I've always thought it's crazy to read too much into how a team did during Spring Training and using that to predict how the regular season is going to pan out, especially when it's impossible to predict injuries, etc. That's why I, as I have since I was a young child, "predict" that the Cubs are going all the way this year :)

I obviously have been wrong every single year of my life except for one, but boy did it feel good that one year I was right.

Who do you have going all the way this year? And is your predictions based on knowledge or your gut reaction to always root for your favorite team?

It's hard for anyone to believe this, but the Cubs just won their first playoff series at Wrigley Field. Ever.

I'm a die hard Cubs fan, but I must admit that even I didn't know that we were that bad for so long. The Cubs have played at Wrigley Field since 1916 and have never, not once, won a playoff series there. The fact they eliminated our hated rival to win the first playoff series at home makes it that much sweeter.

The highlight of the night, outside of the third out to end the game, was Kyle Schwarber's absolutely insane 419 foot bomb that would have probably gone another one hundred feet had it not gotten stuck on the top of the scoreboard. The home run put them up for good and they didn't look back.

I am so glad that the official MLB Youtube page put it up on their site so everyone can get a chance to watch it:

On to the NLCS!

Home field advantage didn't help the Pirates or Yankees and both teams scored a combined total of zero runs in their Wild Card games.

My beloved Cubs took the early lead and didn't look back. Jake Arrieta pitched a complete game (which is damn near unheard of in post season play) and showed any and everyone who didn't know him before that he was a force to be reckoned with. After getting hit by a Pirates pitcher in the top of the 7th inning, which resulted in bench clearing talk fest (with one punch thrown), Arrieta poured salt on the Pirates wound and stole second. He then returned to the mound and finished the game.

The Pirates had a real shot to do some damage in the 6th inning when they had the bases loaded with only one out, but Arrieta was able to compose himself and force an inning ending double play. It was all downhill for them from there.

On the AL Side, Houston held the Yankees to just three hits and were never in any real danger. The Yankees only had a runner left in scoring position one time and never really challenged Houston after they took the early lead.

Both teams now go on to play the number one seeds in each division.

The Cubs have never (seriously, never) played the Cardinals, their hated rival, in the post season and this series will be one for the ages. There is perhaps no greater rivalry in sports (I know I'm biased) than the Cards and Cubs. And while the Cards may have the home field advantage, the Cubs have been on absolute fire these past two months and haven't lost a game since September 26th. It's going to be one hell of a series.

Houston will be heading to Kansas City and I have a feeling that series will be a little less dramatic. KC is one hell of a team and the hands down favorite to make it to the World Series.

It's hard to believe, but this division still has the best three records in the entire MLB. If the Cards, Pirates, and Cubs finish the regular season with the best three records then this would be the first time in the history of major league baseball that three teams from the same division finished with the best three records.

Think about that for a second. A sport that has been around since the Cincinnati Red Stockings formed the first professional team in 1869 has never, not once, had three teams from the same division have the best three records in all of baseball.

There's only a handful of games left in the regular season and the Cubs currently have a one game "lead" on the Toronto Blue Jays and a two game "lead" on Kansas City. If they can finish off the season strongly then the NL Central will make major league history. (It helps that the Cubs final five games are against two of the worst teams in the major leagues.)

Regardless of where your team loyalties lie, you have to admit that this would be an extremely exciting thing for the sport. It's just sad that two of the teams (Pirates and Cubs) have only a one game Wild Card to make it further into the playoffs. That just seems so unfair to basically punish two of the three teams that have the best three records in all of baseball because they happen to come from the same division!

The NL Central is by far the best division in baseball. There's no doubt about it. And I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the World Series champions will come from this division.

If you take a look at the numbers than I have a feeling you may agree with me. Only one team in the AL--Kansas City--has a better record than the third place team in the NL Central. And only one other team in the NL--Los Angeles--has the same record as the third place team in the NL Central.

I willfully admit that I am pretty partial to the NL Central considering I am rooting for my Lovable Losers to go all the way this year, but I also try to stay as realistic as possible when I make predictions. And I'm predicting that the World Series champions will be from the NL Central.

My sincere hope is that it's the Cubbies, but I'll write another post on that when and if they make it to the World Series. I'm really trying to not get ahead of myself just yet!

joetemple Wrote: I know it's just the preseason. And the real stuff doesn't start for another whole month. But... I enjoy the warm up games. Rosters get fine tuned. Guys push and vie for jobs. Fantasy football talk gets into full swing, and drafts happen. Teams get hyped... just all that. I'm a big fan of this time a year.

The only thing that excites me about preseason is that it means we are only one month away from the real deal! I just have a hard time getting too excited to watch a game that means nothing and is typically no predictor of how a team will play in the regular season, but it does start getting me ready for the regular season that will be here before we know it.

Dallasite Wrote: Oh yeah. No doubt. They can totally steal the second seed from the Pirates. And if the Pirates own the Cards in their remaining 9 games, that division will be totally up for grabs.

We've been on a roll lately. Six wins in a row capped off with a 5-0 rout of the Pirates last night. We're only 3 back from the Pirates and 9 back from St. Louis. It'll be tough to catch St. Louis unless they have a complete and total collapse, but I can definitely see us catching and surpassing the Pirates by the end of the season.

Dallasite Wrote: Was more pointing out that the Pirates are most uniquely positioned to knock the Cards out of first place, because of the head to head games. Too bad the Cubs only play the Cards like 3 more times the rest of the season, or it would be an even more interesting division race to the end.

If we can get past this and the next series against the Giants without losing too many then we are in great shape. We have a few series with teams that are near or at the bottom of their division and then some series with teams that are well below 500. We have two more series with the Cards and those might make or break us in the home stretch.

I'm feeling pretty damn optimistic lately, but I'm not allowing myself to go overboard. We Cubs fans have grown too accustomed to getting our hopes up only to see them dashed over and over and over again.