Wild and ugly to the end
To this point I still can’t decide who has the best chances to win the NL Wild Card spot for 2004, I think it will come down to the last weekend. The Cubs, Astros, Giants, Padres, and Marlins all have legitimate shots, yet none appears to have the talent—or has exhibited the determination—to pull away from the field. To me it looks like a pure pick’em situation…whoever can pull off a solid winning skein first will probably get the postseason tickets.
What’s so frustrating, from the perspective of a Cubs fan, is that the North Siders by all rights should have the best chance: the fewest losses, a decent schedule (even with no more off days), and the most power. Hell, they probably should have pulled away already. However, I’ve noticed that the biggest difference between this year’s team and the 2003 team is that the current roster, which probably has the better collection of talent, simply hasn’t played well as a team; bonehead baserunning, missing the cutoff man, and general failure to execute good baseball fundamentals have been disastrously commonplace. When the Cubs of 2003 were faced with a chance to put a game away or take charge of a race—like the 5-game Cardinals series in early September or the Pittsburgh series at the end of the year—they seemed to step up, yet the Cubs of 2004 have appeared to fritter away each and every such opportunity. Sure, that they remain in serious contention despite all the injuries certainly indicates their talent level, they’d better shake off the pre-season expectations and start executing at crunch time if they are to get to the postseason.