Four days ago, the Cubs looked like a team ready to fall back to earth, having been swept by the Tampa Bay Rays. The White Sox looked ready to run off with the division, having dispatched the Pirates in a three-game sweep that featured an offense that finally looked back on the tracks. What difference a weekend makes, as the Cubs beat the White Sox 7-1 at Wrigley to take the three-game sweep. The Cubs are now back at a season-high 20 games over .500, and 4.5 games up on the Cards, who lost 5-3 to the Red Sox. Thank you Red Sox Nation.

John Danks:

"Try not to smell all the urine over there ... That place is a [bleep] hole,"

Ken Williams:

"You might as well build a border, a Great Wall of China on Madison, because we are so different. We might as well be in two different cities. The unfortunate thing for me is it's a shame a certain segment of Chicago refused to enjoy a baseball championship being brought to their city. The only thing I can say is, 'Happy anniversary.'"

AJ Pierzynski:

"They're idiots. It's like what Lee Elia said: 'Eighty-five percent of the people work, the other [bleeps] come out here.'"

Ozzie Guillen:

"The rats look bigger than a pig out there. You want to take a look? I think the rats out there are lifting weights."

Even more Ozzie Guillen:

Jim is not going to scare me. I'd rather have Jim Edmonds out there than [Alfonso] Soriano. I'll pitch to him again.''

The last being the most curious statement of them all, as when the was chance to plate Aramis Ramirez in the 7th last night -- and with a lefty Boone Logan ready in the bullpen -- Ozzie chose to intentionally walk Edmonds rather than face him. But you get the idea on the comments. I've had occasion to be a Sox fan in my life. My first real job was as an Andy Frain usher at the old Comiskey. My second with the union local handling food service there. Yeah, I was the hot dog guy. But as time goes on, to many bad experiences as a minority around the ballpark, too many white flags, wasted years, careless ownership, and promised broken made me embrace the Cubs more closely. The days -- and I live in Chicago, mind you -- the Sox don't come up. Most as indifferent, and many Cubs fan just don't care. So, I'll never quite understand the vitriol that is so often directed at the team, and in particular their fans. It's embarrassing. And classless. And for a team striving to get past the second fiddle nature of their existence, counterproductive to increasing the fan base. To the Sox fans, I've no beef with you. And to the White Sox team, management, and ownership. Stop it. There, I've said my piece.

As for the game itself last night, the only bad part was that it was a Jon Miller/Joe Morgan broadcast. Ryan Dempster was absolutely stellar, and if his complete game performance June 11th against Atlanta wasn't enough to convince you of his All-Star credentials, then this performance surely did. Going eight strong innings -- and two batter into the 9th -- before giving way to Bob Howry to end things, Ryan looked on top of his game all night. He struck out only four, but was crisp with all his pitches, and more importantly kept the ball down on a very homer-friendly night, And when he did get into the least bit of trouble, he induced ground-ball double plays to work himself out of it. A sharp outing throughout, and much needed, as that performance, coupled with the off day today allowed the bullpen a much needed rest.

Fortunately, the Cubs offense was able to give Dempster all the support that he needed early. After taking a 2-0 lead in the first on a Derrek Lee RBI single and Dewayne Wise error allowing Eric Patterson to score, Chicago opened it up in the 5th with home runs by Eric Patterson and Aramis Ramirez. This give Aramis four for the series, and officially makes him the new Sox killer. More importantly though the Fukudome- Patterson combination at the top of the lineup seems to be working quite well, and that -- coupled with Theriot finally being dropped to a more appropriate 8th hole -- couldn't make me happier. I know it won't last, with talk of Soriano returning as soon as the All-Star break, but it looks to be a good short-term solution.

Well, on that note, I'm out. Everyone enjoy the off day, and for those disrupted by the network outage of Cubbie Nation this weekend, my apologies. New site can be so tricky to maintain. You patience and understanding is appreciated