Cubs take aim at postseason after making big leap

Arrieta was not a first overall pick, but he led baseball with 21 wins this season. The front office has done its job, taking advantage of losing in a way that’s actually a testament to the ugly strategy.

Will the Cubs be able to score late if they need to? One thing is for sure: The rookie-laden Cubs won’t be intimidated. On Monday night he tweeted at one: “Bring out all the reinforcements”. Tribune Company, which bought the team in 1981, had the marketing smarts to turn the Cubs into a financial juggernaut, but seemed to forget that the point of baseball is to win.

The cheapest ticket in Pittsburgh Wednesday is listed at $98 – a $30 boost from last year’s game against the future World Series champion Giants.

“It’s special”, Cole said. “Go out and play”. So they have the ability to mix and match a little bit and get aggressive in how they use that bullpen which could nullify potentially any advantage that the Astros might have in starting.

The word in most media circles, and on the north-side of Chicago, is that Cubs Jake Arrieta is unbeatable. We deserve to win more than the Pirates!

“Sequencing is a really big factor in preparing for a team that you have faced several times”.

Spoken, as always, like a veteran.

Pittsburgh not only enjoys the comfortable confines of home in this Wild-Card matchup they have the experience of postseason play under their belt, especially when it comes to one-game sudden-death tilts. I counter with 100+ years of losing! I think it’s just kind of a unique way to start interaction within the fans bases or with the players and fans.

Any missteps will be magnified against Arrieta, whose historic second half propelled the Cubs to 97 victories, a number Maddon admitted is “pretty extravagant”. It’s going to be a terrific game that you won’t want to miss.

ESPN reported that the 35-year-old pitcher will likely not be a part of Chicago’s postseason roster, but his strong finish to the regular season might be enough for him to be part of the pitching rotation in the playoffs. Those 12 starts include a no-hitter against the NL West division-winning LA Dodgers, and two impressive appearances against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Maddon said he has watched Arrieta transform himself from a talented pitcher to a dominant pitcher this year, and it mostly has to do with his confidence growing along with his success. Can you blame him? His brand of baseball and philosophy is absolutely ideal for this team.

“You’re thrown right into the fire”, Bryant said. “You have to embrace that stuff”.

Lester’s hands-off approach is par for the course.

“The Cubs have been the hype all year because of how well they’ve done”, McCutchen said before a workout on Tuesday at PNC Park. It’s hard to imagine a casual fan not rooting for the team that wins that game. Then there was Jason Heyward who they acquired in an off-season trade with Braves and all he did was come in and hit. Don’t let the pressure of the moment exceed the pleasure. Expect infielder Starlin Castro to have his hand in this game.

“He’s in the best shape of any player I’ve seen, at any age”, team president David Samson said. Their goal Wednesday night is to do just that. 500 at the end of April, when they legitimately should have been four under. Cole, even though only two games under his belt in postseason, does have a bit of an edge. “It’s just going come down to executing”.