Ah, Pittsburgh, how I love it when the Cubs play you.

The Cubs are playing in the Skeezy City for the next few days.  It's a last chance for them to grab a few theoretically easy victories before taking on the arguably tougher Phillies at Wrigley Field, a potential playoff preview of NLCS proportions.

Before we jump into the previews of the two remaining games, let's spend a few valuable paragraphs talking about what just happened today.  Without further delay ...

Kosuke Fukudome still has a ways to go before we can consider him busted from his slump, although rumor has it that he's been spending a lot of time with Lou Piniella and Gerald Perry as of late.  We've also heard here at GROTA that Cubs legend and hitting clinic putting-on-er Mark Grace called the 'dome recently to share his own personal slump busting techniques.  While we cannot confirm nor deny reports that Kosuke was seen in the arms of two heapin' heifers before his recent pinch hit homerun against the Nationals, his play today against the Bucks lends credibility to the rumor.  Kosuke went 3 for 4 with a double and 4 RBI while the Cub offense surged against the Pirates.

Other superlative offensive performances came from Alfonso Soriano, who went 3 for 5 with 2 steals, both in the 3rd, Derrek Lee, who went 3 for 4 with a walk, an RBI, and 2 runs scored, Jim Edmonds, who went 3 for 5 with a double, a triple, an RBI and 2 runs scored, and Aramis Ramirez who hit a 3-run homer in the 3rd inning.  All told, the Cubs offense managed 17 hits, 4 walks, and 12 runs scored against the Pirates today.

Ted Lilly, meanwhile, gave yet another solid performance on the mound, pitching 7 innings of 7 strikeout ball while allowing - you guessed it - 7 hits, but only 1 walk and 3 earned runs.  Lilly won his 13th today, and it seems almost inevitable that he will be the first Cubs lefty to win 15 or more games in back to back seasons since Ken Holtzman won 17 in '69 and '70.  (Note: I'm making this claim with next-to-no research, but I'm pretty damned sure that the Cubs have been aching for a good left handed starter ever since Holtzman left for Oakland and World Series glory in the early 70's).  

Tonight's game was certainly not a bad start to the 3-game series, but how do the rest of the games match up?  Let's take a closer look:

Tuesday, August 26th - Carlos Zambrano (13-5, 3.29 ERA) vs. Ian Snell (5-10, 5.60 ERA)

Carlos didn't have too bad a game his last start against the lowly Reds.  He went 7 strong innings, giving up a single run even while walking 4 Reds straight onto Dusty Baker's punishment list.  He will be looking to build momentum against the lowly Pirates, who are somehow an even worse team than Cincinnati.  

His opponent tomorrow is Ian Snell, a 26-year-old righty from Delaware who appears hell bent on becoming a Chicago Cubs punching bag.  He has given up 7 earned runs in 10 innings against the Cubs this year, and he was chased on August 4th in a game against Chicago after giving up 4 earned runs in as many innings pitched.  However, he has a 3.52 ERA in the month of August and apart from his lack of genuine talent, the only thing holding him back appears to be the Pirates lack of run support.

Oh, but the talent thing will be enough to get him in the end.

Wednesday, August 27th - Jason "Why, God, Why?" Marquis (8-7, 4.76 ERA) vs. Zach Duke (4-12, 5.29 ERA)

Jason Marquis will thankfully be left off of the post season roster.  How do I know this?  Because on a team with Carlos, Harden, Dempster, and Lilly, and with a bullpen of Lieber (if he ever pitches again), Gaudin, Marshall, and Samardzija, Jason Marquis is not the 5th best starter, but the 9th.  The 9th!  That's crazy!  What's crazier still is that, bound by a ridiculous contract with a year remaining, Lou Piniella has almost no choice but to trot this poser out there every 5th day until the moment that Jim Hendry manages to unload him on the Royals for a promissory note guaranteeing that Marquis will never pitch in October for the Cubs.  

Amazingly, Marquis will find himself on Wednesday in a situation in which he has to be the favorite to win.  Zach Duke - who used to not suck - is 0-2 this year against the Cubs with an ERA of 5.91 in 4 starts.  The Cubs are batting .362 against him and when they heard that they'd face him again this season, rumor has it that they chose to celebrate by lighting cigars with $100 bills.  I'm not exactly sure why they'd do that, but they're millionaires, I'm not, and Zach Duke makes the 1-2 Combo of Marquis-Howry look legitimately hard to beat.  

Projections: I think that it's safe to say the Cubs will win at least one.  

You know, every year, I find myself wondering why the Cubs almost never get into extended winning streaks.  I mean, sure, they won 9 at one point earlier this season, and I will also grant that they haven't exactly had a rough August by any means.  And yet, the Cubs never seem to win more than 4 or 5 in a row.  Perhaps this is a symptom of the previously mentioned Jason Marquis, who would struggle to win a game of Solitaire, but the Cubs find themselves in the position to win the next 2 games before throwing their 4 best starters at the Philles in Chicago.

Maybe they'll win 5 in a row.  Hell, maybe they'll win 9.  Maybe they'll lose tomorrow.  I don't know.  What I do know is this: the Cubs, 16-6 this month, are in position to blow the Brewers out of the water long before they see them again in Mid September.  It would be entirely Un Cub-Like for them to run away with the division, but this team is entirely Un Cub.  It could all start with a sweep of Pittsburgh.  Hey, Cubs, make it happen.