Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before the recovery process begins, as the Cubs discovered on a sunny afternoon in June at Wrigley Field.
They had a 22-31 record and were gasping for air in a clubhouse swirling with controversy. A players-only meeting had opened some psychic wounds between an old-school manager and his new-age players, and the team’s pitching ace had given literal meaning to the term “batterymate,” pummeling his catcher in the dugout and again in the clubhouse. But one small kick by Lou Piniella led to one giant leap for the Cubs.
And after they clinched the National League Central Division title Friday night-with a 6-0 victory over the Reds and the Brewers’ loss to the Padres- World Series dreams were alive and kicking.
“This is not about the manager,” Piniella said. “This is about the team, the city and the fans.”
After Piniella’s now infamous tirade against umpire Mark Wegner on June 3, the Cubs went on a 29-13 tear. Piniella has steadfastly denied the episode in June was the impetus for the turnaround.
“It just evolved,” he said. “We had to do some things to straighten ourselves out.”
But the Cubs wouldn’t be the Cubs without a little drama, and fans were in a full-scale panic mode when the team lost three straight to the lowly Marlins this week. Could they possibly blow it again?
Alfonso Soriano’s leadoff home run on Friday helped ease the tension, and Carlos Zambrano supplied seven innings of dominant pitching. After the Brewers’ loss an hour later, the celebration began in earnest.
