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With the coming of autumn and the orange and yellow hues that accompany it, October in Wrigleyville is most years a sad and dismal place. But on rare occasion, the lights above Wrigley shine bright for just a week or two more as Cubs fans' hopes for a Pennant survive into an NLDS or NLCS. The way things are looking right now, this could be one such October in Wrigleyville.
The Cubs' Magic Number stands at 4. With a 3-game rout of the Pirates over the weekend, the Cubs extended their lead on the NL Central to 3.5 games over the ailing Milwaukee Brewers, who at the start of the season appeared to have the NL Central sewn up.
September has been kind to the Cubbies, with stars such as Alfonso Soriano and Derek Lee showing themselves to be the veterans they are, and finding the power-stroke we knew was there all along. As of Sunday, Soriano has hit 12 homeruns in September, the most by a Cub since Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks, hit 13 in September of 1957. The Cubs as a whole have hit 38 dingers for the month, setting a new club record.
And while the hitters have been doing their job, the Cubs' pitching has been impressive. Ted Lilly recently extended his streak of wins following a loss, and Carlos Zambrano threw 6 top-notch innings Sunday, starting by fanning the first four batters he faced. Rich Hill, while pitching close to 200 innings so far this season, threw a quality game Saturday, regaining his composure after a 3-run 2nd inning that likely would have seen him falter earlier in the season.
Things look promising for the North-Siders in October. Only a week until we know for sure.
