(PHOTO BY Nam Y. Huh/AP)

Our beloved Chicago Cubs finished the 2008 regular season with a 97-64 record.  97 freaking wins my friends!

Some fans hoped they might get to that 100 win milestone but that didn’t happen, and that’s alright.  It doesn’t really matter anyway, wins and losses mean nothing going into the playoffs.  Instead of going all out for those last few wins Lou Pinella used the last week to rest his regulars, give the bench players and rookies a chance to play, set up the post season staff and look at all the middle relievers to see who would fill those last few bullpen positions.

The 97 Wins by the Cubs are the highest number by the franchise since the 1945 season.  In 1945 the Cubs won 98 games to finish 98-56-1.  (Wait, there were ties back then?)  1945 was also the year of the last World Series trip for the Cubbies.  History is on our side my friends!  Good omens!

The 97 wins also the give the Cubs the best record in the National League!  Whoa!  The Phillies had 92 wins and won the National League East.  The Milwaukee Brewers had the third most wins with 90 to gain the Wild Card spot.  The Los Angeles Dodgers, who are the Cubs first round opponent, won 84 games to win the NL West.  This was less than both the Cardinals and the Astros who won 86 games but didn’t get to the playoffs.  Sorry guys but that seems to happen every year to somebody.

The winningest team in baseball for 2008 was the Los Angeles Angels, with an even 100 to win the AL West.  The Tampa Bay Rays won 97 and the AL East.  The Boston Red Sox won 95 to clinch the Wild Card.  The Twins and the White Sox  finished the season tied for first with 88 wins and matched up in a one game playoff for the AL Central title.  The Sox won an exciting 1-0 game, setting up the potential Best Delusional Cubs Fan Fantasy of All Time: The Cubs beating the White Sox in the World Series.  Oh that would be sweet.

That White Sox win on the bonus last day of the season set up the brackets for the first round in the AL.

2008 American League Division Series:

Boston Red Sox vs Los Angeles Angels

Chicago White Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays.

The Cubs lost the final game of the season 3-1 in a game where Pinella pitched almost all his bullpen guys to see who would get the final spot.  It was a meaningless game for the Cubs but incredibly important for the Milwaukee Brewers.  For the Brewers this win on the last game of the season, along with the loss by the Mets, gave the brew crew their first visit to postseason play since 1982.  It also means the Brewers and Cubs could potentially meet later on in the playoffs.  That would potentially be a hell of a series between the two rivals if it were to happen.

2008 National League Division Series:

Los Angeles Dodgers vs CHICAGO CUBS

Milwaukee Brewers vs Philadelphia Phillies

The Cubs will have to get past the “more dangerous than people think” Los Angeles Dodgers and the Brewers would have to beat the power hitting/slacker pitching of the Philadelphia Phillies for it to happen.  Round one is set: Dodgers vs CUBS and Brewers vs Phillies.  DING! DING!

Other 2008 Chicago Cubs Regular Season Facts:

The Cubs led the league in runs with 855.  This is only the 3rd time in franchise history they’ve scored more than 850 runs in a season.

The Cubs batted .278 for the season.  This is the highest team average since 1937 when they hit an incredible .287 as a team.

The most suprising offensive statistic: The Cubs led the league in walks!  If you’ve been a Cubs fan for awhile, you know that this was pretty much unthinkable before Pinella came to town.  In 2008 the Cubbies had 636 walks!

The Cubs led the league in Doubles with 329.

The Cubs pitching staff led the league in strikeouts with 1,264.  This was an incredible 8th year in a row the Cubs have led the league in strikeouts!

The Cubs had the third lowest ERA in the NL at 3.87, just behind the Brewers 3.85 and the Dodgers 3.68.

The Cubs pitchers allowed the second lowest number of runs in the NL with 671.  The Dodgers led the league in this category as well, allowing just 648.

2008 was the second year in a row the Chicago Cubs won the National League Central.  The last time the Cubs won the division two years in a row was the 1907-1908 seasons.  That’s right, it was the last time the Cubs were in the World Series.   History is on our side my friends!

The Cubs had five players with 20 or more Home Runs!

Alfonso Soriano - 29

Aramis Ramirez - 27

Geovany Soto - 23

Mark DeRosa - 21

Derrek Lee -  20

If you want to, you can count Jim Edmonds too.  He had 20 homers, but to be technical, only 19 of them were as a Cub.

The Cubs finished 33 games over .500!  Imagine that friends.  What a year!  This is the best Cubs team I have seen in my lifetime.  Unless you were around in 1969(not me), or maybe 1984(I was) this is probably the best Cubs team you’ve ever seen too.  Let’s enjoy this!

I’m excited.  GO CUBS!!!!

RELATED STORIES:

Reflections on the 2008 Season - Bleed Cubbie Blue

Cubs no spoilers, will face LA in NLDS - Chicago Tribune

(So giddy I have to make stupid puns)

I am on top of the world! I’m sure you are too, because our nationally beloved Chicago Cubs have swept the universally despised Chicago White Sox. All is well in the Universe.

The Sox now cling to their 1 1/2 game lead in their division lead while the Cubs move 4 1/2 games above the almost as despised St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cubs are also 20 games above .500 again.

The Cubs have the best record in baseball. (still)

OH LIFE IS GOOD!

I, like many other Cubs fans will look forward to rubbing it in the faces of all White Sox fans we know, whether they are co-workers, friends or family(god help them). They of course will make excuses, say Wrigley field is a sh–hole, people there are just drunk, they’ll say the games don’t matter anyway, make some more excuses and finally it will come to them talking about Bartman and how the Sox won in 2005. But it won’t matter. Like the mighty DITKA said “History is for losers”.  We know it’s the worst thing that could possibly happen to a Sox fan.  We know that for 9/10 Sox fans, they would rather the Cubs lose a game to any team then have their own team win.  A loss to the Cubs is the biggest slap a Sox fan can suffer.

The Cubs sweep the Sox! WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

—–

Photo by R.A.M.O.N.E.

—–

Related:

Class Sweeps Crass: Pinella Ignores Sox Insults - Jay Mariotti, Chicago Sun Times

Dempster pitches Cubs to Sweep of Sox - ChicagoSports.com

Cubs Sweep Sox - Champions of Chicago - Bleacher Report

Go Cubs Go photo and lego sculpture by jdb322

Wow! Despite another shakey base on balls filled performance from Jason “Don’t Even Think About Sending Me to the Bullpen or I’ll Demand a Trade” Marquis, the Chicago Cubs won their Ninth Game in a Row by defeating the San Diego Padres 9-6.

That puts the Chicago Cubs at 17 games above the 500 mark, still the best record in all of baseball!

Boy is this Fun!

The game highlights included home runs by Geovany Soto, Mark DeRosa and Alfonso Soriano, as well as some good old fashioned Cubs Bullpen Excitement. The Cubs bullpen (Kevin Hart tonight) have always known that no lead should be too secure because that wouldn’t be interesting. A win is a win in the record books though, I’ll take it!

The Cubs also pulled the double steal off on Michael Barret twice and stole two other bases from him. Lou Pinella had seen Barrett behind the plate for the Cubs in 2007 and must had savored the opportunity to run on him. You had to laugh, poor Barrett didn’t stand a chance.

Neither did the Padres.

GO CUBS!!!

—–

Moises Alou photo by Jared Kelly

Only a few months ago, Moises Alou proclaimed Bartman innocent, saying he never would have caught that foul ball in 2003 any way. It sent waves of shock across the Cubosphere. We wondered, had Cubdom overreacted in blaming Bartman for conspiring with an evil goat to curse the sacred ground of Wrigley Field and deny the Chicago Cubs a trip to he World Series?

Moises Alou had exhonorated Bartman. Suddenly Bartman wasn’t evil after all. We didn’t know what to think; we weren’t sure if we wanted it to be true. After all, this was part of the mythology of he Curse of the Cubs. It’s hard to let go.

Not so fast. This week Moises Alou has a different answer regarding that play he’s been asked about constantly for five years now.

“I had it” says Moises Alou in reference to that cursed foul ball, “I make that catch (and the playoffs are a) - different story.”

But hadn’t he just said in March “I wouldn’t have caught it anyway” to an AP reporter?

“I don’t remember that,” Alou says this week. “If I said that, I was probably joking to make (Bartman) feel better. But I don’t remember saying that.”

So Bartman, do you feel better now?

This poor guy. The Chicago Cubs franchise is cursed beyond the control of any one person. Being a Cubs fan means suffering. Years of suffering. Bartman had no control over his situation, the Curse needs the suffering of Cubs fans to survive. If fans don’t suffer, it will die. Bartman is a victim of the Cubs and their curse.

But wait, there’s still hope Steve. A hero has arrived from a far away land. The Cubs avenged their 2007 playoff loss against the Diamondbacks.

And the Cubs have won Nine in a Row.

Hang in there Bartman, the Cubs want to destroy this curse.

Go CUBS!

—–

Related:

Moises Alou Sticks to His Original Bartman Story - Palm Beach Post

The Chicago Cubs beat the Padres in San Diego to win their 8th game in a row. Eight games in a row my friends!

With the Cubs playing so damn good it’s hard to feel like I’m being delusional. The Cubs have won eight in a row and have the best record in baseball. What’s delusional about feeling good about this team? It feels so strange and unfamiliar.

Carlos Zambrano got his eighth win. He pitched another great game without having his best stuff. Big Z learned from old dog Maddux that an ace pitcher wins even when he walks guys, gives up hits, puts men in scoring position and gives up an early lead. Great pitchers find a way to keep their teams in the game.

Great pitchers like Carlos Zambrano. He gets the win AND goes 3 for 3 with an RBI to drive his batting average up to .366!

Damn Carlos. He can do it all. The Delusional Cubs fan salutes you!

Kerry Wood also got his 15th save and is starting to look more and more like the man out there, throwing 95 plus consistently for strikes.

Stay Delusional!—–

—–

Related:

Photo by Sailing Nomad on Flickr

Big Z Boosts Cubs - MLB.com

This is really starting to feel really good. As a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, I have not had the opportunity to bask in the glory of a good winning streak as often as I would have liked. So yeah, winning seven games in a row feels real good.

Even while I was on vacation in Michigan last weekend, I just had to find a radio to listen to the game because you can feel that something special is going on. Friday’s historic come from behind win by the Cubs just made me feel even more delusional.

The Cubs finished their homestand a perfect 7-0 by sweeping the Dodgers and the defending National League champion Rockies. They won all those games and looked good doing it. Good pitching, timely hitting, come from behind wins and all around solid play. This is the first time the Chicago Cubs have swept a seven game home stand since 1970, back when our pal Ron Santo was still patrolling 3rd base. That’s 38 years ago in case you’ve had to many Old Style Fan Cans to do the math. So please my friends, enjoy this streak while it lasts!

As good as that piece of trivia is, it’s nothing compared to this: The last time the Chicago Cubs had the best record in baseball was in 1908 - the last time they won the World Series.

Oh yeah. Feel that omen and love it. The baseball gods are shining on Chicago.

The Cubs are

And one more I forgot to mention: The Chicago Cubs have the best record in baseball right now.

Savor it my friends.

Stay Delusional —–

—–

Related:Photo by mss2400

Cubs Draw Comparisons to’08 Champions - Chicago Sun Times

Cubs Win Seventh in a Row - New York Times - That’s right, the New York Times, “the paper of record”, has taken notice of your 2008 Chicago Cubs.

Chicago Cubs Keep Winning at Wrigley Field - The Associated Press

Fukudome got two hits, a walk, a two our RBI and made a great catch on his big night.

Were you there? If not you can still pick on up on Ebay where dozens of people are selling theirs. I almost bought a ticket so I could get mine but I decided I’ve seen enough games on cold nights at Wrigley so I’ll be waiting to go in a couple of weeks when hopefully it will be over 50 degrees.

I know it’s only May but the Cubs needed this. We needed revenge for getting knocked out of the playoffs last year by them. We needed the Cubbies to beat the team with the best record in the majors and show they were for real. They did it, did it decisively and showed they could come from behind to beat a real good team.

It felt good. Real good.

This is a preview of things to come.

I’m feeling good right now.  Go Cubs!

Related Stories:

Cubs Send Clear Message with Sweep - The Sports Network

Cubs Sweep Diamondbacks to Share Top Spot - Reuters

This team is off to one of the hottest starts in the history of the Chicago Cubs. Call me delusional but I’m feeling good about this team. This team looks like….well, winners. They’re starting to do the things that good teams do: win one run games, win extra inning games, get timely hits, move the runner over, play aggressively, take walks, work the pitch counts, play solid defense at all positions, etc. This is not Cubs baseball. This is a team that has avoided taking walks like the plague for the past 20 years. This teams nucleus is the same one that stunk it up last April but you’d never know it.

The Cubs have padded out their lineup outside the core of Soriano, Lee and Ramirez by adding Reed Johnson, Kosuke Fukudome and Geovany Soto to the starting lineup. All of these guys are contributing big time. In fact some fans and writers think that these guys have influenced the rest of the lineup. Whatever it is, it’s working. DeRosa, Theriot and Cedeno - we haven’t forgotten about you contributions either. The whole starting lineup is contributing. This team looks built to win.

If feels damn good to have the Cubs get off to a great start.

GO CUBS!!!

—–

Related:

Cubs Flash the Power Against Brewers - MLB.com - Read it

The Chicago Cubs are only the second MLB team to reach the 10,000 win milestone. The first team to reach 10,000 wins was the Giants (currently of San Francisco and formerly of New York) with 10,192 wins.

The Chicago Cubs franchise has more wins than the New York Yankees. What does this mean? IT MEANS THE CUBS ARE BETTER THAN THE YANKEES. Just count the wins.

The Yankees may have won more World Series but winning the World Series doesn’t mean anything. C’mon, the 2006 S. Louis Cardinals won it and they stunk. The Marlins won a couple and they can’t sell out games. I think the Diamondbacks won a world series but everyone I ask just looks at me and says”Who are the Diamondbacks?”.

Lots of teams have won the world series but only two have won 10,000 games and one of those teams are the Chicago Cubs. So if you put the Cubs and the Giants side by side, who’s the better team? Obviously it’s not the Giants who had Willie Mays and that steroid guy what’s his name and that’s it. The Cubs had Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins, Ron Santo, Ryne Sandberg, Cap Anson, Stan Hack, Gabby Hartnett, Mordecai Brown, etc, etc, etc. The Cubs are better. The Chicago Cubs are the greatest baseball franchise of all time.

Back to Win number 10K for the Cubs. The Cubs needed 10 innings to get win number 10,000. The winning pitcher for victory number 10,000 was Kerry Wood who blew the save because he’d rather have the historic win. Carlos Marmol got the save but it’s the winning pitcher that everyone will remember. 10,000 wins, 10 innings, 100 years of waiting for the world series win. Notice all those one’s and Zeros?

Something is going on here. I think the evidence points to the fact that this is the Cubs year. A hero has risen from a far away land. A prophet speaks. Ronny Cedeno hit a grand slam. The Cubs lead the National League in on base percentage and pitches per at bat.

The signs continue to point to one thing: This is the Cubs year.

That or the apocalypse is nigh.

GO CUBS!!!

Photo by dvmthws23