Past the 3/4 Pole: The Cubs Have the Horses to Win

I recently found myself stuck with a bad car. The brakes went out shortly after the purchase of the beaten fillie. The power windows don’t work right. The engine has a lifter problem. For $500, you get this sort of vehicle. One without the horses to get you home at night.

The Chicago Cubs are not any of that. They are a sleek thoroughbred, a Genuine Risk, that can bring it home in the derby.

Surprisingly, they are a team with more ways to beat you than just the usual bang-it-over-the-fence mashers they implemented from 1998-2005.

They employ on-base expertise in actually racking up walks and long pitch counts. They can string together hits, get the merry-go-round of 1^st and 3^rd going steady while keeping pitchers in the stretch and managers harried and annoyed.

The top 3 pitchers of Zambrano, Dempster and Harden, can turn in a gem, or fight for 6-7 innings while allowing 3 or less tallies. The bullpen of Samardzija, Marmol and Wood are The New Nasty Boys of Lou’s Crew. Even centerfield, with Jim Edmonds and Reed Johnson platooning, has become a strength, unlike years of plodding by disappointing colts and overused sires.

This all came at a significant price tag – as the Cubs spent freely $350 million on the cusp of the ball team’s billion dollar sale – but it spent wisely, and acquired well. GM Jim Hendry, know best for fleecing the 2003 Pirates and the frustrating lack of moves in 2004-2006 seasons, has either become wiser or just leveraged the cash spent to put a quality product and team on the field. Hendry’s horses have finally turned in times worthy of Triple Crown contention.

But at the ¾ pole, teams are faced with either pulling away while others bite the dust, or fading down the stretch, to finish 2^nd, or out of the money.

Realistically, no one could blame a fan for doubt. 100 years of yearning and learning that the Cubs have their own curses of black cats, drunk goats and grabby Bartmans teaches you frustration that only a Cub fan has the history buttressing his/her point of view.

But this team has the horses.

The Secretariats, the Bold Rulers, the Affirms and the Citations of the horseracing world are the benchmarks of success.

This 2008 Chicago Cubs team has ample talent to be the frontrunner in the post season. In a race of eight teams, they may be the ones that set the pace, drives the turn and shows superior instincts in the final leg of the season and post-season. (Unless they are engaged in a match race with the Brewers ala Affirmed and Alydar.)

A World Series takes these horses to new heights in Cubs lore. A win to the pinnacle of the franchise’s history.

It’s early still, but this observer staked these Cubs fillies to a Spectacular Bid.

Go Cubs Go!

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