As Jeff Conine hauled in Paul Bako's fly ball to seal the Florida Marlins' victory in Game Seven of the NLCS, my roommate looked at me and uttered the words that every Cubs fan has to be sick of hearing by now: "Guess we'll have to wait until next year."

Those words have become overly infamous in Chicago. After the season the Cubs had, though, hoping that next season will be the season dreams are made of seems more realistic, and why not?

The pitching staff proved that they can dominate, and this winter Jim Hendry will no doubt be looking for a fifth starter to replace the experiment gone bad that was Shawn Estes. (Or will Juan Cruz finally be ready?)

What has to be even more encouraging for Cubs fans is that the National League Central, the NL's weakest division, should be even weaker next season. The Astros front office is expected to trade super-closer Billy Wagner and outfielder Richard Hidalgo, who officially hit his prime this season.

The Cardinals can't win a division with their current pitching staff, and it looks like Fernando Vina is gone, whom they will miss more than they think. He's a great lead-off man, and pitchers should finally have replacement Bo Hart figured out by next season. There's also a possibility that J.D. Drew will be packing his bags.

What I'm getting at is that the Cubs starting rotation establishes them as the front-runners in the NL Central next season, but that doesn't necessarily mean bigger and better things for the 2004 Cubs.

Strong starting pitching alone doesn't guarantee a team a ticket to an LCS. Just ask the Oakland A's, who have the best rotation in MLB but still haven't found their way into an ALCS with that group.

The other thing Cubs fans must remember is that success isn't always contagious. Nobody knows that better than the Anaheim Angels, who had everything go right in 2002 and won a World Series. The Angels caught some bad breaks this season and finished eight games under .500. Consistently winning is tough to do.

The only team in recent years to prove that they could consistently have success has been the New York Yankees, and if Cubs fans think their team will become the Yankees of the NL, they are jumping the gun. Hendry will have a lot of work to do this winter; he'll have some difficult decisions to make.

First and foremost, Sammy Sosa will pick up his option and stay in Chicago for one more season. Whether or not that's a good thing is another story for another time, but for now, Hendry won't have to worry about right field.

What will be interesting is the situation in center field. Corey Patterson will be the starter next season, but Hendry has to consider keeping Kenny Lofton around. I'll say what everyone seems to be afraid to say: Patterson's injury was a blessing in disguise. Without Lofton, the Cubs wouldn't have been in the NLCS. He is a Chicago native to boot and would be a valuable weapon for Dusty Baker off the bench.

The biggest concern will be the right side of the infield. Mark Grudzielanek's days as a Cub are over, and the same goes for Eric Karros. Hot rumors have Vina at second next season which, if Hendry could pull it off, would be a solid addition.

Hee Seop Choi is still the star of the future at first, but does Hendry keep Randall Simon? Simon stated publicly weeks ago that he loves Chicago and would love to stay, and he would be a top-tier backup. The only problem is that Baker would lose his two-headed, lefty/righty monster that was Choi/Simon and Karros.

The bullpen is a mystery. On paper, they should be as dominating as the starters, but they were mediocre at best and horrid in the playoffs. Hendry can't afford to do anything drastic with the bullpen unless he decides to unload some guys and start over. What's more likely is that he'll keep the 'pen as is and cross his fingers.

The Cubs have two valuable keys to success working in their favor: great starting pitching and a GM who knows what he's doing. Hendry will have his work cut out for him, though, if he wants to establish his team as a year-to-year contender.

Mike Szwaja is a junior in communications, he can be reached at sports@dailyillini.com.