Dodgers bomb Cubs in Wrigley! Poor Cubbies! The curse is very much alive and well. When the Cubbies come to LA LA land for game 3 the Dodger fans will have their brooms out!

I really like our chances this year. We simply were not ready for the postseason last year. We were missing a few key pieces. Hill looked outstanding, but unfortunately, he seemingly all but fell apart this year. So we needed another pitcher, and Lou looked at pitchers all year long. And they have become valuable members of the pen, with them getting the occasional start. Marshall could turn out to be a solid #4 guy soon. But he isn't going to be a staff ace. Enter Rich Harden, he of the constant health struggles. It was a gamble on Jumbo's part, but it was a very good gamble to make. When healthy, Harden is easily one of the best pitchers in the Majors. And to sweeten the deal, Oakland sent Gaudin our way, as well. Say what you will about Chad, but I really like the guy. He has a solid head on his shoulders, and is a hard worker. That game against the Nats was an anomaly, I believe. He was hurt, and the stats show that he can be quite an effective reliever. He only gave up 3 or more runs twice this year. But he's no different from our other bullpen guys. No matter how good someone is, sooner or later, they will have a game or two that they would love nothing more than to forget.

Getting back on topic. Our pitching is monumentally better than the staff we had last year. Dempster has been outstanding this year, Zambrano always is a threat to put up a no-no, Harden has been playing out of his mind, and both Lilly and Marquis have been solid for us this year. Hell, they even contributed offensively. Marquis has 2 long balls this year, including his grand salami (!) last night. Both Zambrano and Marquis are quite dangerous with the bat, and when they are on the mound, we have a lineup that from top to bottom can put up runs. Several teams would salivate at the mere thought of having such a balanced lineup. Our pitching staff is one of the best in Major League Baseball, our pen is solid, (even Howry has been much better recently,) and we have a solid lineup that includes the NL RoY in Soto. We have a VERY good chance to go all the way this year. How many times can we say that?

So cruise-control is set at 65 m.p.h. , and with nine games to go, the only team that could possibly rain on The Cubs parade of having homefield throughout the Playoff's just fired their Manager, yup the Manager who kept them in the Playoff chase for 150 of the 162, gone, to that I say, "so long Ned is was nice and competitive while you were around, right up unitl they figuratively cut the head off the team". The Brewers are for the second year in a row locking up come crunch time, The Cubs did all but hand deliver them a chance to not only keep up with but take over sole possession of the Central Division, only for The Brew Crew to squander that and pretty much all other hope of actually winning the Division. They were 6 games up in the Wild Card until they lost their way and now are not even guaranteed to play October ball with the way Ryan Howard and The Phills or Carlos Delgado and those Mets are playing now. Don't be fooled this by walk in the park mentality, coming into Sept. The Cubs were on a nine game skid in the wrong direction, not making things any better was the fact that Cubs "ACE" Big Carlos Zambrano left a scheduled start ealry with soreness in his pitching shoulder, and Rich Harden The Cubs newly aquired Strike Out artist, was feeling the affects of a long season as he went down with a minor health issue aswell. Most were thinking it was simply "the curse" rearing it's all to familiar face around the North Side, all things considered things could have gotten pretty ugly for The Cubs, but mustering everything they had left in the tank, keeping things positive, and with some GREAT coaching by Sweet Lou Pinella, The Cubs are now cruising into the Playoffs looking like a legit World Series contender.

Magic # is 7 and Big Z throws a no hitter! To me, these are just signs of more good things to come.

Magic number 21!

No kidding...
We just swept the pirates... we've swept both Milwaukee and the Cards... tied or swapping with the Angels for the best record in baseball and the best you can do it a post that's 3 1/2 months old...???

All right. We got a first place team, that is kicking some serious a_s. Why can't we have some polls, blogs, and discussions that aren't 3 to 4 months old? It's time to step it up,