Cubs Questions:
On my mind at the start of tonight's NLCS, which I will experience by osmosis as I walk laps around Wrigley Field with my Walkman tuned to the game...

- Can anyone other than Moises Alou hit worth beans? Can the Cubs win again if they don't?

- Are the Cubs primed for a letdown after climbing Braves Mountain? Dusty said this summer that the Braves are the only team the Cubs didn't play evenly at some point during the season. Is the Marlins' momentum a worse threat than the Braves' power?

- Without Wood and Prior, aren't the Cubs basically, say, the Colorado Rockies? Is it good or bad for baseball that two pitchers could own a series the way they did?

- Will the OBP of the top of the Marlins' lineup catch the Cubs off guard, since they didn't have to deal with many baserunners against Atlanta?

- Will the series boil down to whether Zambrano or Clement can get one win, leaving Wood and Prior to get three between them?

SI.com predicts the Marlins in six, which surprised me. Yes, they're hot, but the Cubs have the upper hand. My safe bet is Cubs in six, but I won't be shocked if it's five--hope that didn't jinx them any more than they already are...

See also: My new page on Wrigley Field