There are three constants in life: death, taxes, and the Chicago Cubs never winning a World Series.

Saturday evening in LA the Cubs once again failed miserably, losing 3-1 to the Dodgers and getting swept out of the playoffs.

But this year's playoff failure was extra painful. The Cubs finished the regular season with the best record in the National League and seemed poised to make a run at the World Series. But it seemed almost immediately apparent in the first game of this series that the Cubs were weighed down by all the expectations that had been thrown on them. They couldn't pitch, they couldn't hit, and they couldn't field.

Perhaps the most stunning stat though is just how awful the Cubs were at the plate for the series. Derek Lee was literally the only Cub who hit anything, going 6 for 11 in the series. The team's collective batting average minus Derek Lee: .193. No surprise the Cubs were outscored 20-6 in the series.

The question now is who gets the blame. The curse? Lou Piniella? Fukudome? Alfonso Soriano's bat?

Well, the curse is a given, but it still doesn't address some of the odd decisions Piniella made during the series, like having Dempster pitch Game 1 instead of Zambrano and letting Fukudome suck for two games before pulling him. But, in all honesty, I'm not sure you can blame Piniella. This was a team-wide suckfest outside of Derek Lee. Sometimes you just go cold at exactly the wrong time. And please, Lou, get Soriano out of the leadoff spot.

On the flip side, the Dodgers suddenly look incredibly dangerous and have to be considered the favorite in the NLCS. We also have the incredibly awesome possibility of a Dodgers vs. Red Sox World Series with the Red Sox seemingly on the verge of dispatching the Angels and heading to the ALCS, likely against the Tampa Bay Rays.

I can't even tell you how awesome a Manny vs. the Red Sox World Series would be. Hopefully there'd be at least one major fight.

But regardless of what happens throughout the rest of the playoffs, it won't involve the Cubs. Just like always.