If you are either a Cubs or White Sox fan or live within shouting distance of Wrigley Field, you probably know the Cubs won game 2/4 of the crosstown classic 4-3 in dramatic fashion. According to Tim Stebbins (writing for mlb.com) Sox manager, Pedro Grifol said, “The toughest loss of the year, in my opinion.” I’d argue Sox fans and the players might have thoughts on the subject.

A night after de facto closer, Gregory Santos got a five-out save in a 5-3 win, he surrendered Christopher Morel’s 3-run, game-winning homer for a 4-3 loss. Santos admitted he should have thrown him his best pitcher, a slider but expects to learn from the experience.

Even if he doesn’t read any or all of the stories written about him, Santos will appreciate that the Daily Herald ran a story about his unlikely emergence as the Sox closer beneath the account of how he blew the save last night.

Aside from the big picture lessons that Santos hopes to learn from the loss, it will be interesting and important to see if he bounces back in his next save situation. It’s something every closer has to deal with. Anyone that’s followed a specific team can point to several great closers and those that couldn’t quite hack it.

As honked off as Sox fans may be after last night’s game, it was hardly the straw that strained the camel’s groin. These kinds of losses only really matter when a season hangs in the balance. Fans never forget those games. Case in point, I’m still sore about a game LaTroy Hawkins gave away a game to the Cardinals on a Tuesday afternoon in 2004. And as bad as that loss was, LaTroy bounced back and got a save in the next game.

Editor’s note: It was a good thing I attended the game by myself because I was mortally wounded by the loss. Yes, it was that dramatic.