You know in your heart of hearts as a Chicago Cubs fan, that somewhere, someplace in the great baseball kingdom called the Major Leagues, someone is rubbing their forehead and muttering to anyone who will listen, “I can’t believe the Cubs are the hottest team in the National League.”
And the sad caveat to this tale, is that’s it’s probably one of us.
For myself, April 2oo7 was too close to the season of 2006 for me to embrace this new-found success - or as we know it in terms of the sports world - the win streak. The faces may have changed, but too many of the traits remain before I’m ready to elevate this year’s Cubs to the next level.
No doubt yesterday’s 4-3 thriller over the Nationals was a great win in the mildest sense of the word. But the Cubs also left 13 men on base. In the pitching department, the bullpen failed to hold the lead, Bob Howry blew his second hold and Chicago pitchers handed out seven walks.
Not what I would call championship caliber baseball - yet. But the Cubs did get off the snide in one-run and extra-inning games, winning their first of both in 2007.
And yesterday’s win made Chicago 5-0 for the month of May, the first time that’s happened since 1937. The Cubs finished 93-61 that year, a record I’m sure we’d all take in a heartbeat. But sigh, Chicago finished second that year in the National League standings to Carl Hubbell and the New York Giants.
I also found out that the sweep of the Nationals was the first time that’s happened by a Cub team since Chicago manager Lou Piniella was a young man or Grover Cleveland was president. I forget.
To the Cubs credit they’ve done a lot of good things during this winning tear. A lot. There’s been clutch hitting, solid starting pitching, better than average defensive work and the bullpen, although shaky at times, has come through more often than not. These are all the traits of a winning team.
And that’s what the Cubs are at 15-14. Winners.
Whether this current hot streak will turn into just another warm glow remains to be seen. But I do know whoever keeps their feet in the fire the longest is the hottest.
Comments 2
I think the Cubs can easily win this division. I fully expect Lilly to continue pitching near the level he has so far, and Marquis to fall off just a bit because of his knack of allowing too many baserunners. But yes, the bullpen has shaky tendencies and could bite them at certain points of the season. But what about that lineup?! Soriano hasn’t even begun to hit for power yet and they are still scoring runs. Ryan Theriot is one of my new favorite players in the league! I like what the Cubs have going so far; hopefully they can keep it up.
Posted 08 May 2007 at 6:00 am ¶Thanks for stopping my Aquaman! I agree - the Cubs look to have all the ingredients in place to make a run. They are going to score runs - no question. I have three main concerns: 1. Health of the starting pitching; 2. Bullpen consistency; 3. Are they disciplined enough to do the “little things” right (i.e. moving base runners, good defense, etc.) to take them to the next level. Thoughts?
Posted 08 May 2007 at 4:44 pm ¶Post a Comment
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