Chicago Cubs: Baseball Magic on the Northside—and in First Place

After going 2-4 on a road trip through Houston and Pittsburgh, including giving the last two games away to the Pirates in the latter innings, many Cubs fans had to wonder if that was the turning point to lead the Cubs back to normalcy.  But instead the Cubs returned to friendly confines to sweep the Dodgers and Rockies, going 7 and 0 on the home stand and laying claim to the best record in the Majors. 

Behind solid outings from Zambrano, Dempster and Gallagher, along with timely hitting, the Cubs completed five come-from-behind wins, including four in the 7th inning or later.  Finally after 100 years, there may be some magic in Cubby Blue, or it may be they have the best team, position by position in the league.

We'll start with the obvious. Down at first base, Derrick Lee has been one of the top first basemen in the league for a few years now and that will continue.  This year he is either two or three depending how you split him and Pujols behind the unbelievable numbers of Lance Berkman, and that is pretty much a toss up.

At second, the Cubs carry two weapons in Mark DeRosa, and the surprising back up this year Ronny Cedeno.  DeRosa is currently 4th in both batting average (.298) andRBIs (29) amongst everyday second basemen, and 2nd in on-base percentage (.386).  When you back that up with Cedeno's surprisingly good hitting this year, you have a solid combination at second base.

There isn't much more you can say about Ryan Theriot playing the shortstop position.  He hustles, he is solid on defense, and he does the little things. Not much more you can ask for from a guy.  But add on that he is 1st amongst everyday shortstops in batting average (.319), on-base percentage (.403), and walks (29), along with 4th in runs (38) and you have got one heck of a guy playing the short stop position.

Moving to hot corner, we have Aramis Ramirez.  Ramirez has been a solid third basemen for a few years now, but this year his patience at the plate has been amazing.  His on-base percentage currently sits at .419, which is seventy-nine points above his career average. Also he already has 33 walks in 52 games, and his previous season high in walks is 50, so he should shatter that.  If he can continue that, he will go from a top hitter to an elite hitter this season.

As we venture into the outfield, we have Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome and then a platoon of Reed Johnson and Jim Edmonds in center, arguably two of the top players at their respective positions.

Even with Soriano's slow start in April, he has really turned it around hitting .357, with 10 home runs and 29 RBIs in the last 30 days.  Fukudome may have slowed a little since his scorching hot start in April, but he will no doubt level out and be a .300+ hitter that continues to get on base and produce in the clutch.  As for center field, it's the only real hole or question mark on this squad right now, other than a fifth starter, but Johnson and Edmonds will suffice at the position for now.

The man behind the plate is rookie phenom Geovany Soto, and I think that is the best way to describe him. We all thought he would be good eventually, but this good this soon was somewhat unexpected and a nice surprise. Currently he sits amongst everyday catchers at fourth in batting average (.301), second in slugging percentage (.563), on-base percentage (.391), home runs (9), and walks (30), along with being first in RBIs (38).  Clearly he's making his mark and leads his position in the all-start voting.

The starting rotation for the Cubs is very solid at the top with Carlos Zambrano, one of the top pitchers in the Majors, and Ryan Dempster is having a quality year in his return to the starting rotation after his few years as a closer.  The three and four slots of Ted Lilly and Sean Gallagher can at times be shaky but overall has proved sufficient in getting the job done.

The only problem is that one has emerged as the fifth starter with Rich Hill back in the minors and Marquis and Lieber struggling to get out. That appears to be the Cubs' biggest weak spot a third of the way through the season. 

The bullpen has also been solid so far this season. With the return of veterans Scott Eyre and Bob Howry, they have really solidified that 7th inning. Then to have the best setup man in the game with Carlos Marmol and the cannon, although sometimes wild, of Kerry Wood coming in to close, the Cubs can't argue with their relief pitching situation. 

So a third of the way through the season, and the Cubs' having the best record in the Majors, there appears to be some magic on the Northside of Chicago. At this point they have been utterly dominant at home, so if they can get their road record in better shape, this could be the year.  Maybe, hopefully, 100 years in the making we'll get some Cubby Magic to finally bring that Championship banner to Wrigley Field.