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.

The Cubs' offense is arguably one of the best, if not the best, in the majors. Saying that Aramis Ramirez is hot, is an understatement. The past 10 games he's batting a whopping .450 with 9 RBIs and 2 homers. He is consistently hitting the ball hard and driving in runs when they matter the most. Geovany Soto is batting .285 with 86 RBIs and has 23 homers. He continues to be clutch and with him behind the plate, pitching will be hot. Alfonso Soriano is hitting .289 with 79 RBI's and 29 homers. Ryan Theriot continues to get on base and hasn't strayed away from batting .300 and up for the entire season. And Mark Derosa is having the best season in his career without a doubt. He's batting .289 with 83 RBIs and 20 homers. Being a Cubs fan myself and being around many Cubs fans there is a player that has been overlooked for quite a while. Derrek Lee is heating up! He will be the catalyst to the Cubs post-season success. The past 10 games he's batting .304 with 11 RBIs, not including his walk off performance of yesterday's game. He is picking up where he started off in the beginning of the season. He is hitting the ball extremely hard and is regaining his power factor. I strongly believe that he will start clearing bases more often come October. 

This Chicago Cub's bench has so much depth that you can realistically substitute some of the starters for some bench players and come out with the same results. Jim Edmonds, who was thought to be out of gas, continues to be a clutch hitter and is also still considered a defensive threat. Reed Johnson is batting .299, Mike Fontenot .288 with 9 homers and 37 RBIs in limited plate appearances. Ronny Cedeno can also offer some speed of the bench, excellent defense at second, and is known to put the ball in play.

Manager Lou Piniella is going to play the biggest role in the Cub's post-season success. He knows his players better than anyone and he can see the potential in any player that sits in his dugout. He's won 3 World Series as a player, 1 World Series as a manager, along with 4 divisional titles (one with the Cubs in the 2007 season). Cub's fans can freely put their faith in "Sweet Lou".

This Chicago Cubs team is a streaky one. Once they get going they are very hard to stop. With the huge come from behind win yesterday against the Brewers, expect the momentum gain to swing the Cubs through the rest of the regular season and deep into the post-season. The bottom line is that the Cubs are heating up at the right time and it is this time that will determine the Chicago Cub's fate of the 2008 season.

And all this garbage about the "Billy Goat Curse" is ridiculous. The team determines what will happen and they control their fate, no one else. But if you're a firm believer in the curse then look at what the Boston Red Sox have been able to accomplish. Curse of the Bambino? Or perseverance? You be the judge.