7 Ways the Cubs Can Make It Into the Postseason

Let’s face it — things are in shambles right now after the Cubs lost another game (and another starting pitcher to injury) yesterday before getting the heck out of Denver. Aramis Ramirez is either going to be out 3-4 games if he gets a cortizone shot, or at least two weeks if he ends up on the DL. This while the Cardinals play the likes of the Pirates and Reds. Ugh.

Even in the midst of this agony, though, there are a variety of reasons to keep cheering this team. To borrow (and slightly change) Dennis Green’s famous line, the Cubs are not who we thought they were. Still, if they do a few of the things on this list, they might end up where we thought they would…in the postseason.

1) Geovany Soto Gets Hot. Not like normal Soto hot, which is 2-4 with an RBI double on Day 1 and 1-5 with 2 K’s on Day 2. I mean he hits .400 in September and picks up the slack from Aramis Ramirez, whether Aram is in or out of the order that month. Geo should be minty fresh after all the down time he’s had this season, and if he isn’t hiding an injury he should want to be in RBI situations. The patience at the plate is good (even better if he is batting 4th or 5th), but we need Geo knocking in runs in addition to getting on base.

2) Bud Selig moves the Rockies, Giants, Marlins, and Braves to the American League. This one is for all the pessimists, including CubsOptimist on the Cubscast Message Board, who on Sunday said “I don’t even see playoffs after today’s crappy game against the Rockies.” That was before Monday’s game. Come away from the ledge, sir, and enjoy daydreaming about Troy “They Call Him Tulow” Tulowitzki facing Royals pitching.

3) Bud Selig does nothing, and the Cubs man up in this Wild Card race. Take a look at the standings. Are you telling me the Cubs can’t gain some ground on the Giants, Marlins, and the offensively-gifted-only-vs.-the-Cubs Rockies? Yes, yes we can. The Marlins play in a better division, the Rockies won’t get 3 consecutive quality starts the rest of the season, and the Giants have a ridiculously tough schedule the rest of the way. We got this.

4) More Fire, Less Tea Party. The Cubs haven’t played with a sustained fire since the 4-game winning streak that included all kinds of comeback wins vs. the White Sox and then Kerry Wood and the Indians. That should have been the turning point, but it wasn’t. There have been at least 5 should-have-been-turning-points this year. Still, though, the Cubs act like the opposing team isn’t there to beat the daylights out of them. Notable exceptions being Milwaukee and St. Louis. Newflash: the rest of the NL doesn’t want the Cubs to win against them. Cubs players are often congenial, joking with the other team’s infielders. Get a room and sign autographs for each other. On the field, yell at somebody.

5) Stop Watching the Baseball and Pick Up a Coach. This has been ailing the Cubs all season long. At different times it’s been injury-related, but now it’s readily apparent that the Cubs simply aren’t willing to run hard if they’ve outsmarted the baseball and the two coaches hired to help them around the basepaths. Cubs players must know more than Matt Sinatro and Mike Quade about when the ball is going foul, going to be caught, going to be thrown, etc. Otherwise they would never put the entire coaching staff, broadcasting team, and an entire nation of Cubs fans through this hell. This is so little league it’s not even funny.

6) Sweep the Cardinals at Busch Stadium in September. It’d be easier for Jeremy Piven to get mercury poisoning from eating too much high-quality St. Louis sushi than for the Cubs to pull this off. If they do, though, they’ve got a sporting chance at not only leapfrogging the Cards, but also knocking them out of the playoffs if the Brewers are close (though we travel to Milwaukee immediately after playing the Cardinals). Winning this series will anger Joe Morgan, and if he questioned his undying love of Albert Pujols, if only for a fleeting second, it would be worth it just for that.

7) Ryan Dempster and Rich Harden Pitch Like It’s 2008. Remember the guy that started the Cubs playoff opener last season? Hint: He’s not currently on the DL. Ryan Dempster has battled a lot of crap this season, on and off the field, but if he can keep winning (he’s won 2 in a row) there’s not a better stopper on this club. We saw just how determined Demp was last season, and we need that urgency now. Harden has been an enigma since his 2nd start — we just need the batters that face him to get some worse results. The K’s are nice but if he can throw ground balls, that’s preferable to a ball that is either going to miss a bat or get hit out of the park.

So there it is. There are probably 1000 more things the Cubs can do to put themselves in a better position to make the playoffs, but this list touches on some key areas and specific players that I hope improve so that the Cubs have a shot.

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