Sports are filled with all sorts of goofy cliches that make their way into everyday speech. Just because they are trite doesn’t mean they aren’t true and that they don’t speak to issues outside of sports. When baseball teams look to break out of slumps or extend winning streaks, someone brings up the next starting pitcher and when teams’ rosters are depleted, managers default to “next man up.”

As I’ve posted many times before, the media and fans are loathe to look beyond their team’s fortunes (or failures). We tend to think no other fanbase is enduring what we’re having to deal with. However, even the most narrow-focused fans are forced to look at the team in the other dugout-no matter how irrelevant they may appear (not division rivals). Case in point, the Cubs are finishing up a 3-game series with the God awful Giants tonight.

Heading into yesterday’s matinee, the Giants had the worst record in the league save for the Rockies. Yet, they scored 30 runs in the previous two game. Someone on yesterday’s Cubs broadcast said that they had just taken2 of 3 from the Brewers. Truth be told, they had won their last two games with Milwaukee, to earn a split in a 4-game series. That person was either lazy or sloppy in their reporting and the context provided was iffy at best. When asked about the Giants recent offensive surge, Craig Counsell hoped they tired themselves out.

After getting whomped 18-3 on Friday, the Cubs sent de facto ace, Ben Brown to stop the bleeding. And without a dominant, strikeout performance (5 k’s in 5 innings), Brown completely stymied San Francisco, holding them to one measly hit and no runs.

The Cubs and Giants are in completely different places, but it doesn’t mean you can’t make comparisons to their plights. As everyone knows the Cubs have been wildly inconsistent this season with Counsell’s countenance being the only constant this year. Regardless of what’s happening on the field, he looks somewhere between resigned and disgusted, like a man who has to pick up his daily newspaper from a puddle on his doorstep and will still try and read Hi and Lois, Marmaduke and solve the crossword.

At this point, it’s not worth reiterating the individual disappointments on the Cubs roster. However, the overpaid Giants infield has been even worse. Their most productive offensive player has been IF-DH, Casey Schmitt who has already bested his previous HR total (12) with a team-high 15 and 38 RBI. His slash is far better than the better known and higher paid trio of teammates. I know nothing of his background other than he filled in admirably and provided little stability last season.

Schmitt .288/.320/.548 (.868 OPS) Rafael Devers (8hr-32RBI) .243/.293/.424 (.717 OPS), Willy Adames (11 HR-29 RBI) .246/.292/.453 (.745 OPS) and Matt Chapman (4 HR-32 RBI) .239/.320/.366 (.686 OPS). I won’t be surprised if any or all of the three lead the team in meaningful offensive categories and Schmitt’s moment passes, but I won’t bet on it. It wasn’t that long ago that Moises Ballesteros was among the best NL rookies, and the darling of Wrigley.

As we’ve heard too many times already, there are plenty of games to play and nothing has been decided yet. And while nobody wants to be coupled with teams like Colorado, Anaheim or San Francisco, we can learn something from their failings.

No matter what happens at Wrigley tonight, the sun will come out tomorrow, tomorrow!