In Chicago, Cub fans haven't been this excited since the moment before Moises Alou couldn't catch up with a foul pop up.  If you read the Cub bloggers, there is blood in the water right now and Lou Piniella and the Cubs are closing in for the kill and are about to run away with the division.

In Milwaukee, there is only panic.  Fans, who have not sniffed post season play since 1982 grumble and groan at every miscue and the sports talk community is fanning the flames with cries for the head of Brewers manager Ned Yost.  Every move examined under an atomic microscope, every decision questioned, every pitching change reviewed.

The reality is there are two months left in the season.  There is plenty of time for a reversal of fortune for both of these teams, although, on paper, this is the Cubs race to lose.

How ironic, that in his first year as manager, Johnny B. Baker got the Cubs to within spitting distance of their first pennant since 1945.  Baker was a hero in Chicago, despite the fact his team choked worse than Mama Cass in the waning innings of game six and then imploded in game seven.  From there, it was all down hill for Baker who was fired at the end of last season, a mere three seasons after he had the Cubs on the brink of history.

Now in his first year as Cubs manager, Lou Piniella has also become a legend.  Sports radio wonks marvel at his strategic decisions and fawn over his moves.  Folk heroes like Ryan Theriot, Mike Fontenot  and Carlos Zambrano have emerged and have been embraced by fans.  You would think the Cubs had a ten game lead.

Over the course of the next two months, a battle will be raged for the NL Central title.  In a perfect world, both the Cubs and Brewers would make the playoffs.  But three teams in the NL West and two in the East may make that a tough thing to do.  The best way to get to the playoffs is to win your division and the Cubs and Brewers will be trying to do just that.

Momentum favors the Cubs.  The Brewers got off to a great start and slowly had their lead eroded.  Their hitting has leveled off and some of their younger players, like second baseman Ricky Weeks have totally collapsed to the point of being sent back to the minors.  Their starting pitching has become an issue with an injury to stopper Ben Sheets and the struggles of number two Chris Capuano. Jeff Suppan has slowed over the course of the season and the bullpen is tired.  Closer Fransisco Cordero has an ERA of over 8 on the road and has blown some key saves, most notably last weekend in St. Louis that may have allowed Milwaukee to still have the Cubs at arm's length.

The Cubs have few challenges.   After a slow start which necessitated several roster moves,  addition by subtraction and an open bus pass to Des Moines, Piniella has finally decided on the players that will make the march to the playoffs.  The Cubs Achilles heel is their bullpen.  Carlos Marmol has been lights out, Michael Wuertz has been good.  Outside of that, Cub fans hold their breath when Piniella comes out to fetch Will Ohman, Jane Scott Eyre, Bob Howry or Ryan Dumpster Dempster.  Kerry Wood is supposed to come back Friday, but how effective he will be at the major league level, what his role will be and whether or not he can stay healthy is all a big factor.  Most Cub fans, being the optimists they are, assume Wood will come back, strap the Cubs on his burly back and carry them across the finish line.  I'm not even close to investing in that dream.

Two months remain before a winner in this competition.  And don't forget that there is a wild card in this division called the St. Louis Cardinals.  At only six games back, the Cards are a factor, either as a contender or as a spoiler.  And if the wheels completely fall off the Brewers wagon, the Cardinals have a chance of finishing a minimum of second in the division despite their awful pitching, injuries, age and all-around disappointing year.
Best case, the Cards go on a tear and get right back in it, which still is entirely possible.  With two months to go, anything is possible.

Lightning Round

• 
  Boy, it's tough to watch the White Sox right now.  After the first two games against Toronto last weekend, you thought maybe they were coming out of it and would at least play some decent baseball.  Then they go to New York and get embarrassed two straight games.  Mercifully, the series ends today.
  
• The Sox will sit down Jose Contreras for one start to see if they can fix whatever is wrong with him.  In an effort to continue to help opposing clubs pad their stats, the Sox will start Pink Gavin Floyd on Sunday in Detroit.  Is it just me, or is this like putting out a fire with kerosene instead of gasoline?  Same result, different delivery system.
• What is this umpiring crew the Sox have in New York been smoking?  First, there was Phil "Rabbit Ears" Cuzzi tossing out Ozzie Tuesday night, then last night home plate umpire Tom "Raise a Little" Hallion tosses Charlie Haeger for what he believed was a deliberate attempt to hit Robinson Canau.  Tom, Haeger can't break a pin of glass let alone control his knuckleball and you think that's a purpose pitch?  Please Bud, DO SOMETHING ABOUT THESE IDIOTS.
  
• Alleged Cub releiver Bobby Howry takes a pretty stout view of what should happen to the drunk fan who accosted him on the field a few weeks ago.  I think the best penalty could be tying him to a chair and making him watch Jose Contreras pitch with no alcohol or pain medication of any kind.  Of course, they already use that method at Guantanamo.
  
• Kyle Orton is making a strong bid to be Rex Grossman's backup, or as the Bears like to call it, a first responder.
• Buddy Bell is leaving the Royals at the end of the year.  Say what you want about the job he's done, but the Royals are a coming and Bell could go down in history as the second coming of Alan Trammel.
  
• JoePa may become the next Darrell Mudra and become a hall of fame caoch who coaches from the press box.
  
• Former Bear bad boy Tank Johnson says he doesn't blame the Bears for letting him go and is sorry he made a bad decision that cost him his job.  TRANSLATION: My agent says if I show enough contrition, some team may take a flyer on me, even though I won;t be able to play until the second half of the season.
• 
  Proof again that Nashville Predators owner Craig Leipold is a class act.  He could have sold his team for millions more than he is about to, but he was determined to keep it in Nashville.  How can you not respect a guy like this?
• Our thoughts and prayers go out to the city of Minneapolis after the tragedy involving the I-35W bridge collapse yesterday.  Having a bridge just buckle like that with no visible reason or provocation (earthquake, terrorists, etc.) is very scary.