From Wrigley

So I’m back from England, California, you name it and that means another night up in the 5-2-8. Hindsight is always 20/20 but the ‘07 Cubs might have gassed that game last night and sent Carlos into a tailspin. If it were ‘06 we probably would have headed for the gates early to avoid another night ending in tears, so to speak. The key moment? A classic manufactured run, the kind that don’t make the Baseball Tonight highlights but keep the ‘W’ column clicking.

It started in the 8th with an error, a hit batsman, and an epic ten pitch At Bat involving Fukodome and Heilman, resulting in a single and loaded bases. Two ugly outs later, Cedeno lashed a neat single up the middle and for all intents and purposes the Mets were dead. Jorge Sosa proved it by coming in and serving up a home run pitch to Pie.

Point is, as a Cubs fan, you can now feel comfortable when the balance of the game hangs on guys like Cedeno/Theriot/Fontenot et al. I’m of the opinion that these guys are growing up quite nicely in front of us, and it’s no longer “leave it up to the bullpen” or “leave it up to the 3-4-5 hitters”. Whether it’s the stretch-run and playoff experience of last year, better chemistry, confidence, whatever, I don’t know. But I do know this- no more hiding behind the couch with one eye closed waiting for the worst. If this team continues to seal games like last night’s, they’ll only get stronger as the year goes on. And that’s bad news if you’re listening in Milwaukee or Saint Louis.