NLCS: With dominant duo, Cubs are never far from a win
Kerry Wood and Mark Prior have been so good Chicago feels near-invincible when they pitch.
By MARC TOPKIN
Published October 10, 2003
MIAMI - As frustrating as it was for the Cubs to lose the opening game of the NL Championship Series on Tuesday, there was a reason they didn't get too discouraged.
Actually, there were two reasons:
Mark Prior and Kerry Wood.
The two already are considered among the best young starting pitchers in the game. But what they have done in the postseason, and what the Cubs expect them to continue to do, beginning with Wood's start in Game 3 tonight, has set them further apart.
And at the same time put them closer to such dynamic duos as Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson.
"Not only do you have to have regular-season success to get to that level like Randy and Curt, you have to pitch well in the postseason," said catcher Damian Miller, who caught Schilling and Johnson in Arizona before joining Chicago. "And they have been able to do that - so far."
Consider that in seven postseason games, the Cubs are 4-0 in the games started by Prior and Wood and 0-3 in the games they haven't.
Prior's solid outing, and some explosive hitting, got the Cubs even Wednesday with the Marlins. And knowing Wood will be on the mound tonight, they believe they have a pretty good chance to go ahead in the best-of-seven NLCS.
"We have Wood (tonight), so I feel 90 percent we have a chance to win," Sammy Sosa said.
The confidence is widespread - and warranted, they say - throughout the clubhouse.
"Any time you've got one of your big guns going, guys are going to feel more confident," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. "It was the same with Steve Carlton when he pitched. In Philadelphia they called it "Win Day,' the year he won (27) and they only won (59).
"Naturally you feel confident. You feel confident when Schilling is on the mound. You feel confident when Randy Johnson is on the mound. Certainly you feel more confident when guys of that caliber are out there pitching. I'm sure the Dodgers feel more confident when Kevin Brown is out there. So, yeah, we all feel confident."
The comparisons and references, especially to Schilling and Johnson, who are still in the game, could be considered a burden, but Wood doesn't necessarily see it that way.
"It's obviously a tremendous compliment," he said. "It's obviously an honor for us to be compared to those two guys. I think it's a little unfair for those guys for people to be comparing us to them. Obviously we haven't done what those guys have done throughout their careers, so we've got a long ways to go."
It might not be that far.
Wood, 26, who had a record-tying 20-strikeout game as a rookie in 1998 and Tommy John surgery that forced him to miss the next season, has won 59 games and held batters to a .209 average during his career while striking out a whopping 1,065 in 9022/3 innings. He was dominant in two playoff starts against Atlanta, showing as much with his blazing fastball as his poise and control.
"The two starts he's had he's been lights out," Miller said. "I think Woody is ready to take that next step and get us to the next level. He's one of those guys that can dominate a series."
Prior, 23, went 18-6 with a 2.43 ERA in his first full major-league season, finishing second in the majors in strikeouts behind Wood. Including the postseason, he is 12-1, 1.55 in his past 13 starts.
"They're very good. And what's scary is they're getting better," Baker said. "They're young and are getting better and better. And I think this playoff, and potentially the World Series, is going to help them big time in their maturity.
"A lot of guys never get to this point until they're in their 30s; some guys never get to this point at all. Imagine how good they're going to be, and how they can take this with them."
Even better for the Cubs is that Wood and Prior make each other better.
"You have to feed off each other," Wood said. "When you have a guy go out and throw a gem the night before you pitch, you want to go out and do the same or better."
