Cubs carry title hopes into NLDS opener against Dodgers

Baseball Betting Lines

10/01/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In case you haven't heard, it has been 100 years since the Chicago Cubs last won a World Series title. Their quest to end the longest drought in baseball history begins with the best-of-five National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Wrigley Field on Wednesday.

Chicago was the NL's best team from start-to-finish this season and captured its second straight NL Central crown with a 97-64 mark. Hopefully, the Cubs postseason experience lasts a little longer than their trip last year when they were swept in three games by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Finishing with the best record in the NL is not always a recipe for success, as the team with the best record has won the World Series only once in the last 22 years (the 1995 Braves). Of course, the Cubs are still searching for their first World Series title since 1908.

Ryan Dempster was one of the biggest surprises in baseball this season and will get the call for the Cubs in Game One. After serving as the Cubs' closer the last three years, Dempster was inserted into the rotation and thrived, going 17-6 with a 2.96 ERA in 33 starts.

Dempster dominated at Wrigley, going 14-3 with a 2.86 ERA in 20 home starts.

He faced the Dodgers twice this season, going 1-0 against them, giving up four runs in 12 1/3 frames.

Joe Torre's first year in Los Angeles has to be considered a success, as the Dodgers are back in the playoffs following a one-year absence by virtue of winning their first NL West title since 2004 with an 84-78 mark.

Things didn't look good for Torre's crew midway through the season, but the team went out and acquired slugger Manny Ramirez at the trade deadline and never looked back.

At the time of the deal Los Angeles was two games back of the Diamondbacks and finished the year two games up.

Like the Cubs, Los Angeles' last postseason appearance ended in a sweep, as the New York Mets took three straight from them in the 2006 NLDS. In fact the Dodgers have just one postseason win since winning the World Series in 1988, going 1-12 in their four playoff series since.

Torre has named Derek Lowe his starter for Game One. Lowe had one of the better seasons of his career this year, going 14-11 and pitching to a career- best 3.24 earned run average as a starter.

Lowe was especially strong down the stretch for Torre, winning his final four and six of his last seven decisions. Lowe last lost August 26 and in his previous 10 starts, he pitched a 1.23 ERA.

These two storied franchises have never met in the postseason, but Chicago won five of the seven matchups between the clubs this season.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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