Come To Think of It...NLDS Pits Cubs vs. Cubs, as Team Battles Haunted Past

Forget about the Los Angeles Dodgers for a moment. Oh sure, they're a formidable opponent. But with a history like the Chicago Cubs have, they will be fighting the ghosts of the past as much as any baseball team. It's 100 years of failure versus the promise of a new beginning.

For building a new tradition, as ex-Cubs GM Dallas Green called it back in 1984, is much harder than it seems. For when the Cubs take the field Wednesday night, it's not so much Manny Ramirez and Derek Lowe that they're battling; it's the weight of a century of losing.

Look, I understand the team is saying all the right things about how they weren't around 100 years ago and can't be responsible for what happened back then. But you can only hear something so many times before doubt naturally starts to creep in.

The negativity of the press, for example, haunts the Cubs, with vivid reminders of past curses and bad luck. Don't forget the black cat in 1969, they say. Watch out for the Gatorade glove from 1984, the pundits scream. And make sure Steve Bartman isn't sitting in the stands like he did in 2003, they will remind everybody.

And, of course, there's that damn billy goat that dates back to 1945.

Recognizing that, for the Cubs to be successful, they must first overcome themselves before they can overcome the Dodgers.

They also have the weight of being the team to beat. The favorites. A position the Cubs certainly aren't used to being in. For this season to truly be successful, at least in the eyes of the fans, they must make it to the World Series.

Another round one like last year against Arizona just won't do. Oh no, this year is supposed to be The Year. It's gonna happen, they say.

For the Cubs have already won this series on paper. But there's still this small matter of actually playing the series on dirt, but never mind the details. The pitching is too deep. The hitting too solid. The manager too right for the job.

And Lou Piniella does inspire hope in Cubs Nation. However, let's hope Sweet Lou will avoid a boneheaded decision like he made last year when he removed Zambrano early from the first playoff game, only to save him for a Game Four that never happened.

For it seems even good baseball men become inflicted with this Cubs disease when they become part of the family. And it can be a dysfunctional family, to be sure.

A lot is at stake here. It's about being able to walk the streets, proudly displaying a Cubs cap. It's being able to match your south-side Chicago buddies and their one World Series winner in a 100 years. It's about shedding that loveable-loser tag.

For it's a sad man, my friend, who's living in his own skin and can't stand the company.

Yet despite this prevailing chatter of things that go bump in Wrigley Field, there is a strange feeling of confidence among the fanbase. Even I must admit this year feels different. Difficult to explain, but I guess all good curses must come to an end sometime. Just ask the Boston Red Sox.

In short, the Cubs must overcome these obstacles to reach their goal of being world serious. Or else the billy goat will become the scapegoat. Come to think of it, we just can't have that happen again.