CHICAGO (MCT) — Baseball is a crazy game, and the Chicago Cubs are Exhibit A.
On June 25, the Cubs were 24 games below .500 and on a pace to lose a franchise-record 108 games.
After Thursday’s 4-2 victory over the Miami Marlins, the Cubs are 14-5 in their last 19 games, the best record in the majors the last three weeks.
Is the recent hot streak real, or just a summer mirage now that the pressure is off?
“What are we in the wild-card (race)?” Jeff Baker asked. “Eleven, twelve (games back)? I’m not saying we’re going to win a wild card, but we’re playing better baseball. Obviously there are (trade) rumors and whatnot. We joke around in here we’re going to start adding pieces.”
Of course, the irony of the Cubs’ turnaround is they went from challenging the franchise record for ineptitude to having the game’s best record over a brief stretch at a time when management is deciding which players to deal for prospects.
With Ryan Dempster and Matt Garza as their primary poker chips, left-hander Paul Maholm seldom is mentioned in speculation. But after winning four straight, he’s certain to draw plenty of interest as well.
After his last loss, June 23 to the Diamondbacks in Arizona, Maholm answered to critical fans on Twitter who ripped his outing.
“Yes I sucked,” he tweeted. “Thanks for pointing that out. Hang with ’em and see you in five days.”
He has gone 4-0 with an 0.89 ERA since, outpitching Mark Buehrle on Thursday to give the Cubs the series and a 5-1 homestand.
Maholm allowed one run on five hits over eight innings, improving to 8-6 with a 4.09 ERA.
Alfonso Soriano’s solo home run ignited a four-run fifth inning off Buehrle, and Maholm was never really in danger after that. With a 4-1 lead in the eighth, Reed Johnson made a diving catch in right off Jose Reyes and Maholm got out of the inning unscathed.
“That was huge,” Maholm said. “If that gets by him, I’m probably done. When he hit it, I kind of gave up in my mind that he got a triple. Reed obviously is a very good defensively and made an unbelievable catch. It was a big boost for all of us.”
The Cubs have gotten solid defense from all corners lately. Soriano made a running catch to rob Carlos Lee in the fourth, and Luis Valbuena continued his standout play at third.
It’s almost as though the Cubs have gone through a rabbit hole and come out the other end as a completely different team.
“Obviously, at the beginning of the year, it was going in the other direction for us,” Johnson said. “We had losing streaks and you’re trying so hard to get out of those losing streaks, you keep going in the wrong direction. When you’re winning ballgames you want to keep that good feel, and that’s really what’s going on right now. … Hopefully it shows that we’re not as far away as we thought.”
Cubs manager Dale Sveum pointed to the improved pitching as the key, while Baker mentioned the pitching and June 26 call-up of Anthony Rizzo.
“A lot of credit goes to our coaching staff,” Baker said. “They’ve been the same since day one. Even when we scuffled and weren’t playing well, they were the same people, day in and day out. Guys are playing good baseball. It’s fun.”
