Cubs begining to separate themselves from the Brewers

The Cubs pound the Pirates again after facing their second left-hander in the row. They have won the last 9 of 11 and a bonus was that the stellar closer (Francisco Cordero) from the Brewers gave up a two out homerun in the bottom of the ninth (Braves won in 11) so the Cubs now stand 2 1/2 games up in the National League Central with seven games to play.

Unsung Defensive Hero: Sam Fuld. This guy has some wheels and Cubs fans everywhere witnessed what he can do with his glove. In the 7th inning with the Nate McLouth standing on first Nyjer Morgan drove a ball fast and hard towards right field. Fuld, with total disregard of his body made a leaping catch against the ivy-covered wall and had the presence of mind to wheel around and make a great throw to Derrek Lee waiting on first to double up the men from Pittsburgh to end the inning. I'll go out on a limb and say it was the best defensive play of the year. This guy is an up-and-coming stud for the Cubs as well.

The Cubs can literally smell the playoffs and even though "these are the Cubs" their finding their power stroke at exactly the right time. The Cubs played 'small ball' for the first five months of the season hitting only 106 homeruns. They have hit 36 homeruns in the month of September alone and this was the second game in a row where the Cubs hit four balls out of the park. Soriano, finally showing his whopping $136 million dollar worth, belted two homeruns and has four dingers in the last three games. Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez added their own shots to set the Cubs up for the sweep tomorrow. The Pittsburgh Pirates have lost their season leading eight games in a row and if our Ace Carlos Zambrano gets his head together we could leave for Florida holding a three game lead over the Brewers with only six to play.

Changing of the guard(s)? Ryan Dempster came out in the 9th again in a non-save situation and gave up another solo-shot on Saturday. It seems to be a habit of late but Pinella continues to have confidence in our closer. I think teams would fear Marmol more, but Pinella doesn't want to mix things up. It's worked for us this far but it might be something to think about for next year.

Geovany Soto was behind the plate again on Saturday but Kendall hasn't been moved aside. The AAA stud went 1-for-5 in today's game and is hitting .375 since moving up from the minors. Next year it's going to be a tough decision to make. We still have Henry Blanco on the payroll for another two years (he might be left off of the playoff roster if we make it) and Kendall has already expressed his feelings about wanting to return to the Cubs next year.

Quit crying, it's Wrigley for pete's sakes! Adam Dunn, the big tub of goo from the Reds, commented negatively about the "pot holes" in the outfield from our charmed park last week and Pirates manager Jim Tracy echoed those same sentiments saying it was 'dangerous.' It's like hearing a football player crying about the elements before kickoff. The Park is a hundered years old for crying out loud. If those teams had beat the Cubs we wouldn't have heard a lick about it. Shutup and play.

Warm and fuzzies. The Chicago Cubs set an attendance record this year (2004 held the previous record) with one game left to play at home. 3,211,098 baseball fans have graced Wrigley Field this year so far.

Keep on singing! Dustin Eglseder, the 22 year old from Guttenberg, IA who was diagnosed with bone cancer this past March won the first ever 7th inning stretch contest held by the Chicago Cubs. The man can sing and hit every note. Here's to his health, and to his voice!

I'm Clay Koenig and the Cubs are 2 1/2 games in front of the Brewers with seven games to play.