Playtime is Over for the Chicago Cubs: Bring On the Champs!

The month of July has been, by far, the kindest month yet for our Cubbies.

We split two out of four against the Cardinals who are hovering just above average play right now, we stole three out of four against Milwaukee who has the HR derby crown to be happy about but nothing more, and as the 11-3 drubbing of Washington comes to a close in the background, we will take a four game sweep of those pesky Nats into the lair of the champs.

Well I say BRING IT!

The rumor of Lilly not being available for the series is now confirmed dead—he will in fact pitch game one vs. Rodrigo Lopez.

Former teammates Rich Harden and Joe Blanton (Oakland) face each other in game two and Harden puts his 4-1 road record on the line. Harden has also put together a nice 42/12- K/BB ratio when not in Wrigley.

Then in game three, Big Z dukes it out with father time (Jamie Moyer) in a battle of fire vs. water.

Zambrano has the fast moving, dominant command that brings nothing but heat while Moyer flashes skill and grace that is as overwhelming and docile as a serene lake.

Let’s face it; this series is huge to say the least.

For the Cubs, keeping pace with St. Louis has proven to be difficult, but the Cubs are only two games out of first and riding a four game winning streak.

Going to Philadelphia, into the heart of the current champions, and winning even just two would be about as big as Piniella’s belt size.

But it won’t be easy.

The Phillies are enjoying their own ride with a very comfy seven game lead in the division, and a whopping nine game winning streak. Simply venturing into Philadelphia and knocking them down will prove itself to be harder than one might think.

The pitching for the Cubs has been rather successful; the pitching for Philly has been unstable.

The hitting for the Phils has been impressive to say the least; the Cubs are just now starting to dig themselves out of their hitting woes.

The fielding for both teams has been up and down although Chicago probably has had more issues in the past.

But in essence, these two teams are also more similar than you would think making this 3 game set a bit more intriguing.

For starters, both teams can hit the long ball; both teams have the uncanny ability to beat you with small ball, and both teams can pitch lights out if need be.

For our Cubs to take at least two games a couple of things must happen:

1. We need to win the contest on the mound every game hands down. With hitters like Chase Utley, Shane Victorino, Jason Werth, Pedro Feliz, and of course the big man, Ryan Howard the Cubs staff aces will have to utilize their strengths and keep a solid state of mound semblance.

Utilize the changeup to keep Howard guessing and swinging low. Effectively command the fastball to keep Feliz in check. Keep Victorino off the bases as much as possible and when he IS on the mound limit the stolen bases.

Pitch Werth to the outside and paint the corners; leaving any pitch over the plate will result in disaster, and limit Utley’s looks; work him fast and hard.

2. NO ERRORS! The last thing you ever want to do against Philadelphia is give them an opportunity to capitalize on. The better fielding we have the better our chances are of slowing their pace.

3. Play ahead not behind. Aside from Blanton, there should be plenty of chances for hits and runs; we must make sure we are not playing catch up.

4. Get Soriano going early. Soriano has been flaring up again which is a good thing; letting him cool down now would be detrimental.

5. Don’t let them back in. The biggest, and I mean biggest, problem facing Philadelphia is their penchant for come-from-behind wins. Just because you have an eight run lead in the sixth inning doesn’t mean jack, and you could wind up losing by two in the end.

The Cubs’ season has been less than spectacular thus far, but that doesn’t mean they are down and out and it is a very legitimate notion to think they can take two out of three.

A sweep of the champs would be downright astonishing!