Cubs win NL Central title

‘Z’ leads way as Cubs nail down Central crown in style

CINCINNATI — After four months of clawing out, crawling back and maybe even fighting off a little history near the end, the Cubs finally popped their cork Friday night in Cincinnati.

And as if to underscore the nature of the National League Central race this season, the Cubs had to wait an hour after their 6-0 victory against the Reds at Great American Ball Park to clinch when the Milwaukee Brewers lost to the San Diego Padres.

» Click to enlarge image

Mike Frazier gets a lift from his brother Mark Frazier as the duo celebrates in front of Wrigley Field after the Cubs clinched the Central Division title on Friday night.
(Chris Sweda/Sun-Times)

PHOTO GALLERY

Game clincher

RELATED STORIES

Full Court Press: Cubs clinch! Playoff Bound: Sun-Times special section

‘‘We worked hard, and we deserved it,’’ said drenched reliever Bob Howry, who pitched another scoreless inning Friday before waiting patiently to join teammates in a raucous champagne shower in the plastic-draped visitors clubhouse.

‘‘This is it!’’ said shortstop Ryan Theriot, whose emergence from utility player to everyday shortstop was one of many changes on the run the Cubs made to climb into contention after a 22-31 start that eventually helped bury them 8œ games deep. ‘‘This is why we play.

‘‘To achieve one goal we’re trying to get is great. But I think everyone understands we’re not done yet. We’ve still got a lot to accomplish.’’

That theme resonated through the bubbly stench of the postgame clubhouse on the night the Cubs became the first NL team to clinch a playoff berth this season — still unsure about where they’ll play or against whom in the first round.

While it’s tempting to characterize the events Friday as the end of a full-circle trip — finishing off a division title in the place where they stumbled to a disappointing Opening Day loss April 2 — players insisted this is only the beginning of their quest to end 98 years of empty and heartbreaking Octobers.

Their fourth first-place finish since 1945 in the first season after hiring manager Lou Piniella and signing more than $200 million worth of new players during the offseason is just a first step in an effort to wipe out the decades-long reputation for curses and collapses — and to try to win the World Series new president John McDonough so brazenly talked about upon taking over last October.

‘‘A lot of unfinished business,’’ Theriot said. ‘‘We’re just so excited to have an opportunity to go on and try to win a world championship.’’

The clinch was a whiplash of emotions from the way the week started — the Cubs getting swept in an ugly three days in Miami by a Marlins team that talked as much as they walked over the eventual NL Central champs.

‘‘You could just look in their dugout, and it’s just like panic mode,’’ the Marlins’ Cody Ross said only a night earlier after Florida finished off the sweep in front of a Cubs-partisan crowd at Dolphin Stadium. ‘‘Guys are pacing up and down. ...’’

Piniella said he sensed renewed emotion from his team when they got to the ballpark Friday in Cincinnati — and even more after pulling off the shutout victory before settling in for an hour of clubhouse TV.

‘‘It was good to see,’’ he said. ‘‘I like a team that will show emotion at times.’’

The most emotional Cub, Carlos Zambrano (18-13), looks like he might be evolving into the big-game ace his new $91.5 million contract demands, with his best big-game performance of the year Friday.

Almost six months after he laid the Opening Day egg at the same place, Zambrano pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing only six hits and a walk to extend his scoreless-innings streak to 13.

‘‘It was great to win this game,’’ he said. ‘‘I lost four games against these guys this season, and the most important game was today. We did it.’’

Zambrano, who has a career high in victories this year, next will pitch in the playoff opener Wednesday.

‘‘I’m ready. I’m excited,’’ he said. ‘‘Now after I went to the playoffs in ’03, I’m thirsty and hungry for that first game. Now that I have experience ... I think I will play better in the playoffs.’’

He seemed to take extra pride in getting this done the day after the Cubs got out of Miami while the big-talking Marlins — who ousted the Cubs in the 2003 LCS — are going home for the winter.

‘‘I’m sick of those fish,’’ Zambrano said. ‘‘In ’03 they got us out of the playoffs, and now they are causing some problems [for] us. Just turn the page and get the next team. That’s the idea.’’