Well The Chicago Cubs finally won a game in San Diego. They lost 3 games to the Padres in the infamous meltdown in 1984. They lost 2 in a row on a road trip this week. Tonight, they hit the ball well as they beat the last place Padres for a badly needed win.
The Cubs are 4 games over .500 and when looking at the history of this team in the last 30 years, that is an accomplishment this late in the season. I don't think this team has the makeup or talent to give St. Louis a run this season. I think the realistic view is: win as many games as is possible, giving younger players a tryout. The Cubs have talent in their farm system. Bring the guys up to show what they can do.
I thinking finishing 6 or 7 games over .500 is a pretty good year. There is talent on this team. Injuries played a part. Ramirez missed a third of the season. Soriano was hurt early. Zambrano has been sidelined once or twice too.
These are key players. The Cubs missed Kerry Wood, though they won't admit it. He would have been a more consistent closer than what they had this year. Marmol, perhaps would have had more confidence, knowing he would set-up Wood. He could afford not be perfect and Wood would clean up his mistakes.
This season the bullpen has been shaky. And, the Cubs let leads get away from them in the late innings. Four of five games have been lost this way. Add those in the win column and you may have a different outcome. But that's baseball. You have 162 games to play and it comes down to wins and losses. It comes down to who has the most wins. This year, it may not be the Cubs. Of course, the season isn't over yet and miracles do happen. So they say.
