Cubs, Brewers can't buy a win

While I was gone to my baby sister's wedding, something strange happened.

Well, stranger than seeing my baby sister getting married.

Since that ring was placed on her left finger on Saturday, the Cubs have stopped winning.

For only the second time this year, Chicago's northsiders have lost four games in a row. The only other time was on June 29, when the White Sox swept them at the Cell.

Of course, this isn't an 0-14 panic like the Cubs started the 1997 season. And the Brewers have now lost three straight to the Mets after today's 9-2 whipping, leaving the Cubs with a comfy 5-game cushion.

But after witnessing Monday's 3-0 Labor Day stinker at Wrigley with 18 of my relatives, a few random thoughts came to mind:

* Roy Oswalt is still an elite pitcher. He threw 8 1/3 scoreless innings, giving up just 4 singles (two in the 9th) and is now the top pitcher in Yahoo! over the past month, despite ranked 136th among all players for the season. His past six starts have all been quality and if he keeps this up, he moves back into the keeper category.

* Derrek Lee is killing my team. Warning track power is exactly what we saw with Lee's near-miss of a HR in the bottom of the ninth with two out and two on. To be fair, the wind was blowing steadily in and on most days, he's the hero and Wrigley is going crazy, singing feverishly "Go Cubs Go" afterward. On this day, it was like a funeral visitation.

* Jose Valverde is nuts. You may not know about all his rituals, running in from the outfield, then walking as soon as he hits the infield; tossing the first ball he gets back to the umpire for a new one; circling the mound and studying the rosin bag; the unorthodox wind up, as if he's playing a game of charades. He's fun to watch, that's for sure, but he makes Carlos Zambrano look like a librarian.

* After caravanning three vehicles and 19 mostly Cubs fans on a spectacular September day, we managed to still have a good time at the ol' ballpark, despite the Cubs delivering roughly one hit for every five of us. Wrigley is still spectacular even when the Cubs lose. And the new Ernie Banks statue is a long-overdue addition outside.