The Cubs in 5

Cubs Talk:

So the season has been pretty mediocre so far. Pre-all star break was just a .500 roller coaster ride that never really went anywhere. Last season the Cubs had one of the best records in the majors, only to be destroyed in the post- season. Lou claimed the problem was the lack of left-handed hitters. So what do we do in the off season? We get the 'great' Milton Bradley. The man's numbers before this season were damn good. He provided that left-handed power that we needed. Thus, with the addition of that man, we should cruise into the post-season and then start to win some play off games. Obviously, things didn't go that way.

In my opinion the reasons for such a let down season so far:

1. Injuries
2. Lack of hitting
3. Other division teams stepping up

I am not looking at any actually statistics or facts as I type this, so bare with me. But from the get-go we have been plagued by the injury bug. Just a couple of weeks in to the season we lost A-Ram, the 3rd basemen that knew how to hit. It was obviously that he was one of the team leaders, as the cubs just didn't seem the same without him. He has recently come back, but in between that time we have lost many other players, including, Big Z, Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly, Geovotti Soto, etc. On any random day if you were to turn on a Cubs game, you will be subjecting yourself to many new players and faces. There haves been games when our entire infield was made up of people who started the season as minor leaguers. I have made the not so funny joke about watching the Iowa Cubs (The Cubs AAA Minor league team) play at Wrigley, since there are so many new people in the lineup.

But as a stars went down, kids were called up to step in, and several players have done amazing jobs. Now starter Randy Wells is once such case, as he was just a no name minor leaguer at the start of the season, but now the man is honestly one of our most reliable starters. Other players were mentioning are Fox and backup catcher Koyie Hill.

The inability to consistently hit, thus generate runs has been a major problem so far this year. There really isn't any really explanation or any one person to point the finger at for this. Obviously, injuries factor into this, but still. Sweet Lou is / was also confused by this, so he did the only thing he could, bench the players that aren't hitting, and switch things around.

The best example of this was benching Bradley and putting Fukudome in the lead off role instead of Soriano. Bradley just hasn't lived up to his massive paycheck that the ownerless Cubs paid him, so thus he spent many games on the bench. He obviously was brought here for his offense, not defense. So seeing him make mistake after mistake in the outfield only adds to the wounds, which is why the man isn't the most popular sports figure in Chicago. On the upside, #1 has really taken to his lead off spot, as he seems to get on base consistently, which is more then could be said for the streaky Soriano, whose left field hop doesn't seem as adorable when he strikes out so often by swinging at pitches that are both outside and in the dirt.

The Cubs are in a shitty situation, as they don't know who is going to own them next year, so they can't really make any big moves this mid-season. Other rivals don't have this problem, so it really stings when you see former beloved Cub Derosa get traded to the Cards, among others including recent signee Halladay. Obviously these other clubs have realized that since the Cubs haven't been dominating as expected, they still have a chance, so they are not afraid to spend some money and give away future prospects to push their team into this post-season.

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The good news is this: most of this writing was about the cubs before the All star break. Since the break, the Cubs have starting playing like they want to win. Sure, injuries are still a factor, but it appears as if the hitting slump that everyone was in is over. I have heard many Cubs fans, including good pal Kyle the Eagle Scout dismiss this team this year, but I still have some faith. As I told him, one thing the Cubs have is a very solid bullpen and starting pitchers. Every single time Lilly, Z, Dempster, and Wells walk out to the mound, they give the Cubs a chance to win. A solid pitching staff is something that is really hard to get, and most teams just don't have the quality pitchers that we have. And thus if we can put runs on the board we have a great chance to win.

With that said, I would like to briefly like to mention that I do still infact hate our new closer Kevin Gregg. He has yet to prove himself to me, and every-time he steps up to the mound I am nervous, even if we have a multiple run lead. Even the man I loved to watch last year, Marmol hasn't really shown the same dominance that he showed last year, so both closers concern me, but ever other pitcher for the Cubs seems legitimate.

As of this writing, the Cubs are just 1/2 a game behind 1st place Cards. There are still many games to be played,and it seems as if this central division won't be decided until right at the end, but the Cubs are still in it. Since break the Cubs have won 7 of 9, which is damn good. If they can keep this pace up then we can pull away from the rest of this division. All that I am really trying to say is:

Go Cubs Go.

(Note: Don't mind the spelling of names and such, in a more solid state of mind I will correct some typing errors that I know I have made)