Here We Go

The White Sox still have some work to do. Whoever wins that game is going to have a tough time of it in Tampa.

On the bright side of town, the Cubs had a downtown rally complete with Jim Belushi mumbling, Da Mayor and Blago each getting their share of boos, plus old cubs (Santo, Banks, Billy Williams) and current Cubs (Hoffpauir, Lee, Marshall, Crane Kenney). Daley Plaza had a famous sculpture adorned with a Cub cap and large screen TVs while speakers hissed out some really loud highlights of days gone by.

Now that the bullshit is out of the way, it's time to get down to business. Dempster versus Lowe. Let's get it awn!

How it breaks down:

The Cubs heavily right-handed lineup faces LA's righty starters Lowe, Billingsly and Koruda. The Dodger staff has been good. Lowe hasn't lost since August. The Cubs can get runs in a number of ways and have plenty of flexibility. Jimmy Edmonds, we'll be looking to you for some big at-bats.

Dempster, Lilly, Harden and Big Z will face the much-discussed Manny Ramirez, but also a good core of hitters in Ethier, Kemp, Martin and Loney. Hopefully, Dempster is as invincible at home in the playoffs as he has been all year, while Big Z gets his act together after a tough back end of the season (despite his no-no). Lilly has shined while Z struggled and I expect big things from Harden (if only for 6 innings a pop).

The offensive edge has to go to the Cubs even with Manny on the Dodgers. The Cubs scored 155 more runs than the Dodgers, were second only to the Cards in NL team batting average (.278 vs the Dodgers .264) and led the NL in slugging percentage (.433 vs the Dodgers .399). The Cubs also led the NL in walks with 636 (vs the Dodgers 543).

The pitching is very close. Statistically, the Dodgers top 3 compare favorably to the Cubs top 3 (or 4, depending on where Big Z fits these days). Lowe is as formidable a starter as there is, but for overall consistency and experience, I lean to the Cubs here. However, I'm willing to listen to arguments. Similarly for the relief pitchers, the Dodgers have been very good throughout, while the Cubs middle relief has struggled at times. It's hard to argue against a cleanup crew of Marmol and Wood, but if the starters struggle, getting to them may prove to be a problem.

In the end, the Cubs win this series in 4 games. The massive home field advantage for the Cubs (55-26) versus a Dodger team that has been anything but stellar on the road (36-45) gets them through this series. The Cubs have proven to be the class of the NL for an entire season and if they play like that team, they win this series. The Dodgers can't be overlooked and any slips by the Cubs will be tough for them to overcome. Experience and the attitude I've seen from this club lead me to believe they are ready to play and have their eye on the prize here.