Obviously, it’s never fun when the Cardinals lose a game — even when they have the best record in baseball (though, even after two losses, the next team closest to their 51 wins is the Astros at 47) . It’s even less fun when they lose two in a row to a team that is as bad as the White Sox.

Yet that’s where we are right now, after the late-and-very-rain-delayed 7-1 loss in which Seth Maness and Randy Choate created quite a mess for Marcus Hatley to wade into during the ninth inning (yes, the water-logged description was intentional) and make his major league debut. A 2-1 Sox lead grew out of hand into that final score.

Ah, well. That’s baseball.

Want to know the bright side?

Seeing the Sox sweep the two-game series from the Cards annoys Cubs fans.

Just Tuesday night’s win did the trick.

I got a message from my long-time friend and long-time Cubs fan Debbie yesterday. “So how can the Cubs get swept by the Cardinals and then the White Sox find a way to win last night?? Just doesn’t seem right!”

Sure, it’s a mild annoyance — and the fact the Cubs have won two straight over the Mets to now trail the Cards by only 9 1/2 games in the NL Central helps improve their moods, I’m sure.

Still, there is one thing that can unite Cardinals fans and White Sox fans everywhere: success that ticks off Cubbies fans. A two-game sweep by the Sox over the Cards is obviously nothing like the South Siders winning the World Series in 2005 followed by the Cardinals winning in 2006 as far as really annoying those North Siders fans.

But it’s enough to take the sting out of these two losses a bit.