Derrek Lee was a member of the Florida Marlins four years ago when they came to Wrigley Field and won the NL championship series. What he heard from the crowd Sunday in the Cubs’ regular-season finale at home sounded very familiar.
“This is playoff atmosphere already. I remember playing here in ’03 in the playoffs, this is pretty close right now. I’m excited if we are able to get into the playoffs what it will be like,” Lee said.
Lee homered and Carlos Zambrano earned his career-best 17th win to help the Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-0.
The victory, coupled with Milwaukee’s 7-4 loss in Atlanta, pushed Chicago’s lead in the NL Central to 31/2 games with six to go — all away from home.
The Cubs, who have won 10 of 12, are off Monday before hitting the road to play Florida and Cincinnati as they try to wrap up their first playoff berth in four years. The second-place Brewers have seven games left — all at home — against the Cardinals and Padres.
“I felt all along in September we’d get hot and we have,” Chicago manager Lou Piniella said. “We’ve still got some work to do. This is a tough little trip. … I’ll be more excited if and when we clinch. That’s what this is all about. We’re in good position, but again there is baseball to be played.”
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PLAYOFF OUTLOOK
Games ahead: 31/2
Magic number: 4 (Any combination of Cubs wins and Brewers losses that equal four would clinch the NL Central division for the Cubs)
Probable opponent: Since the wild-card winner cannot meet the first-place team in its own division in the first round, the Cubs would likely play the West Division champ, probably Arizona or San Diego, if the West also provides the wild-card winner. If the New York Mets or Philadelphia from the East takes the wild card, the Cubs would play the East Division champions, unless the Cubs surpass the West champ in total victories. But Arizona has five more wins (88) than the Cubs (83), so that’s unlikely to happen.
CUBS HITS
Is Alex Rodriguez coming to the Cubs next season as shortstop and … part-owner? New York Magazine reported Sunday that Rodriguez’s agent, Scott Boras, has already identified the leading candidate to buy the Cubs and has begun negotiations on a mega-deal. Sources said the deal could reach $30 million per year over 10 years, with part of the contract deferred toward an eventual stake in the franchise. But Boras denied the report, and Rodriguez said it was “nonsense.”
– It took all of 30 minutes for the Cubs to sell the remaining 15,000 tickets for the first two home games of the postseason. The fortunate few who got through on the phone or via the Internet assured the Cubs of sellouts for both games, which are likely to be Games 3 and 4 of the division series Oct. 6 and 7 at Wrigley Field.
– Paul and Teri Fields of Michigan City, Ind., gave birth to Wrigley Alexander Fields on Sept. 12 at an Indiana hospital. The Fields planned the name for years before their son’s birth.
– Carlos Zambrano’s forearm cramps and Ryan Theriot’s back spasms gave the Cubs reason to tone down the celebration Sunday. Neither injury is expected to keep the players from postseason action.
– The Cubs finished with a franchise-record attendance total of 3,252,462.
