CHICAGO – Nomar Garciaparra was taking some cuts near the batting cage Sunday at SBC Park when ESPN announcer Jon Miller began practicing saying his name with a Chicago accent.

“Nomaaar,” Miller said. “Nomaaar.”

Garciaparra smiled and continued taking swings.

“I’ve got my “r’ back,” he said.

No matter how you pronounce it, Nomar-mania returns to Wrigley Field on Tuesday night when the Cubs begin a three-game series against San Diego, one of a handful of contenders in a bunched-up National League wild-card race.

Garciaparra’s arrival has been nothing less than shock therapy for a Cubs lineup that tends to turn itself on and off at a moment’s notice. They’re 5-1 with Garciaparra in the starting lineup, taking a two-game lead in the wild-card standings.

There’s a different atmosphere in the Cubs’ clubhouse, and that confidence can directly be traced back to the day general manager Jim Hendry acquired the best shortstop in a Cubs uniform since Ernie Banks.

Now it’s up to Sosa to get his swing back in order, and for the five-ace rotation to carry the load. Being the hunted instead of the hunters is unfamiliar territory for the Cubs, who spent last August and September chasing Houston in the division race before pulling ahead in the final week of the season. This year the final playoff spot is theirs to lose.

“Everyone’s healthy, it’s in our hands,” Greg Maddux said. “So just go out and do what we’re supposed to do, and that’s good enough.”

Only once since 1985 have the Cubs been in position to lose a playoff spot, as opposed to coming from behind to win one. The “89 Cubs pulled away to the Eastern Division title, but the “98 team sneaked into it during the final weekend of the season, beating Dusty Baker’s Giants in a one-game playoff to make the postseason.

“Chasing or being chased, it’s the same thing,” first baseman Derrek Lee said. “You’re fighting for the playoffs, the games are still important, and that’s what makes it exciting.”

As it turns out, not playing St. Louis in the final two months of the season may be the best thing to happen to the Cubs since their only realistic chance is for a wild-card berth. After this week’s showdowns with the Padres and Los Angeles, the Cubs play 13 straight games against Milwaukee and Houston.

Then it’s 29 games against Montreal, Florida, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and the New York Mets. Florida is a .500 team, but the other six are all below the break-even level, making it a 42-game stretch that could give the Cubs a prohibitive edge in the playoff hunt.

With such a strong pitching rotation, the Cubs would figure to have the matchup edge on the opposition in nearly every game in September, before meeting Atlanta again in the season-ending three-game series at Wrigley at the start of October.

The five aces, along with the presence of Garciaparra near the top of the lineup, makes the Cubs feel a little bit invincible at the moment.

“When you have a lot of great players on your team, it’s only going to make everybody play better,” Corey Patterson said. “Nomar is a great addition. No one’s worried about him. He brings that excitement and energy to the park we need every day. That’s great for the team.

“When other players see that, they feed off it, and then maybe it’ll be someone else’s turn.”

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(c) 2004, Chicago Tribune.

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AP-NY-08-09-04 2251EDT