FanNation - The Republic of Sport

I don't know a whole heck of a lot about pro baseball, but the Bears are just making me depressed these days, so what the heck...

I've been reading some very negative things on fannation and elsewhere about the Cubs chances for the making postseason.  And I can't believe members here are actually digging the Cubs for allowing Bill Murray to hang around yesterday's game against Florida.  If I was Lou Pinella and I wanted to loosen my team up a bit, I couldn't think of a better guy than Uber-Chicago-Sports fan and funny man Bill Murry.  I liked what Murray had to say before the game too.  He said something along the lines of this:  "I'm not going to say I'm ‘cautiously optimistic' about the Cubs because that's for losers.  I'm very confident the Cubs will get it done and play in the postseason this year."  Amen, brother!

To the naysayers, I say:  Yeah, okay, the Cubs struggled against the Marlins.  I don't think they've beaten them all year.  This doesn't bother me.  On the South Side, the Sox traditionally struggle against the lowly Royals, yet they won the World Series not too long ago.  As long as the Cubs don't face the Marlins in postseason play, I'm not going to worry about that.  And guess what?  They won't.   

As I type this, the Cubs still have a two-game lead on the Brewers for the NL Central title.  Both teams have three games left to play.  The Cubs will play in Cincinnati to close out the season, and the Brewers are at home against the Padres. 

Despite the Brewers stunning record at home (49-29), I still have confidence that the Cubs will escape the regular season on top of the NL Central.  Why?  Let's face it; the Brewers are playing against the Padres, who lead the NL wildcard race and are only one game behind the Diamondbacks for the lead in the NL West.  The Padres are playing well, having won their last three games, and their record on the road is pretty darn good (41-37).  This is a team that will not settle for the wildcard.  They are gunning for the D-backs and will not let the Brewers stand in their way.

In contrast, the Cubs face the Reds, who are in the midst of a five-game losing streak and own a losing record at home (38-40).  The Cubs need to win one game to put a great deal of pressure on the Brewers and they need to win two games to seal up the NL Central title.  I know Soriano hasn't been getting it done at the plate lately (2 for his last 12 I think), and Zambrano hasn't looked all that great against the Reds this year either.  Other players have been stepping up for the Cubs, though.  Murton and Jones come immediately to mind.  And Zambrano has been hot lately, going 3-1 in his last four starts.  He's kicking off the series and looking for win number eighteen!

There is no reason to think the Cubs won't be playing in October.  Will they make it to the World Series?  Last year the Cardinals showed us that anything is possible once a team makes the postseason, but I'm not going to venture out on that limb just yet...