Slowly but surely, the Chicago Cubs are climbing to the top of the National League Central. The Cubs sit just 3 and a half games behind Milwaukee in the division. The Cubs were 6 and a half back on July 1st, and they have shown no signs of slowing down as of late.
With Alfonso Soriano having only recorded 16 home runs, and 36 RBI thus far, its astounding that the Cubs are even contenders. However, since getting in a fight with Michael Barrett, Carlos Zambrano has an ERA under 2 and he has been simply dominant.
Top to bottom, the Cubs may have the second best rotation in baseball behind San Diego. None of their 5 starters have an ERA over 3.85, and Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano's 3.83 ERA is the worst amongst their starters. While their lineup has been mediocre thus far, their pitching staff is the most underrated in baseball.
Said to be the weak link of the team, closer Ryan Dempster is also having himself a good year. Dempster is 16 of 18 in save opportunities, and he currently holds a 3.38 ERA. Also in the bullpen, Carlos Marmol has been down right dirty. In 29 and a third innings, Marmol has allowed just 3 runs, and he has an ERA of 0.92.
Manager Lou Piniella may have turned things around for this team after his tirade a few weeks back. Coming off of the Barrett-Zambrano fight, the Cubs looked DEAD. Piniella wouldn't let that happen. He made sure that he team understood his frustration, and they've taken that frustration and turned it into good baseball.
With 73 games still to play, anything can happen. However, I'm banking on the Cubs making the playoffs this season. Who knows, maybe they'll finally be able to end their 99 years of misery. But then again, they are the Cubs...
