Chicago Cubs Face Pirates In First Postseason Game In Seven Years: Is 2015 (Finally) The Year?


Tonight, the Chicago Cubs will take on the Pittsburgh Pirates in a one-game wildcard playoff game; it will be the Cubs’ first playoff game in seven years.

The last time the Chicago Cubs played a playoff game, George W. Bush was president, Myspace was more popular than Facebook, and the iPhone 3G was state-of-the-art (2008, for those who aren’t history nerds). The last time the Cubs won a playoff game was… well, we won’t talk about that. OK, it was 2003; that’s right, as of today, the Cubs have lost nine consecutive playoff games over the course of a decade and some change.

In the Cubs Nation, however, all eyes are on Pittsburgh, where the Cubs’ miracle 2015 season comes down to a single game. Very few people in the sports world expected this much out of the Cubs this year. After a string of dismal losing seasons going back to 2009, expectations for the 2015 Cubs – with new President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein at the helm – were middling at best. The team had been showing signs of improvement, and they have maturing talent developing in the farm system.

But Cubs watchers’ eyes were on 2016 and later seasons for the North Siders to be contenders. For 2015, analysts expected the Cubs to be competitive, but definitely not dominant. Of course, as we all know, the Cubs defied all expectations and earned the second of two National League wildcard spots.

But lest you think tonight’s NL wildcard playoff is a contest between two also-ran teams – fodder for stronger teams to beat later in the playoffs, think again. With a win-loss record of 97-65, the Cubs would have easily won any other division in baseball. Unfortunately, the Cubs play in the NL Central, where two other teams – the Pirates (98-64) and the Cardinals (100-62) – have better records. In other words, tonight’s Cubs-Prates playoff game features the second and third best teams in baseball.

There’s little sense in trying to predict who will win a one-game playoff. In any single game, the worst team in baseball (this year, that “honor” goes to the Philadelphia Phillies) can beat the best team in baseball (the Cards); which happened twice this year, according to Baseball Reference.

Still, a one-game playoff may actually benefit this year’s Cubs. With everything on the line, they will be starting arguably the best pitcher in baseball – and Cy Young Award candidate – Jake Arrieta (22-6, 1.77 ERA). And by the way, Arrieta is 11-0 in August and September.

The Pirates’ starter, Gerrit Cole (19-8, 2.60 ERA), is no slouch, however.

Off the mound, tonight’s Cubs-Pirates matchup shakes out like this. The Cubs are 48-33 on the road, while the home team Pirates are 53-28 at PNC Park. The Cubs are 11-8 head-to-head against the Pirates this season.

In terms of postseason play historically, however, the Pirates have the edge. This will be the third wildcard appearance for the Bucs, who won in 2013 and lost last year. The Cubs, meanwhile, haven’t played a playoff game in seven years and haven’t won one in 12. And the last time the Cubs won a World Series, as any fan of any other team in the National League will gladly tell you, was 1908.

But on the north side of Chicago, none of that matters. Excitement is “buzzing” around the Windy City, reports WLS (Chicago), and the atmosphere around Wrigley Field (even though the Cubs aren’t actually playing there tonight) is electric.

The Chicago Cubs-Pittsburgh Pirates wildcard playoff game begins tonight at 8:00 P.M. Eastern time on TBS.

[Image courtesy of: Shutterstock/Joseph Sohm]

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