The Hunt for Red (and Blue) October

No matter how horrendous a season the Cubs might be having, their season always seems to play out like a Hollywood script. There are the perennial villains--the Cardinals, the Brewers, and sometimes the Astros. There are the internal conflicts--injuries to superstar players, slap fights in the dugout, a corked bat, mid-season trades, slumping players, and quibbles over playing time. There are the unscripted ad libs--unbelievable catches, walk-off home runs, bench-clearing brawls, the Miracle Mets, Steve Bartman and a limitless number of other extenuating circumstances that affected North Side fortunes over the years. All of these factors coalesce into a wacky yet irresistible plotline that seems to get more outrageous each season. Fortunately, this year's plot has a middling Cubs team inexplicably at the top of the Central division, two and a half games above the Brewers with just seven games to play.

The Magic Number is 6, folks!

I hope you grasp the enormity of this. By this point in the season, The Magic Number is usually 15, as in February 15, when pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training to give it another try in 2008. I'm usually watching the last Cubs game because I know I won't get a whiff of Cubs baseball until April. But something different is happening this year. Against all odds, the gates to the playoffs have been left unlocked, the security guard is fast asleep and the Cubbies are sauntering through.

Admittedly, nothing is set in stone yet and Cubs fans can't celebrate until mathematics tell us to. But that's why Cubs baseball is the most exciting spectacle on Earth. At this point, I'm just enjoying the ride. But I'm also fully confident that I will be picking up a Cubs Central Division Champs t-shirt and hat by this time next week. 99 years is a long wait, but I really think this is The Year.