Cubs

A day after Carlos Zambrano and Will Ohman teamed up for a one-hitter against the Houston Astros, the Cubs pitching staff was at it again on Tuesday.

Sure, sure. Cubs fireballer Carlos Zambrano took yet another no-hitter into the late innings. And yes, Zambrano's four RBIs powered the Cubs offense, which is suddenly alive and well, but that just set the backdrop for Monday night's 8-0 win over the division rival Astros. The can't-miss, never going to believe it news of the night: Cubs reliever Will Ohman retired the side—in the same order which they came to the plate—for a perfect ninth inning.

The Cubs couldn't seal the deal on the first-ever sweep of the Cardinals at new Busch Stadium, but the weekend wasn't a total wash, at least in the eyes of National League general managers.

Despite their best efforts to drop game number 33 of the season, the North Siders prevailed 5-4 against the Cardinals—more than five hours after Friday night's first pitch.

A pair of frustrating losses Thursday night left two of Chicago's pro sports teams wondering what could have been. For the Bulls, the end came after a roller coaster year that bottomed out for good after the Miami Heat knocked them out of the playoffs' first round. For the Cubs, the end came just one month into the season.

A daily baseball columnist for ESPN.com, Rob Neyer has written five books, including his Big Book of Baseball Blunders, which hits shelves this month. The Heckler talked with Neyer about Chicago's GMs and his World Series predictions.

Well, I lost 10 large betting that less than $25 million of the Cubs payroll would hit the disabled list before Ken Griffey Jr., but you don't win championships in April and you don't make fortunes then either. Rafael Furcal should have his probation revoked for costing me that sort of cash. A successful May will put us on the road to recovery and back in the good graces of our local bookies. Here are Pete's picks for this month: