With the Chicago Cubs magic number down to two games, Cubs fans are beginning to brace themselves for another post season run which would be the team’s third straight appearance in the MLB playoffs.
With only seven games remaining in the regular season and the Cubs sitting on a comfortable 5.5 game lead in the division, the team finds themselves going into their last road series of the year in arguably the best place you could imagine when you’re on the cusp of clinching your second straight division title.
St. Louis.
The Cubs have absolutely owned the Cardinals for the past two and a half seasons posting a dominant record of 30-18 against the Cardinals since July 2015. I can’t imagine there are any Cardinals fans reading this article right now but if they are, I can guarantee you they just mumbled something to the effect of, “When you have 11 rings, then you can talk”, after they read their team’s W-L record against the Cubs.
The Cubs open up a four-game set against the Red Birds and with a win tomorrow, the Cardinals would be mathematically eliminated from the division. Eliminating the Cardinals does not mean the Cubs clinch but since the Cardinals and Brewers are still yet to play each other, it’d take a small miracle for the Cubs not to clinch at Busch Stadium. As exciting as it is for fans to think about the Cubs popping champagne in that dump of a city, there are a handful of players that are apparently just as excited.
The normally reserved second baseman Ben Zobrist shared his thoughts about clinching in St. Louis after the Cubs took three of four (and essentially buried) the other team in front of St. Louis — the Milwaukee Brewers.
2) “We intend to clinch there. For a lot of the guys that have been around here for a long time it’s going to be very satisfying."
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) September 24, 2017
Satisfying is an understatement.
It would only add to one of the best rivalries in professional sports and would undoubtedly spurn Cardinals fans to log onto twitter.com and spew illogical bullshit about winning rings in the 1930’s. That venting is a symptom from realizing their beloved Cardinals are no longer the team to beat in the NL Central and it appears it will stay that way for some time.
Hopefully they have a good selection of champagne in St. Louis (although my guess would be they only offer a whole bunch of Mumms.)
