August 27, 1908: Cubs kick off a huge series against New York with their 6th straight win. Also, &q

Say hello to the biggest game of the season so far, as the Cubs welcomed the first place New York Giants to town for a critical three game series. Just 10 days ago, the Cubs' season was on life support ... third place and trailing by six games.

But thanks to five wins in a row, the Cubs are now three and a half back, with a chance to basically pull even if they could manage to sweep the Giants. You'll have to come back over the next few days to find out if they manage to do that (or ... you know ... use Google if you're impatient and don't wanna read my blog ... [[SNIFF]]).

I can tell you this much ... game one of the series is in the books as the Cubs cruised to an easy 5-1 victory. The biggest crowd since the 1907 World Series was on hand to watch it happen, which for some strange reason kind of took Cubs management by surprise and the club had inadequate security, inefficient crowd control, and massive lines at ticket windows.

How could they not know this game was going to be huge? It's all the Tribune has been talking about for three days, and the newspaper had even gone so far as erecting their own electric scoreboard on the street in front of their offices so fans that couldn't attend the game could still get real-time updates of what was going on at the West Side Grounds.

Apparently that wasn't enough of a heads up for management though and the overflow crowd spilled onto the field for the game ... which is something I find totally fascinating about big games during these times. Instead of just saying, "Sorry, we're sold out!" fans would be allowed to sit in both foul and FAIR territory during the game, and teams would simply agree on ground rules on what would happen if a ball ended up in the crowd. That's insane!

Here's an example of the overflow crowd at the West Side Grounds ... Notice the fans in the outfield, they are sitting IN the field of play, which is something that totally will make an impact on today's game as you keep reading ...

West Side Grounds overflow crowd from the 1907 World Series

Chicago scores first in the bottom of the 4th when Johnny Evers leads off with a double, and is then driven in by a Harry Steinfeldt single. And now the crowd impact ... Joe Tinker singles to put runners on first and third for catcher Johnny Kling. Kling crushes a ball to the gap in left center and manages to safely circle the bases for what seems like a 3-run inside the park homer (NOTE: Center field was a robust 560 feet back then, so that gap is HUGE.)

But guess what? Some lady touched the ball as it rolled into the crowd, and the agreed upon ground rules meant that was just a ground rule double and not a home run, so two Cubs runs came off the board. The next batter grounded out to end the inning, so those runs were totally gone.

Fortunately for the Cubs, it didn't matter in the final score. And actually, it's even more fortunate for the lady who touched the ball, because the fans were PISSED. The Tribune said, "If she can be identified, that woman will be barred from the park forever." Wow!

And the Cubs won this game easily! I can't even imagine what would've happened to this poor woman if they lost and she became "Lady Bartman" 95 years before her ill-fated walkman-wearing counterpart.

[Editor's note: I won't rehash any of the awful details of that 2003 disaster, but to this day I still think Bartman got a raw deal. You wanna be mad at somebody? Alex Gonzalez's error on the very next play was WAY more egregious, and yet somehow everybody gives him sympathy for the error while everybody is still mad at Bartman. Hopefully ... most of you have come to peace with it and given the poor guy a pass, I do think it's the only way to truly be free from the negative energy and allow for the Cubs to win a World Series soon (hopefully VERY soon). OK ... rant over.]

The Cubs tacked on three more runs in the 5th and pitcher Jack Pfiester cruised from there to an easy victory. Johnny Kling led the offense with two doubles and a single, and Harry Steinfeldt added two hits and three RBIs.

Catcher Johnny Kling

The win inched the Cubs ever closer to first, now only two and half back. Tomorrow is a off day, but the series resumes after that for two more games.

In other news ... don't hide your money in stupid places. I never understand why people refuse to trust the bank and hide massive amounts of money in their house. Granted, things were different in 1908, so I understand it a little bit, but people still do it today. My great aunt passed away a couple years ago, and when we went to clean out her house we started finding little envelopes of cash hidden all over the place. Some had $100 in them, some only had $5, but in the end she had FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS hidden in her house!!! Wild!!

In 1908, Mrs. Josephine Gordon didn't trust the banks and decided to withdraw her life's savings of $225 for "safe" keeping at her house instead. The only problem is the woman thought it would be a good idea to hide the money in her stove. The next day she then totally spaced, started the fire in the stove, and burned up all her savings.

I'd say I feel sorry for her, but I totally do not. This is your own fault dummy ... use a bank!!!!

File this one under "Bad Ideas"

Anyway ... the Cubs are now 68-47 on the season and trail the first place Giants by two and a half games. Tomorrow is an off day, but then the series picks back up after that, and baseball fever is so big this weekend in 1908 that the Tribune plans on adding a second electric scoreboard outside their building since the crowd was so massive for game one. Stay tuned!