They might notice those pesky Astros creeping up on them!! How the Astros are doing it I have no idea, but right now we are one hot team and while it's a ways to go it would be sweet to catch the Cardinals and finish 3rd in the Division. 8) 8)
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UHH HUH....I still ain't biting. It's only the middle of August ladies, lot's of Ball to be played..... :wink:
Durn it, as soon as I open my big mouth, they get hammered 2 straight games by the DiamondBacks. :cry: :cry: :cry:
Back on another streak, back to back sweeps of the Cardinals and the Cubs. Ty Wiggington on an absolute tear in the month of August. Even Randy Wolf gets into the act and pitches his first shutout (complete game) in 4 years last night. Cubs are starting to hurt with Zambrano having arm trouble. I think another one of their starters is also having physical problems. They may hang on to the Division but I wonder if they'll be the team at the end of the year that they were a month ago. I got to see Jeff Samarzdja pitch a couple of times and he looks pretty good, had a shaky stretch monday in the 2nd inning he pitched but other than that he's looked very good. I wonder if they'll give him a shot at starting a game with their pitching getting thin? Sid, your thoughts?
I don't envision JS being a starter this year. He's too valuable as a 1 or 2 inning guy in the 2nd half of the game when it's close either way. Middle-to-late inning relief has been an achilles heel for the Cubs for years.....until this year with JS, Marmol, and Wood. None of the three are shutdown guys like KRod or Nathan, but combined they give the Cubs a legitimate shot at holding down the opponent and protecting close leads or giving the Cubs a chance to overcome close deficits. IMO that has been a huge difference this year vs. the past. Maybe next year for JS as a starter, but I would not bet on it. Despite the current issue with Zambrano, I like the Cubs starting rotation. In a 7-game series, I feel they can match up well with anyone. Again, they don't have shutdown guys, but they have nice depth and reliable SP. Look at the other contenders. AZ probably has the best 1-2 SP. The Brewers are close but Sheets has a groin problem that could really hamper him in the postseason. CC can win games all by himself but he's only one SP. For both those teams, it falls off a lot after their 1-2 guys, both in the starting rotation and in relief. Same with the Mets. I sure don't want to jinx the Cubs, but I - gulp - like their chances.
Astros continuing their red hot ways since the all-star break. We have the best record in the NL. Currently on a 9-1 streak just comming off a 5-1 road trip. We've crept to within 1 game of the Redbirds, now our nemisis the Pirates are comming to town. We should sweep them but the last couple of years they have had our number and I wouldn't be shocked if they won the series and gave us a big setback in trying to chase down the Cardinals for 3rd place.