What a Difference a Year Makes

This Cubs team is 81-50 through 131 games, the franchise's ninth-best start (if you can call it a start) through the first 131, in history. Last year, the Cubs were 67-64. So, what is different about this Cubs team as opposed to last year's? What could have made that 14 game improvement over last year's team? Kosuke Fukudome? Jim Edmonds? Jeff Samardzija? Chad Gaudin? Rich Harden? Reed Johnson?
Sure, all of those guys are good, but some of them haven't been with this team all year, and the others haven't been 14 games better than their replacements. Maybe it is all of those guys combined, but I just feel more confident about this team than last year's.
This is a deeper team than the '07 one. When Bill Murray's brother is your fourth starter, you know that you have a strong starting rotation. Mark DeRosa is having a career year at second, Geovany Soto has emerged as one of the best catchers in the NL. Also, last year the Cubs relied mostly on Daryle Ward to come through in late game pinch-hit situations. This year, Lou Piniella could use an updated version of these, and probably still win. So, all in all, I trust this Cubs team a lot more than I trusted last year's. It's Gonna Happen!

The Curse is Broken!!! (no, not that curse)

The Cubs have finally broken through and won one! The curse, the dreaded curse, the curse that has stood for multiple years, is finally broken! Smashed! Destroyed! Obliterated! Decimated! All on a Daryle Ward 3-run homer! Amazing! But, unfortunately, we still have to win a world series to break the actual curse. I was just talking about the curse of the Cubs in Florida. They had lost nine straight in Florida (including at the Rays in June) until Lou's favorite pinch-hitter ripped an 0-1 fastball into the seats. Our friend Paul Sullivan described him as smelling "like a brewery" during postgame interviews, due to his teammates' beer shower (combine weight, game-winning homer, and smelling like beer, and we've got ourselves another Prince Fielder).
But, why is it that it was so impossible for our Cubbies to beat the Marlins or the Rays? Probably bad luck. Every team has its hot and cold streaks, and the Cubs always played in Florida during a cold streak. Or maybe the Cubs decided to suck right then (betting scandal?). We may never know.