Lincicome: Cubs, Sox a bit better and that's worth celebrating

I am thinking of having some foam hands made up to wave, to reflect the positive play of the Cubs and Sox lately, sort of "way to go" reminders that somebody is watching.

What with series sweeps and winning streaks, it seems that neither team is likely to be as awful as we thought. There is despair and there is faith, either of which is an improvement on indifference.

How soon managers should be fired, general managers sacked, ownership laughed at, shortstops traded, middle relief given a blindfold and a smoke, all of those actual remedies, will come in due course.

This is baseball after all, where hope can erupt without anything changing at all. The next inning could be the big one, the next pitch could be hit over the wall, the next team could play with its thumbs on backward, upon all of which the Cubs and Sox still depend.

But, back to those tributes for a job briefly done.

I think for variety or just for convenience, the foam fingers on the hand should be bent over forming a fist rather than spread out like orphans or stuck together like mittens, solid encouragement.

These fake fists could be waved around or clapped or used as seat cushions, one on top of the other for those with more gluteus minimus than maximus.

The point is, if this is as good as it gets for the Cubs and Sox, and it has not been much good for a while, something should commemorate the achievement.

It is not often that the Cubs or the Sox resemble the rest of baseball, or that part of baseball that is taken seriously, not counting the Yankees who are taken much too seriously much too often by much too many.

Around here we take the unexpected as a refreshing oasis from the usual wasteland and expect little more. Slight success, as surprising and refreshing as it might be, can be considered not only a tonic but a worry. When one sets standards, one must meet standards.

What the Cubs and Sox have proved to themselves and to their fans is that they are capable of being more than they seemed, that they are as good as they were imagined, better than they should be.

This causes whole new calculations and increased expectations, so that the usual lose two, win one, lose one, win one formula no longer is acceptable.

And looking at what's ahead, from here to the All-Star break, to give it a manageable time frame, the Cubs and the Sox faithful have every reason to expect more.

And speaking of the All-Star Game, votes are now being taken, no more than five votes every 24 hours. Some rules must apply or things will get out of hand.

I see two - count 'em, two, White Sox players among the American League top vote-getters, DH Jake Burger and catcher Yasmani Grandal, both resting at No. 10.

The Cubs, on the other hand, have eight players among the National League vote-getters, though none higher than fifth. Don't know what this means exactly, other than maybe Cub fans have better Wi-Fi.

The point is, no team should be considered better than the Cubs or the Sox, now that we have measurable knowledge of what is possible.

It is reasonable to expect the Sox and Cubs to win a series now. To put actual numbers to it, that could mean either the Cubs or the Sox could win 15 or 16 games by the All-Star break, could be over .500 and have a second half of the season to look forward to rather than to regret.

Not only does this now all seem possible, it is the least that can be expected. The teams have brought this on themselves. They must now be judged not by what they may do but by what they have actually done.

On second thought, those foam fists I'm thinking of making may be better with fingers extended. And then as the teams move up the standings, digits can just be lopped off as needed.

And even if it goes the other way, as many fingers may be removed as expresses the appropriate sentiment.