CHICAGO - As big a deal as it is for the Cubs to be in the NL Championship Series, some might say it's more of a surprise that the Marlins are here.
But not the Florida players.
"We thought in spring training we had a chance to be here," said Marlins Game 1 starter Josh Beckett. "I know as a group, everybody is calling us a surprise team. Out team is not surprised by what we have done. We underachieved for the first couple of months and I think that's how we became the surprise team."
Much of their success is credited to the decision to fire manager Jeff Torborg and replace him with Jack McKeon.
They also had to deal with a shuffled roster, some persistent trade rumors, key injuries and a few key late-season pickups.
"I think we have overcome a lot," Beckett said. "Injuries. Our ownership went out and signed Jeff Conine, who has been maybe our MVP in September, defensively and offensively. We've overcome some stuff and I think the credit has to go to our GM and our ownership."
PITCHING IN: The Marlins open the best-of-seven series with Beckett, the hard-throwing right-hander who was the second pick of the 1999 draft behind Tampa Bay's Josh Hamilton. They'll use Brad Penny in Game 2 and left-hander Mark Redman in Game 3, with rookie sensation Dontrelle Willis likely in Game 4.
The Cubs open with Carlos Zambrano, who hit 101 mph during the division series, then use Mark Prior in Game 2 and Kerry Wood in Game 3.
Rosters will be finalized today.
TRUE BLUE: Cubs GM Jim Hendry was born and raised in Dunedin, but Monday he was proudly wearing an Indianapolis Colts jacket. "I respect the Bucs, but I'll be rooting for the Colts," he said. "I've been a Colts fan all my life, and GM Bill Polian is a friend."
CONNECTIONS: Three Cubs were members of the 1997 Marlins championship team: outfielder Moises Alou, reliever Antonio Alfonseca and pitching coach Larry Rothschild. Other ex-Marlins are Matt Clement, Paul Bako and Hendry, who worked in their player development and scouting departments. ... Florida's Lenny Harris is a former Cub. Willis was an eighth-round pick of the Cubs in 2000 and was traded in the March 2002 deal for Alfonseca and Clement.
