It's going to be a bumpy ride. Your favorites and mine, the Chicago Cubs, have exactly 9 games left in the season. As of this writing, they remain in first place in the NL Central with a 1-game lead over Milwaukee. To call these last few games "important" would be an understatement. The breakdown: 3 at home vs. the Pirates, followed by 3 games each in Florida and Cincinnati. Meanwhile, the Brewers have a 3-game set vs. the Cardinals, bookended by 4 games in Atlanta and 4 games vs. the Padres. This should absolutely be a fight to the finish. I'm confident in the Cubs, but I'm still silently hoping that Prince Fielder is injured from some sort of cheeseburger-related asphyxiation.
So how did the Cubs get here? By doing the things they weren't doing early on in the season-
winning 1-run games, being able to count on the bullpen, and being able to come from behind. A note here on the bullpen: Carlos Marmol has some absolutely nasty stuff. With a fastball consistently in the high 90s and a filthy slider, he's been absolutely unhittable-a 1.25 ERA over 64.2 IP. As for the starters, Ted Lilly has quietly established himself as the team's "ace" as of late-with a 15-7 record and a 3.78 ERA. Carlos Zambrano hasn't returned to his dominance from July (5-1, 1.38 ERA), instead going 2-2 with an ERA north of 5. I'll go ahead and say it: Big Z absolutely, positively, needs to get it together. NOW. C'mon, Carlos. Show us all why you're worth the big payday.
So stock up on your Maalox and Old Style, Cubs fans. We're in for a wild couple of weeks. See you at Wrigley in October.
UPDATE: Brewers lose to Atlanta. Make that 1 1/2 game lead. Go Cubs!
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