In the battle in Milwaukee, so far it's Cubs 2, Brewers 0.Carlos Zambrano did indeed hold his emotions in check last night, save for the bat he broke in two after failing to get down a bunt; he did single in a run later though. Anyway, he was unhittable on the mound, throwing eight shutout innings as the Cubs increased their NL Central lead to three games.
Aramis Ramirez came out of his post-All-Star break funk too, with four hits, including three doubles.
Now it's up to Ryan Dempster tonight and Rich Harden tomorrow afternoon to complete the sweep. And don't think the Brewers aren't worried about just such a scenario. I'm sure they thought they'd be up 2-0 with CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets throwing the first two games. But the Cubs matched the pitch-for-pitch, actually going one better, setting it up for Dempster and Harden.
The trade deadline is tomorrow. Rumors have the Cubs possibly going after some relief pitching, but with the emergence of Jeff Samardzija and the eventual return of Kerry Wood from that nagging blister, they should be OK. There's also talk of going after the Mariners' Raul Ibanez, which would be a great pickup -- though it might mean the end of the Jim Edmonds-Reed Johnson platoon in center.
Anyway, onward and upward. The Cubs have won three in a row overall. Let's make it four, then five, and throw some distance between the Cubs and Brewers. And I guess the Cardinals too.
One other interesting note: Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is now reportedly the favorite to end up as the owner of the Cubs when all is said and done. His bid for the team and Wrigley Field? A cool $1.3 billion.
God, please let this happen.
Cuban photo courtesy David Yellen
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