It doesn’t look like the Cubs are going to make this easy. The Brewers won their last three games, and all that meant was the Cubs didn’t pick up any games because they’ve won four straight. Still, the Brewers have a 3 1/2 game lead (three in the loss column) and if I had to guess, it’s going to come down to the head to head series between the Cubs and the Brewers as to who will determine the division winner.
The loss of Ben Sheets hurts. He’s the ace and not having him on the mound every five games means we go from having almost a sure thing win to a tough struggle with a guy who’s effectively our sixth starter. Then again, rookie Yovani Gallardo has held his own in his two starts so hopefully he can keep it up while Sheets is down.
Prince Fielder hit homerun number 30 over the weekend. You wonder how long it’ll be until they start pitching around him more. In the meantime, J.J. Hardy has been only good and without another big bat in the lineup, Fielder’s going to get less and less to swing at.
Corey Hart has turned into a pleasant surprise this year and he’s taken advantage of his chance in the starting lineup. He leads the team with a .299 batting average and he already has set career marks in just about every offensive category.
With Sheets on the disabled list, Jeff Suppan has to step up and become the defacto ace. At 8-8 and some pretty mediocre numbers, he’s been a bit of disappointment after a nice run in April. The fact that he’s 8-8 means the boys have been hitting for him and now it’s time to return the favor.
The Brewers continue with their series against the Diamondbacks. Claudio Vargas takes the mound and the Brewers will go up against Yusmeiro Petit, who’s been sharp in his three starts this year.
