Relief sets in as Cubs finally get to celebrate

CINCINNATI - OK, so it wasn't a textbook clinching celebration. Like the Cubs cared?

It wasn't until about an hour after their 6-0 win over the Reds at Great American Ballpark that the Cubs at long last wrapped up the National League Central title when the Brewers lost 6-3 to San Diego in Milwaukee.

The Cubs gathered around the big screen TV sets in the clubhouse, cheering on the Padres.

"Man, that was tough," Derrek Lee said. "I didn't really like watching. You have no control over what's happening, but it was fun to see the guys celebrating like that."

When Milwaukee's Craig Counsell bounced into a double play to end a threat in the sixth inning with the Padres clinging to a 3-2 lead, Lee, Ryan Dempster and Kerry Wood leaped off the couch and pumped their fists in the air.

"Yeah, this is a little different," Alfonso Soriano said. "I'm not used to this waiting and watching on TV."

When Padres closer Trevor Hoffman retired the Brewers in the ninth, the clubhouse exploded in wild celebration.

"I'm not going to lie, we played Hells Bells in here when Hoffman came in," Dempster shouted.

That's the song by AC/DC that is played at Padres home games whenever Hoffman enters.

The clubhouse celebration might have been extra intense considering the emotional two-month pennant race the Cubs were involved in with Milwaukee that was nip and tuck all the way to the final weekend of the season.

"Nobody said this was going to be easy," pitching coach Larry Rothschild said.

"There's a lot of relief; you hit the nail right on the head," Ryan Theriot said. "I think everybody is so relieved at this point and so excited to have this opportunity to go on and try to win a world championship."

The Cubs haven't won a World Series since 1908, in case anyone needed to be reminded. They haven't played in a World Series since 1945.

"I don't want this to stop," Dempster said. "I want to do this three more times. We want to win this World Series more than anything in the world."

With thousands of their own fans cheering in the ninth inning and making Great American Ballpark sound like Wrigley Field, Dempster ended the game by getting Buck Coats to hit into a double play, Theriot to Mark DeRosa to Lee.

"To be out there in the ninth inning, I felt like I was at Wrigley Field," Dempster said.

The Cubs fans roared in the top of the eighth inning when the scoreboard posted San Diego taking its first lead of the night in Milwaukee.

"Let's go Padres," was the chant.

"The fans were a weapon for us every time they put up the Padres score," Lee said.

The celebration on the field was subdued with the victory only clinching a tie for the division title at that moment.

"We'll keep our fingers crossed," manager Lou Piniella said.

An hour later, those fingers were wrapped around a champagne bottle.

"This is unbelievable, I'm so happy to be in the playoffs," Carlos Zambrano said. "It's going to be fun to see if we can win a World Series."

Piniella remembered wrapping up a division title in a similar way while with the Reds.

"In Cincinnati, we clinched on a Saturday afternoon in a rain delay," Piniella said. "We had to finish the game before celebrating."