Az. viewpoint: D'backs simply outclassing Cubs

If this keeps up, Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano will have plenty of rest before his next start.

In April.

The Diamondbacks have so thoroughly outclassed the Cubs in their National League division series, it's unlikely Zambrano will have the chance to start a Game 4.

Arizona grabbed a 2-0 series lead with its 8-4 victory Thursday at Chase Field, and unless a black cat crosses the Diamondbacks' team plane at 35,000 feet, this baby is over.

No NL team has come back from a 0-2 deficit in the 12-year history of the division series.

The Cubs could conceivably do it, of course, but that would require a certain amount of competence, and the only thing the Cubs have displayed these first two games is their incompetence.

You name it, Arizona has had it all over the Cubs.

Pitching. Defense. Hitting. Hustle.

And, yes, the managers, too.

Arizona's Bob Melvin hasn't had to do too much, but at least he's not being roasted over an open fire.

The Cubs' Lou Piniella just can't get it right. He lifted Zambrano too soon in Game 1, then waited a batter too long to replace an ineffective Ted Lilly in Game 2 Thursday.

The Diamondbacks had two men on with one out in the fourth inning when Stephen Drew walked to the plate. Drew had singled against Lilly in the second inning and seemed to have a good read on the Cubs' left-hander.

But did Piniella emerge from the dugout?

Nope, he leaned against the railing and watched Drew rifle a triple to right field that scored 2 runs and gave Arizona a 6-2 lead.

And to think, Piniella complained before the game about the media second-guessing his Zambrano call. Wait until he reads the Chicago papers today.

"How many guys are in this room?" Piniella said in his interview session. "Count them. That's how many managers that are in here. Everybody has got their ideas.

"The only problem is when you do it out here, it's after the fact, not during or before."

Actually, Lou, most of us thought you were nuts to replace Zambrano as soon as you made the move.

While Piniella is being criticized from coast to coast, Melvin has enjoyed a carefree couple of days.

His starting pitchers are 2-0, he's getting timely hitting and, unlike a certain Cubs left fielder who shall remain nameless (Alfonso Soriano), his players aren't dogging it.

Did you see Soriano lollygag it to first on his base hit off the wall in the fifth inning? You'd think for $136 million the least he could do is hustle.

For a little inspiration -- and perspiration -- Soriano should follow the lead of Drew, who makes $700,000 but plays the game right way.

After a tough-luck regular season at the plate, Drew has been a star these first two games. He had 2 hits in Game 1, another 2 hits Thursday, and his defense has been superb.

Drew's slate hasn't just been wiped clean. It's been disinfected and deodorized.

While the Cubs are dashing dreams -- again -- the Diamondbacks are on the verge of making this an extraordinary season.

Let's be honest. Who in their right mind would have imagined in February that Arizona would be one win away from the National League championship series? The Diamondbacks were so young they had training wheels.

"This year there was no talk with this group of World Series or postseason," first baseman Tony Clark said. "It was, 'Do you know how to get from the hotel to the ballpark?' That being said, I was very interested in watching this group come September and how they responded. They responded no different in September than they did in April and May, and that is focused and committed on the task at hand, indifferent to what was going on around them."

That won't be quite so easy at Wrigley Field, where the Bleacher Bums are sure to try to give their beloved Cubbies one last boost and unnerve the Diamondbacks.

Good luck with that.

And good luck to Piniella.

He can't blame the Curse of the Billy Goat.

He's been the goat.