Midwest

In the middle of March, Cubs general manager Jim Hendry declared that quality starting pitching was simply too difficult to acquire so close to the start of the season. Five days later, the Cincinnati Reds snagged starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo from the Boston Red Sox for Willy Mo Pena.

Cubs fans across the nation turned on their televisions at 7 p.m. central time Wednesday expecting to watch lefty Sean Marshall lead their team to a series victory over the Houston Astros. Instead, they were greeted by back-to-back episodes of "Becker" and "Home Improvement."

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 key addition to the team in the off-season, White Sox slugger Jim Thome has been even better than advertised. A prodigious hitter, Thome is known as one of the nicest guys in the league. His 2006 is off to a blazing start too, helping the Sox in their title defense.