Is It October Yet?

People ask me “How’s it feel to have your Cubs in first place?” I usually answer something along the lines of “great”, but the truth is that I am nervous. Any Cub fan who has followed the team for more than a couple of years knows that nervousness is the proper state of mind until a spot in the playoffs is locked up.

Remember, the Cubs’ history is littered with black cats, billy goats, and Bartman balls. The Cubs have found incredibly creative ways to lose pennant runs (and quite honestly have found some creative excuses for their losing ways!)

This isn’t to say I’m not optimistic about the 2008 Cubs. I truly am.

The Cubs seem to have all the pieces they should need to make a good run at a pennant and—dare we think this boldly—a World Series. They have a good solid starting rotation that performed well even when #1 starter Carlos Zambrano was out for a couple of weeks with some arm stiffness. Even though his won/loss record didn’t reflect it, Sean Marshall pitched really well during that time and gives the Cubs an extra arm that will come in handy once September hits.

The Cubs also have an offense that can score a lot of runs without having to rely too heavily on home runs. They have guys that have a lot of power in Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee, and Aramis Ramirez but the Cubs also have guys like Kosuke Fukudome and Mark DeRosa who get on base and rack up a decent number of steals. The Cubs play “little ball” as well as or better than anyone else in the league.

In recent years the bullpen has been a big problem. But Kerry Wood has been outstanding in his new role as closer and the setup to get to Wood has been pretty solid. Carlos Marmol is usually reliable in the 8th inning (though he occasionally has an off night.) Guys like Michael Wuertz and Bob Howry have been getting late-inning outs. The bullpen has been a pleasant surprise and has kept the Cubs in the close games. Throw a healthy Dan Haren into the mix and you have a pitching staff that can instill a lot of fear into a first round playoff opponent.

The Cubs have a ton of road games in September so they had better be good away from Wrigley or they’ll be working on their golf games in October. But – thinking boldly now – if the Cubs manage to make the World Series, demonstrated success on the road will help because the AL team will have the home field advantage. You did stay up for all 15 innings of the All Star Game didn’t you?
Jeff Holquist