The Chicago Cubs continued to defy the dog days of August, winning 2 of 3 games from visiting Cincinnati. They improved to 13-5 for the month, 47-18 at home, and a season best 29 games over .500. After a 2-week hiatus, Triple Play returns to review the Reds series and look ahead:

1. Big Z’s Big Bat
   Carlos Zambrano again helped out his own cause by slamming his 4th home run of the season into the right-field bleachers in the series' 3rd game. In doing so, he also extended his hitting streak to 12 games—a career best. Zambrano is now batting .361 on the season and seeing the ball better than he ever has. His home run in the 3rd inning of Thursday’s game turned out to be the game-winner, as he finally got his 13th win. With Ryan Dempster and Rich Harden emerging as team aces, the hypothetical question of “Who would the Cubs start in game 7 of the World Series?” is getting tougher. Zambrano continues to dominate on the mound, but another argument for his case is how he can come through in the clutch with his bat.
    
2. HARDENed Approach
   The trade made by Cubs GM Jim Hendry is looking more and more like another steal. In 2003 he acquired Aramis Ramirez and Kenny Lofton in exchange for Jose Hernandez, Bobby Hill, Matt Bruback, and cash. Lofton soon became the spark plug at the top of the lineup for the ’03 squad, helping carry them to the NLCS. Ramirez, well, he’s only hit .295 with 166 home runs since joining the team. At that time, Hernandez was an aging veteran, Bruback was an average minor league pitcher, and Hill was one of the top prospects in the organization. Bruback never made it to the majors and Hill is currently out of baseball. Fast forward to 2008: In 7 starts with Oakland, Sean Gallagher is 1-2 with a 6.55 ERA, and according to the team’s website he will miss his next start with what is being dubbed a “dead arm”. Matt Murton has played in only 9 games and is batting .100 (3-30). Eric Patterson has played in only 10 games, batting .148 (4-27) in that span. (Josh Donaldson is still in the minor leagues). Meanwhile, Chad Gaudin has excelled in relief and Rich Harden has been absolutely filthy. With a fastball hovering around 95 MPH, and a changeup in the low 80s, Harden has made opposing hitters look foolish as they flail away. In fact, he’s tallied 59 strikeouts in a mere 42 innings! With a win Tuesday he improved his numbers with the Cubs to 3-1, with a 1.50 ERA. He has 6 career 10-strikeout games—4 of those have come with Chicago, including one on Tuesday. Manager Lou Piniella and pitching coach Larry Rothschild have been very cautious with Harden, usually limiting him to around 90 pitches. In Milwaukee, Brewers manager Ned Yost seems poised to drive C.C. Sabathia’s arm into the ground. In Monday’s start he let Sabathia throw a complete game with the team up 6 runs. That was his 5th complete game with his new team, and that time it took 130 pitches to go the distance. If this continues we could see Sabathia begin to breakdown in October, and Harden continue to flourish.
    
3. Fukudome Struggling
   Right-fielder Kosuke Fukudome went 1-9 in the 3 game series, running his August total to 9-58 (.155). He has not hit a home run all month and still looks lost at the plate for the most part. The patience he showed early in the season is now non-existent and it’s hurting the Cubs offensively. If this keeps up, we may see a handful of benchings in the near future. Piniella has not vocally given any vote of confidence for Kosuke, and with Reed Johnson batting .474 since the All-Star break and .387 with RISP for the season, the decision is looking clearer everyday.

    

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