Well, That Really Didn't Solve Anything...

I thought the team needed a 5-2 homestand - take 2 of 3 from Chicago, and 3 of 4 from Milwaukee. They went 4-3. So we really haven't solved anything; they're still not quite out of it, but not quite in it, either.

Some random thoughts from this recently completed homestand:

- The Cubs have the look of a legitimate playoff team. In fact, I daresay right now they are the best team in the NL. This pains me for a couple of reasons: (a) it's the Cubs; (b) I hate to see a team that spends $300 million rewarded immediately - it makes the hole in the space/time continuum that much bigger; (c) Jason Marquis is on a winner AGAIN (although his 11-1 pasting in the salvage game of that series was fun). It's not a big pain, though.

- How good would Milwaukee be if their bullpen was worth a shit? Realistically the Cardinals should be very fortunate they're not 11 games out and buried right now. A legit playoff team doesn't blow leads of 6-0 and 5-0 in consecutive days.

- Welcome back to the fight, Scott Rolen.

- Anthony Reyes finally got off the schneid (is that even a word?). Apparently he looked good as well. I continue to maintain he's a better option both short-term this season and long term for the franchise than KFW (or, unfortunately, Mike Maroth), so it would be nice if the team pulled him aside now, said, 'nice start kid - you're on the big club for the rest of the year, so just pitch', and let him go to work - regardless of the outcome.

- Team's .500 at home again.

- I haven't been keeping that close tabs on the pennant race, mostly because the club's been so bad for long stretches this year. But today I noticed that St. Louis is only 4 games out on the loss side. Yep - the Brewers have played 4 more games, and the Cubs 2 more, than the Cardinals. Not sure if that's significant, but there you go.

So it's off to Pittsburgh and the Nation's capital for 6 games. With two of the NL West's teams (San Diego and LA) coming to town on the next homestand, the club needs a good trip here. 4-2 at least. 5-1 puts them back at .500 for the season. I don't know if I could stand that much excitement.