect the players to rally, then the fans can't show up acting like they're facing the gallows at the end.

Spahn,

The link works for me. It's a link to B-ref's Game Four of the 1968 World Series, where the Tigers lost 10-1 and nearly had as many errors (4) as hits (5).

Then they won the next three games. It helped that they had a left handed pitcher whose last name began with the letter "L" going in Game Five for them.

Spahn,

The link works for me. It's a link to B-ref's Game Four of the 1968 World Series, where the Tigers lost 10-1 and nearly had as many errors (4) as hits (5).

Then they won the next three games. It helped that they had a left handed pitcher whose last name began with the letter "L" going in Game Five for them.

Now all the Cubs have to do to duplicate that feat is to let the Indians jump out to a 3-0 first inning lead tonight, and trail going into the last of the seventh. Then they'll have em where they want em.