For the Cubs to be the best, they'll need more from Big Z
"This is a very good pitching staff, a threat to push the Cubs not just into October, but into the World Series."
This assessment comes not from some Cubs "homer," but from Baseball Prospectus' Joe Sheehan, one of the toughest and most thoughtful critics out there.
Sheehan sees the same thing almost every observer of the North Side scene sees: The Cubs have far and away the best starting rotation and maybe the best bullpen in the National League Central.
That should give the Cubs a tremendous advantage in September and make them the favorites to win the Central, perhaps by 5 or 6 games.
But it won't happen unless somebody steps up and reels off a string of, say, 5 straight quality starts. That somebody has to be Carlos Zambrano, who needs to make like Kerry Wood and Mark Prior of 2003 and put the team on his back.
To their credit, each of the five Cubs starters has made all his starts this season, with the rotation being a model of stability since Sean Marshall came up from Iowa in late May.
Manager Lou Piniella has used his staff wisely from a pitch-count standpoint (unlike predecessor Dusty Baker) and in taking advantage off-days in the schedule to give guys an extra day of rest.
Everybody should be fresh. Crunch time should be Cubs time.
The offense, too: Lou Piniella looks as mystified as anybody by the Cubs' lack of power. Entering Thursday, they ranked 14th in the NL with just 104 home runs.
Piniella may opt to get more speed into the lineup on some days, but the Cubs will need to execute better if they're going to make that game work.
A correction: Carlos Zambrano has endured a rough month, but he's lost only 2 starts since signing his mega-contract on Aug. 17. In Thursday's game story, I wrote that Zambrano had lost 3 decisions since the signing.
Your humble servant regrets the error.
Oh, goody, more noise: When it was known as Bank One Ballpark ("The BOB"), the Arizona Diamondbacks' park was one of the most pleasant to visit in baseball.
Not anymore, and it's going to get worse.
During the recent three-game series with the Cubs, the noise level on the now-Chase Field sound system was cranked to 11. Not only that, but it was incessant.
While we were there, the Diamondbacks announced they are going to put in a monster Jumbotron that will be the largest in pro sports. I cringe when thinking about the decibel level, and I'm a veteran of about a dozen Rush concerts.
I don't know who's to blame for this trend of nonstop noise in baseball parks. In Arizona, I want to blame team president Derrick Hall, formerly of the Dodgers. In recent years, the Dodgers have marred beautiful Dodger Stadium with a wall of unnecessary sound.
Can somebody out there tell me how one can enjoy a ballgame with all this racket?
bmiles@dailyherald.com