The Cubs embarked on their long journey to October with a surprising proclamation from pitcher Ryan Dempster on the opening day of spring training.
“I think we’re going to win the World Series,” Dempster said matter-of-factly as he stood outside the club’s training complex.
It was an audacious statement, considering the Cubs had been swept in the first round of the 2007 playoffs and hadn’t won a World Series since 1908.
Dempster earned the nickname “Madame Cleo” from his teammates for his bold prediction, putting the onus on the Cubs to get the job done.
Seven months later, they have completed the first step toward attaining their championship dreams, clinching the National League Central Division title with a 5-4 victory Saturday over the St. Louis Cardinals before a packed house on a picture-perfect afternoon at Wrigley Field.
The players celebrated with elan, but they also knew Step 1 was nearly a foregone conclusion in the minds of most. They were expected to win the division from Day 1, and the season won’t be considered a success unless they finally end the 100-year title drought.
Nevertheless, manager Lou Piniella challenged that theory Saturday, calling it “unfair” and “bull” to judge the season on whether the Cubs win the World Series.
“Let me tell you this: This team has played hard all year,” Piniella said. “They’ve treated the people in Chicago to a damn good season of baseball. And believe me, they all want to win as much as I do. But the problem is there’s only one team that can win. And for people to say this team is built for the World Series and if it doesn’t win the World Series it’s not a successful year? I just don’t buy that, period.”
So while the partying began in earnest Saturday night, it occurred with the understanding there were bigger challenges on the horizon that had to be met.
“You never want to get too high,” shortstop Ryan Theriot said. “I know when I was in college [at LSU] and we won the SEC tournament and then the regionals, we didn’t even celebrate, because that wasn’t our goal. Our goal was to win the [College] World Series.
“It’s a little different here because the season is so long and there are so many good teams and so many good players. But a happy, quiet [celebration] would be good, and then we save the big one for another time.”
The Cubs enter the postseason as favorites to win their first pennant since 1945, though they will face constant reminders that history is not on their side. They have won only one postseason series since the 1908 championship — a first-round victory over Atlanta in 2003 — and the ubiquitous mention of curses, hexes and black cats already has begun to surface in TV commercials promoting postseason baseball.
But the past hasn’t fazed this particular group. These Cubs aren’t ready to be lumped in with the spectacular flops of 1969 or 2003.
“We don’t want to be the team that makes a big deal of something and doesn’t follow through,” center fielder Jim Edmonds said. “We’ve all seen collapses and crashes in the past, and we don’t want to be anywhere near that.”
For the Cubs to avoid adding to their list of notorious collapses, they will have to continue to play the way they have throughout the regular season — with grit, determination and an attitude that they’re all in this thing together. The first time they really came together as a club was on a March morning in Mesa, Ariz., when the players were stretching on the freshly mowed grass at HoHoKam Park.
Strength coach Tim Buss, a relatively low-salaried employee in charge of making millionaires train seriously and strenuously, was surprised to see the entire team gathered on the field at the scheduled time, a rare sight. Then third baseman Aramis Ramirez pointed to a wrecked car parked near the right-field fence and asked Buss what his car was doing there.
“I said, ‘It’s not my car,'” Buss recalled. “It really didn’t look like my car. Then the closer I looked, I said, ‘That’s my car!’ And I panicked because it was my wife’s car, and she specifically told me, ‘Don’t let them mess with my car.'”
The players not only messed with the car, they destroyed it. Carlos Zambrano took a sledgehammer to the windshield, and others took turns putting dents in the sides and smashing out windows. Everyone laughed at Buss’ pained reaction, and he moped through the morning wondering what to tell his wife. An hour or so later, he saw the 50 or so players in the weight room and screamed at them to get out.
Dempster then tossed Buss a set of keys to a new SUV, which players had chipped in to buy for him, an act of generosity that turned his grumpy mood around.
“It’s a special group of guys,” Buss said. “They’re all about coming in and getting their job done, but also about being a family.”
The key to success for this Cubs family has been the willingness to sacrifice ego for the common goal of winning. Stars and role players share the same attitude, a scenario that did not always play out on some Cubs teams from the recent past.
“I haven’t been around a team in my years in professional baseball, which goes back to ’91, that I feel stronger about in terms of character and seeing them staying focused on the big picture,” general manager Jim Hendry said. “I haven’t heard or seen any selfishness, guys worrying about a batting title or home runs or arbitration cases coming. I don’t see any acts of selfishness on the field.
“I’ve seen a couple of times we’ve gone through skids here and they get themselves off the mat and came right back at you a little harder. It’s a really great clubhouse for human beings and character, and as a GM it’s a lot more rewarding when success comes with that.”
Winning a division title is a nice reward for all the hard work the players have put in, but there’s still a long way to go to the finish line. Everyone knows exactly what’s at stake. Cubs fans are thirsting for the happy ending that has eluded them their entire lives, and nothing less than a World Series will suffice.
“I know the city deserves a [Cubs] champion and deserves some victories and a fun finish here in October,” Theriot said. “They’ve rallied behind us through hard times, so hopefully we can go out there and return the favor. This place would go nuts.”
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psullivan@tribune.com
IN SPORTS
*Morrissey: Title only a goal.
*Downey: Cubs barge in.
