My heart's a flutter

Who are these Cincinnati Reds? Better yet: Who are these Milwaukee Brewers? In just barely over a month, the Chicago Cubs have cut an 8 1/2 game deficit to the Brewers to just 1 1/2 (and 1/2 a game in the wild card), thanks most recently to some timely solid play by the quizzical Cincinnati Reds. And tonight, as I watch in desperate hope to what just might be the alignment of a 99-year long star pattern, the Cubs could move to within just one game, one simple, small, delicate game, of the division lead. Who do we have to beat? No one but our divisional and historic rival, the St. Louis Cardinals. Who do we have on the mound? No one but last year's divisional rival, former Cardinal Jason Marquis. But Marquis is now a Cub and the luster which remained hidden most of the year but reared its ugly head during the playoffs is once again vacant from the Cardinals' play.

So as I prepare my pregame Heineken/Hot dog/Heineken ritual, I cogitate on such a change of pace on which these not yet entirely trustworthy Cubs have embarked, and notice a small flutter in the rhythm of my heart, and say a quiet prayer of thanks to the baseball gods for reminding me how glorious baseball can be when the context matters and, most important, the game is played with grace, power, and fire - the way we hope it was intended.