Central contenders have their issues
As important as Sunday's Cubs victory was -- manager Lou Piniella called it the biggest of the season -- Monday's loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers might have topped it for significance.
The Cubs celebrated Labor Day in first place in the NL Central, but whether they will wind up there 27 days from now might depend largely on Carlos Zambrano.
The Cubs needed their ace to pitch like an ace against the Dodgers and not like the guy who has lost his last 5 starts and had a 7.06 ERA in August.
Zambrano was rocked to the tune of 8 runs in 4½ innings, leaving the Cubs with a serious issue on their hands as they try to hold off Milwaukee and St. Louis.
All three teams chasing the division title lost Monday and have their own issues heading into the stretch. Zambrano tops the Cubs' list for certain, but they are shedding no tears over it in Milwaukee and St. Louis.
Milwaukee: Manager Ned Yost's biggest headache is his bullpen.
And if the Brewers are going to overtake the Cubs and win the division, they need No. 1 starter Ben Sheets to stay healthy.
Sheets made his second start since spending six weeks on the disabled list Monday against Houston and threw 6 strong innings, leaving with a 5-3 lead. But the bullpen imploded again in a 9-7 loss.
It was the 15th time this season the Brewers lost a game after leading by at least 3 runs, tops in baseball.
Yost has tried to hold his rotation together and desperately needs Sheets to anchor. Claudio Vargas and Manny Parra are on the disabled list, and Carlos Villanueva has been recalled from the minors and will start tonight against Houston.
The Brewers always are going to be able to score runs, but the offense would be helped along more if struggling center fielder Bill Hall could turn around his disappointing season.
Yost pinch hit for Hall twice against the Cubs last week and sat him out in the game Carlos Zambrano pitched.
"Bill is struggling to the point just to get the ball in play," Yost said in Chicago last week.
Hall changed his batting stance Saturday, and the result was 4 RBI in the Brewers' win over Pittsburgh.
St. Louis: Tony La Russa's managerial skills are being put to the test again as third baseman Scott Rolen and outfielder Juan Encarnacion have been lost for the season with injuries.
The Cardinals announced Monday that Rolen will undergo left shoulder surgery and is finished until spring training, costing the team one of its biggest run producers.
Not only is Encarnacion done for the season, he might lose the sight in his left eye after taking an Aaron Miles foul ball to the face as he waited in the on-deck circle.
Encarnacion suffered damage to his optic nerve, a fractured eye socket and a concussion. The Cardinals' team doctor told reporters he hoped and not expected Encarnacion to regain his sight in the eye.
Meanwhile, La Russa said Monday he would go with a six-man starting rotation for at least the next few weeks with Mark Mulder and Mike Maroth coming off the disabled list.
Mulder, who hasn't pitched since August 2006 because of shoulder surgery, will make his first start of the season Wednesday against Pittsburgh.
"He's ready to go and we're anxious to see him pitch," La Russa told reporters. "He may not be 100 percent of what he was in his heyday, but he's on his way back."
La Russa planned to go with a rotation of Adam Wainwright, Joel Pineiro, Braden Looper, Kip Wells, Mulder and Maroth. If there is to be an odd man out it could be Wells, who lost his 16th game Monday, 11-0 to Pittsburgh, and has allowed 18 runs over 13½ innings in his last 3 starts.
Pineiro, who has pitched well, has been selected by La Russa to start next Monday's makeup game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. La Russa wants Pineiro to also pitch one of the games of the Sept. 15 doubleheader with the Cubs at Busch Stadium.