Throwback blowback

The Cubs will be holding their first "throwback" game today. The Cubs and Braves will be wearing replicas of their 1948 jerseys and smoky links will be a buck apiece for the first hour of the game.

First off, what took them so long? The Cubs are usually at the top of the curve in terms of marketing gimmicks, and even the White Sox were doing these by the mid-'90s.

Second, 1948? A year the Braves won the pennant and the Cubs finished LAST? How about a throwback to 1906, when the Cubs finished 66-1/2 games ahead of them? Considering it's the NL's best home team vs. MLB's worst road team, that might be more appropriate.

And the smoky links, I don't get that at all. You could gorge yourself at the ballpark for a buck in 1948, possibly including the price of the ticket. Maybe they're splitting the difference by using 1978 prices. At least it's on regular TV.

In any case, a win on getaway day would put the Cubs over a month between home losses by the beginning of the next homestand. It's nothing we Cub fans haven't seen before, but usually those months are October through March.