The media love to talkabout how neat it is that the Cubs have the best team in baseball, and yet they don’t have a bona fide MVP candidate.  In their way of thinking, it makes the Cubs more of a “team.”  Because apparently, in order to be an MVP you have to singlehandedly win games, you can’t just be part of a collective effort.

E-ramis Ramirez and his 11 homers after the seventh inning would like to beg to differ.

Last night, Cole Hamels had shut the Cubs down, put them in a sack and was ready to toss them into a large body of water, when he was pinch hit for in the top of the eighth.  The Cubs, as is their wont these days, immediately took advantage in the bottom of the eighth.

Little Babe Ruth homered to lead off the inning.  Alfonso Soriano doubled off the “ivory” and Ryan Theriot singled to right.  When Chad Durbin came in to pitch to Derrek Lee with runners on the corners and nobody out, the only way E-ramis wasn’t going to bat with a chance to at least tie the game was if Lee eschewed his standard double play grounder and hit into a triple play instead.  (Given that Soriano and Theriot were the runners on base, only Ronny Cedeno’s presence could have made that more likely.)

Lee walked to load the bases.

E-ramis promptly unloaded them.

Personally, I don’t care if a Cub wins the MVP or Cy Young awards.  I’d just like for one of them to be named World Series MVP.  That’d be kind of cool.

So whether he gets real MVP consideration or not, I really don’t mind.  But when there’s a big at bat in a big spot, I want E-ramis in the batter’s box.

I’m sure soon enough You Tube will fill up with fan videos of the game-winning grand slam, and we’ll enjoy them.

For now, we take you back to the end of June, 2007, when the Cubs were merely toying with the idea of climbing into the division race.

[Youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrEouiFvS_8]

And Cesar Izturis really liked it.

[Youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpC5bdyYwCU]