The Chicago Cubs clinched their spot in the Major League Baseball postseason on Wednesday with a win over the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates. This marks their first playoff appearance in a full-length season (i.e. a “real” season) since 2018. It’s a little reminiscent of 1984, when they clinched a playoff berth, in Pittsburgh, for the first time in awhile
In that case, it was much longer, 39 years. But the 1984 analogies (yes, could call all of this “Orwellian”) don’t end there.
The Cubs first round opponent is almost certain to be the San Diego Padres, in a rematch of the 1984 National League Championship Series. A whole lot has changed since those days, when Wrigley Field had no lights and the Padres wore their infamous “taco colored” jerseys and hats.
The Cubs (88-67) enter Sunday in the #4 seed, up four on the #5 seed Padres (84-71) with with seven to play. This seems pretty much set, and the rest of the run in is only about establishing who has home field advantage for this series.
Even if San Diego can overtake the North-Siders, and they most certainly still can, the match-up remains the same- Wild card #1 vs Wild Card #2. Obviously, the Cubs would like to not choke down the stretch here and squander home field advantage.
Because the Cubs might be a sleeper to make the World Series. They are certainly in the conversation to reach the National League Championship Series. As pointed out on RG.org: “Chicago is making it known they’re for real, and this team could very well be the Los Angeles Dodgers’ biggest threat at returning to the Fall Classic.”
Although they are now fourth in the NL in run differential, they have spent most of the season among the top two, in all of baseball, in this department.
In order to get back to the NLCS, for the first in eight years, or their first World Series in nine years, they’ll have to outslug the Padres, and then of course whomever is waiting in the National League Division Series.
After all, they lost their closer for the season, so there is a major concern heading into October.
However, the Padres are not really all that intimidating this season, and the Cubs should be able to advance past them provided the games in that NLWCS are high-scoring. Plus the Padres have a long-history of falling short at best, choking at worst, in the postseason.
It’s all about Pete Crow-Armstrong, as he goes, so does the offense. And obviously, Kyle Tucker needs to be first and foremost healthy, and with that, on track and on point as well.
The pick: We’re saying Cubs over Padres in 4.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter