Brenly stays neutral on Cubs-Diamondbacks matchup

<p class="MsoNormal">Bob Brenly wasn't going to take the bait.

<p class="MsoNormal">The Cubs TV analyst and former Arizona manager wasn't about to stick his neck out -- at least publicly -- and predict the winner of the National League Division Series between the North Siders and Diamondbacks that is to begin Wednesday at Chase Field.

<p class="MsoNormal">But the question had to be asked. Could he be pinned down for a prediction?

<p class="MsoNormal">"Naaah," he said. "If I could do that, I would be in Vegas."

<p class="MsoNormal">He did predict the best-of-five series would be fun to watch.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I think it's going to be an awesome series, first of all," Brenly said.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Any postseason comes down to execution. There are no surprises. Everyone has been advance scouted up one side and down the other. Everybody knows each other's strengths and weaknesses, and it's just a matter of execution.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I like what I've seen from the Cubs other than (Sunday's 8-4 season-ending loss to Cincinnati). At the end of the season, Carlos (Zambrano) has been very much under control. Ted Lilly is throwing the ball great. The bullpen has done great when they had the lead late. What else can you say about the offense? The home runs showed up at exactly the right time.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I like the chances of the Cubs' chances going in."

<p class="MsoNormal">But ...

<p class="MsoNormal">"The Diamondbacks, on the other hand, are a very solid, fundamental team," he said. "They were like (32-19) in one-run games, and that says something about their ability to execute and the strength of their bullpen at ends of ballgames. It figures to be a great match-up."

<p class="MsoNormal">The two teams share some similarities.

<p class="MsoNormal">In April and May, the Cubs struggled and looked like anything but a contender. Arizona had its doubts, too. The Diamondbacks lost eight of 10 to close the first half of the season and were in third place before they got healthy at Wrigley Field. They beat the Cubs 3-2 on July 21 on an eighth-inning Stephen Drew home run off Bob Howry. That started an

<p class="MsoNormal">eight-game winning streak and helped Arizona to a 21-5 stretch.

<p class="MsoNormal">"We've shown a lot of resiliency this year," Arizona manager Bob Melvin told MLB.com. "I think the fact that we have lost some leads in the standings and that we have been beaten in some games badly has helped us build that resiliency. And hopefully, if something like that happens to us in the postseason, we'll be able to respond to it.

<p class="MsoNormal">"We have some guys that can be tough to evaluate at times, depending on how they're swinging. Even when some of the guys aren't swinging great, they can still hurt you with one swing. Based on the fact that we don't have as much of a track record as some other teams, I think we can be tough to prepare for."

<p class="MsoNormal">The Diamondbacks have no hitter with a batting average above .294, no one with more than 32 home runs and no one with more than 83 RBI. They have a solid pitching staff anchored by 2006 Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb (18-10, 3.01 ERA) and closer Jose Valverde (2.66 ERA, 47 saves).

<p class="MsoNormal">-- The Daily Southtown