Why It's Okay For Chicago Cubs Fans To Be Excited About The Post-Season

As the regular season starts to wind down the Chicago Cubs are looking ahead to the post season. They are currently 9 games up on the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central and their magic number sits at 2. There's no need to get out the thermometer! This heat you're feeling is just from the October fever! Yes, Cub fans it's perfectly fine to get excited and for good reason! The pitching, the starting line-up, the depth of the bench, and the management, is all world series worthy.

Cubs ace Ryan Dempster, made the transition from the bullpen to the starting rotation while maintaining a 16-6 record with a 3.02 ERA. Carlos Zambrano is 14-5 with a 3.41 ERA, and coming off a no-hitter you can't ask for a better start late in the season for him to start heating up. In addition to Zambrano's uncanny ability to sit batters down, is his ability to put the ball in play and get things started offensively. However, he does have some emotional issues but they haven't shown since the All Star break. Ted Lilly had a relatively bad start early on in the season going 1-4 in the months of March and April but now he's burning through every line-up thrown at him while having a 15-9 record with a 4.13 ERA. And what a better precursor it was for Lilly to throw a 1 hitter following Zambrano's no no. And I applaud GM of the Cubs, Jim Hendry, for picking up right-handed pitcher, Rich Harden, from the Oakland Athletics. In his first 4 starts, he managed 10+ strike-outs. Now he's 5-1 in 10 games with an ERA of 1.65. 

When Kerry Wood is healthy he's lights out. Throughout the season he has been healthy, except for a 15-day DL appearance due to a blister. Another point that will play a factor in Wood's success will be his experience he has in the post-season. Carlos Marmol as of late has been lights out but he did go through some midseason woes but now he looks like the Marmol we've seen early on in the season. Rookie sensation, Jeff Samardjia, has come out of nowhere and is pitching like a seasoned veteran. He's been pitching very well in the role of a set-up man and a closer and who better than Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol does he have to look up to and maybe get some pointers from. The Cubs' bullpen may not be the greatest but they are good more times than not. The most important aspect to keep in mind is that the bullpen is healthy and you can expect them to perform to the best of their abilities. Opponents are batting .240 against Cubs pitchers, which just so happens to be the best in the majors.

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