Can the Cubs recover?

The Cubs return from their nine-day, three-city road trip today a completely different team then the one that departed from O’Hare on April 13. A 5-4 record on the trip is nothing to get giddy about, and from the way it looks like the South Siders are playing, the Cubs may be Chicago’s only professional team not to make the playoffs in ’06. (Yes, I remember the Blackhawks, and no, they don’t count as a professional team. And this has nothing to do with them playing hockey. It’s because they are a horrible franchise, but that’s for a different column.) Without Derek Lee, who was hurt on game six of the road trip, the team went 1-2, with the only win coming on Sunday thanks to brilliance of Greg Maddux. If the Cubs are going to stay in the division race without their all-star first baseman, there are three things that MUST happen.

1--- Juan Pierre and Aramis Ramirez have to get it going.
In 2005, Derek Lee hit .335, drove in 107, and had 99 extra-base hits. Still, the Cubs finished fourth in the division. Why was this? Because most of the time, Lee would come up with two outs, hit a double, and get stranded on second base. This is where Pierre and Aramis play such a huge role. Without DLee hitting third, the leadoff man Pierre and the cleanup hitting Ramirez have to get the offense going. If Pierre can get on and become a base-stealing havoc for opponents, and Ramirez can consistently drive him in, the Cubs lineup will remain imposing for the next 8 to 10 weeks.

2--- Somebody has to emerge as a number two starter.
Greg Maddux is 4-0 for the first time in his career, has a .99 ERA and has really been the Cubs only consistent starting pitcher. Big Z is off to a slow start, Sean Marshall is doing all right, but still hasn’t pitched more then five innings in a game, and Glendon Rusch and Jerome Williams have sucked. Mark Prior and Kerry Wood are still hurt. If the Cubs want to stay in the race, the guys on the hill have to start throwing strikes. Zambrano is the most likely candidate to fill into that number two roll, but he has been horribly inconsistent this season. The sleeper in all of this is my boy, lefty Rich Hill, who is currently in AAA. Hill, who is equipped with a nasty 12-6 curveball, should be in the majors by Mother’s Day. Trust me, this guy is going to be good.

3---Win at least 75% of the home games in the next two months.
The Cubs have upcoming games at Wrigley Field versus the Marlins, Pirates, Padres, Nationals, Braves, and Reds. Are they better then these teams? I believe that they are, as long as the stay healthy. But without Lee in the lineup, these games are no gimmies. Winning three of every four games at the Friendly Confines will help the North Siders stay in the race until Lee returns. The road will be tough, and a key will be to never get swept. I know this sounds obvious, but going into a city and leaving with the same number of wins can kill a team psychologically.

As for vending, the yellow flag has come out, because I have class interference for all three games of the Marlins series. I am actually attending the game on Friday (My first time sitting in the bleachers), but I will be back to work for Saturday and Sunday, as well as the Tuesday game of the Pirates series.