Home Run Derby

It’s The Late Show with Major League Baseball! 

Starring the Chicago Cubs and the Arizona Diamondbacks!

The 2007 Diamondbacks are a rarity - a winning team that was outscored during the regular season.  For reference, the 1987 Minnesota Twins are the only team to win a World Series after having been outscored in the regular season.

The D-Backs got in this position due to a great stretch run by Brandon Webb (42 consecutive scoreless innings in July-August), an overacheiving bullpen, and stud closer Jose Valverde (who could give Zambrano a run for his money in crazy) which has often shut down the competition. 

But besides the bat of pitcher Micah Owings (.333 with 4 HR in 60 AB), there’s not much else to crow about in the D-Backs starting rotation.

And the D-Backs boast no .300 hitters in their starting lineup.  It so lackluster that Ex-Cub (and former Cub fan favorite) Augie Ojeda is a regular in the lineup.  I should stop right there.  Eric Byrnes provides crazy speed and gumption in the outfield and on the basepaths and Chris Young will stop pitching for the Padres to bat leadoff for the D-Backs.  Oh wait … sorry.

Arizona was so-so in the season’s final three weeks, going 9-9 against the Dodgers, Giants, Pirates, and the upstart Rockies.

The Chicago Cubs are making their first playoff appearance since the 2003 National League Championship Series, when the Cubs found a way to lose in a very … Cub-like fashion. 

There are some very eerie similarities to that NLCS in this NLDS …

• The Cubs have a new manager who has taken teams to the World Series. 
• The Cubs won a crappy division by one game. 
• The Cubs are playing an expansion team which won a World Series six years ago.

Uncoincidentally, Lou Piniella had been in the dugout for two months before he actually took over this club on June 2, when he had his intentional argument with the third base umpire the day after ace pitcher Carlos Zambrano decked starting catcher Michael Barrett.

Since then, this ballclub has gone 63-46.  If the club had played at that level all season, they’d be a 93-win club and be hosting the Rockies today.  Good thing they didn’t.

The Cubs went 13-7 over the season’s final three weeks.  Three of those losses came in a final week sweep against the Marlins.  So they went 13-4 against the also-rans of the NL Central.  Which is what you’re supposed to do. 

What’s more is that the Cubs have started really hitting the ball in September.  Leadoff man Alfonso Soriano hit 14 HR in September and Derrek Lee might have found his power stroke again.  Or it could have just been 17 games against the Astros, Pirates, Cardinals, and Reds.

The Diamondbacks won the season series with the Cubs 4 games to two.  They went 2-1 at both Fields (Chase and Wrigley.)  The Cubs won both opening games - against Owings and Webb.  Webb’s 42 inning scoreless streak started in the 7th inning of that game.

The key to this series is the first game.  Arizona must win behind their ace, Brandon Webb (18-10, 3.01 ERA), against a resurgent Carlos Zambrano (18-13, 3.95 ERA).  Big Z has gone 4-1 with a 1.67 ERA his last five starts.

If the Cubs win the first game … this series could be over by Saturday.  Which would suck for me and my tickets for Game Four on Sunday.

Prediction:  CUBS in Four.

The Diamondbacks simply can’t pitch Brandon Webb enough to counter the fact that they don’t score enough runs. 

The Cubs will be playing what might seem like four home games, as tickets were still available for games at Chase Field - the tickets that haven’t been snatched up by transplanted and well-travelled Cub fans that is.

And besides … the D-Backs don’t have a playoff drinking game like the Cubs do.  I wish I had thought of that.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007 at 1:53 pm and is filed under 2007 MLB Playoffs, Cubs, Diamondbacks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.