Cubs, Reds giving fans hope

I hope I don't jinx them, but the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs are playing great baseball right now. As of Monday, the Cubs were 8-4, tied for first place in the NL Central with Houston, and the Reds were a game and a half back at 7-6. Chicago has won its last five games, while Cincinnati has reeled off four consecutive wins. \nThere are still 150 games left in the season, but the Cubs are usually five or six games out of first place at this point, and the Reds are usually slightly better than the Cubs. Early indications are that this year might be different: fans in Cincy and Chicago might have reason to be optimistic.\n Even with last year's near miss in the wild-card race and the addition of Ken Griffey Jr., the overall situation in Cincinnati has been mediocre at best since its World Series victory in 1990. The increasing gap between small- and large-market clubs has had something to do with it; so has poor managing, injuries and unwise moves by the front office.\nThe Reds, who started off their nine-game road-trip by losing three in a row in Milwaukee, turned it around and won five of their last six, including a sweep of the Mets. Making their success more impressive has been the absence of their two best players, Barry Larkin and Griffey. Larkin has missed a couple of games with a strained wrist, but Griffey pulled a hamstring at the end of spring training and has yet to start a game this season. He has only seen action in a pinch-hitting role, going 0-for-10 in that capacity, but manager Bob Boone expects him to be in the lineup sometime this week.\nFirst baseman Sean Casey has stepped up in their absence, batting .362 while hitting three home runs and driving in 14 runs. When he has played, Larkin has produced as well, leading the team with a .378 average. Griffey's return will give the Reds some much-needed power at the plate and great defensive play in the outfield.\nThe question mark coming into the season for Cincinnati was its starting pitching. Injuries to a thin staff last year were one reason the Reds missed the playoffs, and the prospects for this year weren't much better in spring training. Then they were dealt a blow when Scott Williamson learned he would miss the entire season because of elbow surgery. Young prospect Rob Bell couldn't get the job done and was sent back to the minors. At 2-5 after the first week, it seemed Reds pitchers would be in for a long year.\nBut during last week, Cincinnati has gotten impressive showings from rookie pitchers who expected to play most of the year in AAA. Chris Reitsma threw 7 1/3 scoreless innings in Friday's 1-0 win against New York. Jim Brower held the Mets to one unearned run in 5 2/3 innings during Sunday's 3-1 victory. Although it was only two games and they were both against the weak-hitting Mets, the performance of the two young hurlers gave fans hope and will give Boone options for the remainder of the year.\nIf Reitsma and Brower can step in and give Cincinnati some consistency in the fourth and fifth slots, the Reds' bullpen, defense and hitting will allow them to make a run at the wild card, and even the division crown. The factor hurting the Reds chances, and those of the Cubs, is that they play in the six-team NL Central division that includes defending division champion St. Louis, a Houston club that appears to be back in playoff form, and rapidly improving Milwaukee.\nAnd then, you have the Cubs. Only Red Sox fans can even begin to know how much fans at Wrigley have suffered during the years. \nThe beginning of the season usually brings rebirth and optimism to every team in the league -- except the Cubs. Fans in Chicago usually throw in the towel by mid-May and pin their hopes on next year's team. Three of the last four years the Cubs have lost more than 90 games, but if the first two weeks are any indication, this year might be different.\nThe Cubs have made several roster moves in the last year and a half, one of them for which I will never forgive management -- not re-signing Mark Grace. The Cubs early success is somewhat bittersweet without No. 17 at first base. Regardless of how well Julio Zuleta is playing or how much money letting Grace go freed up to bring in other players, the Cubbies will never be the same with Gracie, who is now with Arizona.\nBut Chicago has improved in several areas, most notably at third base with newcomer Bill Mueller. Rondell White, Eric Young and Ricky Gutierrez have all been good recent pick-ups that will help the Cubs win games.\nGood, consistent pitching, almost unheard of on the North Side, is exactly what manager Don Baylor has gotten from his staff so far. He has found a closer in Jeff Fassero, who is six for six in save opportunities. Starters Kevin Tapani, Julian Tavarez and Jason Bere are each 2-0. Chicago's two best pitchers, arguably -- Kerry Wood and Jon Leiber -- don't have any wins yet but should each end up with 13 or more. \nThe heart and soul of the Cubs and the key to any success they might have is, of course, Sammy Sosa. Slammin' Sammy has said he has never felt better physically and mentally this early in the season, and Cubs fans hope it's contagious. Sosa's three-run shot Sunday against Pittsburgh was his fifth overall and the first of many he will smack onto Waveland Avenue during the summer. He should have no problem hitting 50 homers for the fourth consecutive year. Sosa says he's a more patient hitter now -- he does have 13 bases on balls -- but he still strikes out quite frequently (15 times in 12 games). \nThe talent in the Central and in the National League in general will be sufficient to keep the Cubs from making it to their first World Series since 1945 and winning their first since 1908. But some new faces, a little bit of good pitching and another big year from Sosa could keep the Cubs in contention at least until the All-Star Break. \nAfter that, well, you know what they say: "There's always next year"