Welcome Back
Things feel a little different this week around this team, no? A 28 scoreless inning streak will make people feel a whole lot better, that's for sure. More than that though are the two comeback performances from Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. Showing that they are both healthy and effective, their dominating performances have served notice to the rest of the league that the Cubs will be a huge factor in the
playoff race.
The Cubs have a tough stretch coming up with Washington coming in this weekend and then a roadtrip to Atlanta and Florida before the break, but I don't think it matters who the Cubs play right now. As long as they pitch well, they'll have a chance to pile up some wins. Offensively, the Cubs have been able to come up with the big hit when needed during this winning streak and you feel pretty good when you can
hand the ball to Ryan Dempster with a lead in the 9th.
Just think if Corey Patterson and Neifi Perez can get it going atop the lineup how it would set everything else up. The 1 and 2 spots in the order might be THE keys for the Cubs in the second half. Everything
else seems to be, at least for now, falling into place quite nicely.
Len