Cubs Need To Make A Move

There always seems to be a stretch in each Cubs season where they stumble a bit and drop a few games to teams they should technically beat. It seems like we may be in the middle of that stretch right now, going 2-3 against the God's Team and the Natty Lights last week.

This is the time where the current Cubs team needs to show us that it's less like last season's team and more like...well...more like none of the other Cub teams that have come and gone over the last century.

I can't very well criticize Mel Kiper Jr. for never going out on a limb with any of his predictions and not make any of my own. So I'll put it down on paper (er...electronic paper?) and say that over their next 32 games (which would bring us to the end of May), the Cubs are going to go 22-9. And to really establish ourselves as one of the best teams in the NL, we're going to have to have a stretch like that, as next month's schedule is pretty weak. The combined record of the Cubs' opponents through the end of May is 114-117. Take away the record of the only dangerous team in that stretch (the Diamondbacks at 18-7) and that record falls to a not-so-great 96-110. Add to that the fact that 18 of those 31 games are against division opponents, and it seems like the next month is the time for the Cubs to really separate themselves from the pack, starting today against the Brewers. Notorious Cub Killer Ben Sheets is supposed to start if he doesn't separate his shoulder getting out of bed, but a loss to him is already factored into my prediction.

You heard it here first: Cubs will go 22-9 through the end of May and will go into June with a record of 38-18.

Rockies in 6.