Chicago Playoff Teams Keeping Chicago Baseball Fans Sane

The Chicago Cubs are playing bad baseball. And the White Sox are mediocre at best through April.

And thanks to the Bulls and Blackhawks' playoff runs, it seems as if no one is noticing.

The Cubs, who have lost seven of their last nine games after last night's soul-crushing extra-inning loss to the Florida Marlins, were pegged by almost every baseball expert as the runaway favorites to win the NL Central. Yours truly was more cautious and the proof is in the first month's play.

The offense is offensive as the Cubs continue to struggle getting guys on base and pushing runs across the plate.

First baseman Derrek Lee is batting .189. Second baseman Mike Fontenot is batting .232, and suddenly the artist formerly known as "Little Babe Ruth" is looking more like "The Great Bambi." Reigning NL Rookie of the Year Geovany Soto is batting .109. Other than Alfonso Soriano, Ryan Theriot and Kosuke Fukudome, the offense has been horrendus.

Right fielder Milton Bradley is batting .118, but hey, two of his six hits have been home runs ... so that's a good sign, right?

The pitching has been average at best, with Rich Harden (2-1, 3.86 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 35 K in 21 IP) being the best of the bunch so far. Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster, who were All-Stars last year need to regain the touch soon because if they don't, the Cubs will not be able to dig out of the early hole they have dug themselves.

The White Sox have had solid offensive numbers posted by Paul Konerko (team-best .333 batting averagte ) and Carlos Quentin (team-high 8 home runs) and the hitting conditions aren't even favorable yet. And Mark Buehrle (3 wins, 3.00 ERA ), Gavin Floyd (team-high 26 Ks) and John Danks (team-best 2.74 ERA) have been solid on the mound. But the lack of a center fielder (is Scotty Pods really the answer?) and the back of the rotation could eventually take its toll down the stretch.

Eh, who cares? Let's hope the Bulls and Blackhawks go deep into June and that the Chicago baseball bums get their act together in that time.

Photo Credit: NBC Sports