Chicago Cubs right on target
From Day 1 of spring training until today, the Chicago Cubs have "embraced the target."
They've embraced the target of chasing a World Series championship, and they've embraced being the target that other teams want to beat.
Here is something else for them to embrace: Game 6.
Yes, Game 6.
The mere mention of the words still can cause Cubs fans to shudder, given the disastrous developments in Game 6 of the 2003 National League championship series, when the Cubs were five outs away from the World Series with a 3-0 lead, only to see the Florida Marlins explode for 8 runs in the eighth inning to win that game and also Game 7 at Wrigley Field.
That year the Cubs frittered away a 3-1 series lead, having lost Game 5 in Florida before dropping the final, fateful two at Wrigley.
The 2016 Cubs have battled back from a 2-1 deficit in this year's NLCS against the Dodgers and come home to Wrigley Field for Game 6 leading three games to two.
A victory Saturday night - no small order against Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw - will punch a ticket to the World Series for the Cubs for the first time since 1945.
True to form, Cubs manager Joe Maddon did not shy away from the talk of clinching when I put the question to him after Thursday night's 8-4 victory at Dodger Stadium.
"Of course," he said. "That's been our goal all year, and now that we're very close to it, I want us to go out and play the same game, like you saw (Thursday night).
"I anticipate our guy (Kyle Hendricks) is going to pitch well. I anticipate their guy is, too. We need to catch the baseball.
"So, yeah, we're not going to run away from anything. It's within our reach right now. But I do want us to go after it as though it's - again, hate to say it, but, Saturday. Let's just go play our Saturday game and see how it falls."
The Cubs do have some things going for them. They have veteran leaders such as pitcher Jon Lester, who has World Series-winning experience and who has pitched like an ace this October.
They also have young players such as infielder Javier Baez and catcher Willson Contreras, who don't seem to know it's crunchtime.
Shortstop Addison Russell, all of 22, has found his stroke after a rough start to the playoffs, with home runs in each of the past two games.
Lester said he doesn't need to give the kids any advice.
"They don't need anything, man," he said. "These guys have been doing this all year. I don't even know why I'm up here (on the interview stand) with these guys (Baez and Russell). These guys won the game for us tonight. I was just kind of along for the ride.
"So, obviously, we all know what we have in front of us with Kershaw going into Game 6. And we're going to do the same thing all year: show up on - what is it? - I don't even know what day today is. Show up on Saturday and be ready to play and give it our best.
"Hopefully he's not the good Kershaw, and we get kind of the mediocre guy that gives up a few runs and we're able to hold them where they're at."
Along with Russell, first baseman Anthony Rizzo got off to a poor playoff start, but he had good at-bats in Games 4 and 5, hitting a homer and 2 singles in Game 4 and an RBI double in Game 5.
If the Cubs can get what they've been getting out of Baez, and Rizzo and Russell stay hot, they might be able to get to Kershaw before they would have to face lefty Rich Hill in a Game 7. MVP candidate Kris Bryant is 6-for-19 with 3 doubles in the NLCS, and he's not to be forgotten.
"I think anybody in our lineup can turn the game our way," Baez said. "When Riz and Addy didn't start hot, everybody was asking about them. They're both hot now, and we scored a lot of runs for our pitchers."
Indeed they did, with 10 in Game 4 and 8 in Game 5 after being shut out in the second and third games of the series.
Speaking of numbers, age seems to be only that for the Cubs, according to the 32-year-old Lester.
"I think, really, at this point in time, if you played a full season, we all kind of feel the same, regardless of age," he said. "I think the biggest thing for us, a lot of us, is that we have kind of the same mindset. We don't really care. We're out there just playing hard and trying to make it to tomorrow."
For that mindset, Lester credits the manager.
"I think that goes back to Day 1 with Joe, back last year: 'Hey, let's grind it out every day and then see what happens, and then show up the next day and do the exact same thing,' " Lester said.
"We have a lot of talent on this team, but we have a lot of guys that are dirt ballers that get down and dirty and make a lot of plays and have dirty at-bats for us, too."
• Follow Bruce's Cubs and baseball reports on Twitter @BruceMiles2112.