Are You There God? It's Me, Carlos.

Oh boy.

That wasn't really the start to the post season I was picturing. Apparently, Dempster isn't one of my three readers and missed the post yesterday about throwing strikes. Crap.

So now what?

Well, if we were ranking worst-case scenarios...this one is probably top 3, maybe even #1. Why? The LAST thing we need tonight is Carlos thinking he has to play the hero. The man has enough trouble keeping it together normally, what do you think will happen when he assumes it's his job to save the Cubs season? I know that answer. He's gonna try to throw the ball THROUGH Soto.

Maybe I'm a pessimist, but just the thought of a pumped up Z out there tonight throwing straight-as-an-arrow 97 MPH heaters gives me IBS. We all know Carlos works best at or below 94 MPH. That's when his sinker is most effective. Basically, in Z's case, speed kills. So the more emotional he is or the more pressure he puts on himself, the harder he throws. The harder he throws, the less the ball sinks. The less the ball sinks, the more it stays in the zone. The more it stays in the zone, the sooner we can start talking about next year.

I am a fan of Carlos, don't get me wrong, but this is the EXACT scenario that was keeping me up at night. Z on the mound at home in a must-win game. Most pitchers feed off these high pressure situations. Z loses his friggin' mind. The only way it could be worse was if let's say the umps seemed to be enforcing a smaller strike zone than normal...oh wait. So not only will Z be over-throwing every pitch, he won't be getting the calls he thinks he should be getting. I'm sure that will improve the situation. Kill me now.

I could be totally wrong about this, who knows. Maybe Carlos is a different beast this fall. Maybe he can channel his emotions like he did up in Miller Park. Maybe he can hit his spots and dominate. I THINK he can. I'll BELIEVE IT after I see his MPH in the 1st.

No pressure radar gun dude.

Go Cubs.