August 8, 1908: Cubs drop 4th straight thanks to errors. Also, drinking on election day.

Cubs lose the series opener to the Giants 4-1, their 4th straight loss. Also, drinking on election day ... why the heck not?

I'd say the Tribune headline pretty much sums it up, "Cubs beaten because of dumb play in first inning." Two errors and a mental mistake led to three Giant runs in the first, and ended up being the difference is the 4-1 final.

A record crowd was on hand at the Polo Grounds with a reported paid attendance of over 25,000 ... the most in the stadium's history and eclipsing the previous record set during the 1905 World Series. We have no way of knowing if the huge crowd gave the Cubs "the big game jitters," but it sure looked like it when a terrible throw from center field by Solly Hofman let in the first Giants run, and then a muffed double play by Joe Tinker and a mental error by catcher Johnny Kling led to two more.

So just like that, the Cubs trailed 3-0 and were never able to recover. Mordecai Brown pitched a solid game for Chicago, but basically got screwed by his own defense. Meanwhile, Hooks Wiltse fired a gem for the Giants, allowing only four hits and one unearned run for the victory.

I owned you today Cubbies!

In other news, this was some kind of election day in Chicago, city and state primaries to be exact. And I bring this up because the Tribune reported that eleven different bars were busted for ... GASP ... selling booze on election day. The horror!!!

That is one of those laws I've never understood, especially the fact that it somehow STILL exists in some states to this day. I lived in Ohio for a little while, and restaurants couldn't serve until the polls closed, which was thoroughly annoying when you were someone like me who had a crappy job at the time and just wanted to drown their sorrows in a cocktail to feel better.

Oh but we can't have people drinking on election day! Why the heck not?

You mean to tell me that we're perfectly OK with them getting drunk when making just about any other life decision ... relationships, children, money, getting behind the wheel of a car, making purchases on iTunes, etc etc ... but somehow drunk voting is off limits?

Have you SEEN the options in the election this year? Being drunk while voting might be the ONLY thing to calm my nerves when I try to figure out who I'm supposed to support!

Don't drink and drive? Absolutely.

Don't drink and vote? Meh. Not so much.

Ugh ... can't we just vote "none of the above" and start over?

In summary ... the Cubs fourth straight loss puts them at 56-41 on the season. To make things worse, Pittsburgh also won today and the Cubs are sinking fast, now trailing by four games as they languish in third place.

Tomorrow is Sunday in 1908 so the Cubs get an "off" day, and I say "off" day because half the team is being forced to travel to Connecticut for an exhibition game. Oh yeah ... way to drive the players into the ground when they're already on a losing streak ... great idea!!!! Two more games with the Giants follow after that.