Erased from Central race
Cubs can finish off staggering Cardinals this weekend in St. Louis
For the Cubs, who play four games over the next three days in St. Louis, it's time to finish off the defending World Series champs and finally make this a two-team race with the Milwaukee Brewers.
''We could basically put them out of the way -- and, hopefully, we will,'' manager Lou Piniella said. ''We are not expecting an easy weekend series.''
If we have learned anything about the 2007 Cubs, it's that nothing comes easily.
Too many times, they have built early leads in games, only to let them slip away. They avoided that formula Thursday, scoring early against the Houston Astros and continuing to chip away with a string of home runs to win consecutive games for the first time since beating the Astros on Sept. 1-2 at Wrigley Field. That's more the mark of a champion.
Now they need to beat up on a team that's not in last place.
Facing the third-place Cards, they have a chance to deliver a knockout blow against a team that has been residing on the ropes for a week.
The Cards and Cubs each rewrote their rotations to line up their best pitchers for the series that includes a day-night doubleheader Saturday. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa moved new ace Adam Wainwright from a scheduled Thursday start to the opener of the Cubs series.
That sets up a showdown against Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano, who had been on target to pitch the series finale against the Astros on Thursday but was given an extra day of rest.
''We are basically doing the same thing,'' Piniella said, ''so we are even in that regard.''
Zambrano might need the extra rest considering his next start will come on short rest Tuesday against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field.
''Let's hope it's the right move,'' Piniella said.
We have seen more routine trips to the mound made by Piniella than pitching coach Larry Rothschild. During a particularly frustrating August and early September, the fiery manager has not unleashed on his players, even if his frustration has been palpable.
The same manager who shocked some of his players in April and early May with his straightforward, brutally honest approach has become the steady hand this team needs down the stretch.
Piniella has been down this road before. He knows he has presided over better teams and has conducted business in tougher divisions.
What is it going to take for the Cubs to reach the postseason during the final 16 games?
''If we could post 85 [wins], it would seem like a pretty good number to me right now,'' Piniella said, putting the Cubs on pace to close out with a 10-6 record.
That would seem a reasonable goal should they continue to kick the Cardinals while they're down.
For a Cubs offense that is finally starting to flex its muscle outside of Wrigley Field, this series sets up well. Keep in mind, Cardinals starting pitchers have allowed at least one home run in each of the last six games, and St. Louis' rotation has allowed a .418 batting average in the last 11 games.
''It's been frustrating,'' pitching coach Dave Duncan told reporters covering the Cards. ''You see some good, but it seems like that bad keeps jumping up and biting us.''
Ankiel -- the former head-case pitcher who turned his career around by becoming a steady power-hitting outfielder -- is in a 2-for-24 slump since being at the center of the Cardinals' latest scandal involving a shipment of human growth hormone going to Ankiel in 2004.
Since the story broke last Friday, Ankiel, who was finally out of the starting lineup Thursday but entered the game late as a pinch hitter, has zero extra-base hits and eight strikeouts, while his average has dropped from .358 to .295.
Ankiel's feel-good story had been keeping the Cardinals afloat in recent weeks, and now it's over. Coming home -- after an 0-7 trip that was their worst in 35 years -- could help the Cardinals, but they are ripe for more abuse.
''I said this week right here will determine a lot,'' Piniella said, ''and believe me, it will.''
The most important part of the week starts today.
