You don't make the brilliant CC Sabathia trade, fire your manager with 12 games remaining and squeeze through the tiniest of windows, only to get swept.

Make no mistake, the Brewers are still at a disadvantage after beating the Phillies, 4-1, on Saturday, trailing their best-of-five Division Series, two games to one.

What's more, the Brew Crew faces a near-certain breakup once their season ends; Sabathia and right-hander Ben Sheets are likely to depart as free agents, while shortstop J.J. Hardy and first baseman Prince Fielder are candidates to be traded.

Ah, but enough fretting over the future.

For Milwaukee, this is about enjoying the moment, enjoying a season that will last at least one more day.

Once again, Brewers fans can dare to dream.

Brewers right-hander Jeff Suppan vs. Phillies righty Joe Blanton in Game 4 is a tossup. Sabathia will face Phillies lefty Cole Hamels if Game 5 is necessary in Philadelphia — and Sabathia will be back on normal rest.

Doesn't sound so daunting, does it?

Not to a Brewers team that was 2 1/2 games out in the wild-card race with seven games left, then went 6-1 to pass the facing Mets.

The Phillies are better than the Mets, but as the Cubs have shown, even the best teams in the National League are flawed.

Two things bug me about the Phillies: The inconsistency of their offense and the underside of their bullpen.

Both were issues on Saturday.

The Phillies were 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, and are now 2-for-20 since Shane Victorino's grand slam in Game 2.

Their middle relievers, meanwhile, allowed 10 baserunners over a span of three innings — but thanks to the Brewers' own offensive futility, gave up only two runs.

Chances are, the Phillies will crush Suppan on Sunday — they scored six runs in 3 2/3 innings against him in Philadelphia three weeks ago, and for all their difficulties with runners in scoring position, they've still produced 11 extra-base hits in the last two games.

Suddenly, though, the Brewers can see an opening. The smallest of openings. The opening that a franchise going for broke deserves.

Cubs should learn from 2003 Red Sox

Here comes the pity party. The talk of Bartman and black cats and billy goats. The wailing that the Cubs will never win the World Series, not after 100 years, not after 1,000.

It's so much bunk.

The Cubs are exactly where the Red Sox were in 2003, after Grady stuck too long with Pedro, after Aaron Boone went deep, after the Yankees stuck in yet another dagger.

The Red Sox weren't cursed, and neither are the Cubs. At some point, good teams eventually win championships, just as good hitters eventually produce in the clutch.

For the past century — and certainly in their most recent flop, an embarrassing first-round knockout by the Dodgers — the Cubs just haven't been good enough.