1. Be patient: Most big league pitchers like to work fast and get guys out in the least amount of ptiches possible. The Cubs need to start taking some pitches to work deeper counts which will pay off later in ball games. I know some hitters like the first pitch but when they are going up against the ace of a staff, the pitcher will be throwing his pitch and hitting his spots. If the Cubs are patient and force him to throw pitches he does not want to throw they will be successful. The key is getting into 3-1 and 2-0 counts, which are hitters counts.

2. Play Small Ball: Earlier in the season the Cubs did this perfectly. Now, they are trying to drive the ball out of the park. That is fun and exciting but it will not do the job in the playoffs. In the playoffs they will need a combination of small ball and the homerun to win games. The Cubs need to work on getting their lead off hitters on base and moving them over with a sac bunt or a hit and run. If they can put runners in scoring position with 1 out or less, they will be in very good shape in the playoffs as long as they can produce some base hits in those situations.

3. Get Men on for Lee and Ramirez: The top of the Cubs lineup needs to work very hard to get on base for our main RBI guys. I know Soriano likes to hit the ball out of the park which is nice but late in games it may be better for him to try to just get on base to start a rally in an inning if the Cubs are down. If Ryan Theriot is batting second, he is usually key to starting a rally because he is always looking for a way to get on base, whether it be a single, a walk, an HBP, it does not matter to him. If we have guys on for Lee and Ramirez, the guys who we pay to drive in the runs, then the Cubs should have no problem scoring runs to win ball games.

But lets not get ahead of ourselves quite yet. The Cubs still need to make the playoffs.