Much has been said about Lou’s efforts to instill a “Cubbie swagger” in his team- the notion that the team is here to win ballgames, will play with confidence for nine innings, to be underestimated at your peril. Clearly, he’s done that. It’s hard to make a rational argument that their success is a fluke.

I can’t speak for ‘da locals, but that swagger should extend to Cub fans living in enemy territory as well. Our love for the franchise may be unconditional, but we have the responsiblity to make clear that we expect this kind of winning baseball. Excited as we may be inside, outside we must control ourselves and pretend that these guys are just doing their jobs. Nothing more.

Such an incident came up this afternoon at the office. Early last year, our inventory manager constantly made sure I was aware of the standings, particularly Milwaukee’s place atop it. No swagger there- just all out astonishment that his team was in first and an urge to make sure everyone knew it. We all know what happened. Today, as I was walking by, he casually mentioned “Cubs doing good, huh?” Without even turning to him, I just nodded, said, “Yup,” and moved on. Swagger.

He chuckled to himself, forced to respect a calm, business-like demeanor. He’ll be getting no unbound excitement from me until the magic number is 0. At which point, of course, I’ll let it rip.