Cubs

It's September 5, and my Chicago Cubs are still in first place in the NL Central.

Barely. By 1/2 game over Milwaukee, 1 full game over St. Louis.

They are driving me crazy. Granted, I'm happy to be where we are. I don't get to cheer like this very often. But they've lost two straight to the Dodgers and can't seem to hit their way out of a wet paper bag. Five double plays on Tuesday.

Carlos Zambrano blasts the fans. The same Z who just signed a $91.5 million contract. The same Z who went 0-for-August. Steve Trachsel returns in a trade with the Orioles and looks like what Z should be, despite losing the game.

It's going to be a long rest of the month, with 5 games next week against the Cardinals. Those games -- 4 in St. Louis -- are likely to go a long way in saying who goes to the playoffs and who stays home, because the wild-card winner will come from someplace else.