I've got to say the Cubs looked good again, sweeping the Cardinals in St. Louis and pretty much eliminating them from the NL Central Division race even though the Reds managed only a split in their four game series with the Diamondbacks. One question you have to ask is whether this is just a late season, pressure off illusion, or whether the deceptive part was their performance before Piniella quit.
Granted the Cubs have nothing to lose and can play the enviable role of spoiler against arch-rivals like the Cardinals, but the Cards had everything to gain and they played like the mopes the Cubs were earlier on. Also, as noted before, the Cubs are not playing rookies, but pretty much their regular veteran lineup.
Anyway, they swept the team that was supposed to be their major rival at the start of the year and they looked good doing so. They are 5-1 on the road trip, mainly on the strength of their starting pitching. I think the starters have yielded only three or four runs in the whole stretch. Against the Cardinals, Samardzija pitched surprisingly well, Wells pitched back to his 2009 form, and Zambrano continued to impress. Z did not have his best stuff, but he still gave up only one earned run and pitched out of trouble all night long.
Should we be waiting for next year? More on this in a later post, but at least they are an interesting team to watch lately.
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