Chicago Cubs Postseason Breakdown

[Author's Note: I write this article with the Cubs magic number at 2]

I personally attended the Chicago Cubs coronation as champions of the National League Central on Tuesday night, when they broke CC Sabathia's seal in the NL by delivering his first loss since his mid-season trade out of Cleveland.

While the win didn't clinch the division, the way the Cubs battered Sabathia's pitches and then held on to win a hard-fought battle showed that they were indeed the superior team and, coupled with the previous day's firing of manager Ned Yost, left the Brewers grasping for a last breath... one they may have lost when Ace 1.2 Ben Sheets went down with arm issues the next day.

So as the Cubs stare down the barrell of another postseason as the favorites to represent the National League, why should Cubs fans believe the thousands of signs in the stands that proclaim "It's gonna happen"?

Let's examine a few reasons why.

Aramis Ramirez

An unheralded, dark horse MVP candidate, Ramirez has been as clutch as you can get this season. ESPN.com tracks "close and late" situation statistics, for when games are within two runs in either direction after the seventh inning. In these situations, Ramirez has hit .403 with 8 home runs and 27 runs batted in.

Geovany Soto

The National League Rookie of the Year has trumped the over-hyped Kosuke Fukudome to become the first rookie catcher to start an All Star Game in a generation. Soto is among the top five catchers in all of baseball in home runs, runs batted in, and batting average this year hitting anywhere from fourth to eighth in the lineup. His offense abilities have overshadowed his handling of a Cubs pitching staff that had a lot of question marks coming into the season.

Ryan Dempster has credited Soto on multiple occasions for his return to the rotation being a dominating one, and Kerry Wood also gives the young backstop credit for his pitch-calling ability.

Experience

While the Cubs have young players like Soto, Carlos Marmol and Jeff Samardzija all over their roster, GM Jim Hendry has mixed in garbage from other teams that has turned to gold in the Wrigley summer.

Outfielders Jim Edmonds and Reed Johnson, both released by other teams earlier this season, supplemented an immature Felix Pie to give the Cubs a surprisingly effective rotation in center field all season; in fact, Edmonds was said to have "nothing left" in his swing when he left San Diego. He has responded with 17 home runs for the Cubs. The Cubs also have battle-tested veterans from last year's ill-fated series against the Diamondbacks.

No Diamondbacks

Arizona has been a hole of mystery for the Cubs, culminating in their flop last October. However, the acquisition of Manny Ramirez has propelled the Dodgers into first place in the West with momentum to spare. Without the prospect of Brandon Webb and Dan Haren in October, the Cubs starting rotation is deeper and statistically better than anyone else in the National League race.

The Dodgers roster appears closer to a late-90's All Star team than a contender, with health concerns plaguing Andruw Jones, Nomar Garciaparra, Jeff Kent, and Rafeal Furcal.

Just in case you hadn't heard, it's a unique anniversary for the Cubs franchise this year. Maybe it's pathetic (according to Ozzie Guillen), and maybe it's feeding their mojo, but either way, a full century after their last World Series Championship, the Cubs look primed to start a new history.