The Other Fifteen

So the Cubbies just had a crazy weekend that took them from “It’s just not going to happen for them this year” to “once we get Aramis Ramirez back, we’re gonna wreck the rest of the division.”  We had 3 straight amazing 9th inning or extra inning comeback wins, and a blowout on Sunday to cap it off.  The comebacks were great for a variety of reasons.  The first one came against the White So, no explanation needed.  But the other two happened against the Indians.  This is significant because the AL is supposed to be the better league, bu we had 4 straight against the AL Central.  Second, those comebacks came against Kerry Wood.  It was really strange to root against the guy.  I wish we still had him.  Also, GM Jim Hendry got a chance to scout Mark DeRosa, who he’s been trying to trade for.  Apparently Hendry didn’t know that calling “do-over” is not legally binding.

As for individual performances, Derrek Lee gets first mention.  He is absolutely the hottest bat on the planet, and I couldn’t be happier.   He hit more clutch hits and homers this weekend than the rest of baseball combined.  We need our stars to carry us, and it’s obvious the Soriano is struggling o do it alone.  Lee showing that he could carry the team for a stretch should give confidence to the rest of the lineup and keep them from putting too much presure on themselves.  Randy Wells continued to prove that he’s no fluke, with another great game and his first “W.”  The young bats stepped it up too, with clutch hits by both Jake Fox and Mikah Hoffpauir.  And Geo Soto looks like he has shaken off the rust (read: extra pounds) to return to last year’s form.

The thing I took from this weekend is this: our pitching is sick , our young guys are figuring it out, and out lineup is starting to hit with runners on base.  Once we get Aramis back, we should start to pull away with the division.