So, Zambrano and Harden are down; commence to panicking, right? Not so fast.
Let’s think about this for a moment:
Getting to the Playoffs:
Yes, the Cubs have lost 5 straight, but what does the playoff picture look like? They’re still four and a half games ahead of Milwaukee and nine games in front of the Phillies for the Wild Card. It’s not like those two are taking advantage of the Cubs’ recent struggles, either. Milwaukee has lost four straight and the Phils have lost five of their last eight. The Cubs have the most wins in baseball and they only have 22 games to play. Pitching aside, the Cubs still have one of the most potent offenses in the National League, if not all of baseball. Even without Z and Harden, Dempster is pretty darn good and Lilly is no slouch either. Now, I’m not saying they’re a lock for the playoffs, but even if both Zambrano and Harden don’t throw another pitch in the regular season, I’m confident the Cubs have the tools to hold on.
Winning in the Playoffs:
Now that we have getting to the playoffs taken care of, let’s discuss winning once you get there. It would seem as though the qualities that make a team great in the regular season are the same that make them great in the postseason, but that is not the case. The Cubs were a good team last year and this was evidenced by them making the playoffs. However, what was it that made them a good team? It is pretty obvious that it was their deep rotation. They never had to wait long for a solid pitching performance and if somebody went down, they could be replaced without a substantial downgrade. So, what happened in the playoffs? That’s what I’m trying to tell you! A deep rotation doesn’t translate to a playoff strength. Because it’s all or nothing and there are extra days of rest during the postseason, teams can solely use their top three starters. Who cares about a deep rotation when you can get your ace in there twice, or even three times in a series? That was the main problem last year for the Cubs. Behind Z, there were no go-to guys. This year, a healthy Zambrano, Harden and Dempster can compete with any trio in the league. Of course, you may notice I used the word healthy. Harden hasn’t pitched in almost two weeks because of soreness in his pitching arm and Zambrano left his last start because of rotator cuff tendinitis: signs hardly pointing to good health. However, neither injury seems to be season ending and the prescription for each is rest. If you ask me, any team in baseball would kill to be able to rest their dueling aces going into the playoffs. It just so happens, the Cubs can afford such a luxury. Who cares if they give up the division lead to the Brewers; it just means playing the Mets/Phillies first instead of the Diamondbacks. To be honest, I’d rather not have to face Webb, Haren and Johnson right off the bat anyway.
