In case you all have forgotten... here's what 1st place looks like!

Now, on to business... let's stay there please! All schedules courtesy of ESPN

Cubs (full schedule link)

Houston was hot after the break, but just lost Lance Berkman to the 15 day DL, and dropped their last two to a crappy Mets tream. Hopefully, we'll catch them at the right time here, especially with a makeup game on Thursday from earlier in the year when we weren't playing as well. The Tuesday night matchup is a little worriesome, as Dempster is scheduled to make his first start back vs Oswalt. We don't really know what to expect from Demp after the toe injury.  The other interesting matchup is on Thursday, when we send Hart out to face Ortiz. The Cubs lineup is batting .312 vs Ortiz, and the Astros have only seen Hart once before with 4 at bats in a relief appearance. Hart hasn't been eating up many innings, but he hasn't allowed many runs either in his 3 starts (2.08 ERA).

When we get to Florida, Harden will start game 1... at night... on the road (yay!). The game 2 starter is TBD... and could be Burke Badenhop, who the Cubs have only seen once in relief. Then, we'll get former Cub farmhand, Ricky Nolasco, who's having a pretty tough year (5.42 ERA), but he's been pitching much better of late with a 1.91 June, and a 3.76 July. The Marlins have won 6 of his last 9 starts.

JULY	OPPONENT	TIME (ET)	TV	CHC PITCHER	OPP. PITCHER	TRAVEL
Mon, Jul 27	Houston	8:05 PM		Zambrano (7-4)	Rodriguez (10-6)	Tickets
Tue, Jul 28	Houston	8:05 PM		Dempster (5-5)	Oswalt (6-4)	Tickets
Wed, Jul 29	Houston	2:20 PM		Wells (6-4)	Hampton (6-7)	Tickets
Thu, Jul 30	Houston	2:20 PM		Hart (2-1)	Ortiz (3-5)	Tickets
Fri, Jul 31	@ Florida	7:10 PM		Harden (7-6)	Volstad (8-9)	Tickets
AUGUST	OPPONENT	TIME (ET)	TV	CHC PITCHER	OPP. PITCHER	TRAVEL
Sat, Aug 1	@ Florida	7:10 PM		Zambrano (7-4)		Tickets
Sun, Aug 2	@ Florida	5:05 PM		Dempster (5-5)	Nolasco (7-7)	Tickets

Cardinals (full schedule link)

The Cards have the best team in baseball coming into town for 4 games starting tonight. They'll throw their aces at the Dodgers in the first two games of this series... giving them favorable matchups. However, the Dodgers pitching is nothing to dismiss. They lead the majors in ERA (3.60), and the Joe Torre vs TLR matchup should be a fun one to watch as well. If the Dodgers are going to make a deal for an ace (Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay), please do so NOW, and throw them in this series!

After LA, Houston comes in (hopefully after getting swept!). The Cards get their aces going again against the Astros aces. But, game one will put them against Moehler, and even though Wellenmeyer has been struggling big time, Moehler has been awful this year.  That should be an easy win for the Cards.

JULY	OPPONENT	TIME (ET)	TV	STL PITCHER	OPP. PITCHER	TRAVEL
Mon, Jul 27	LA Dodgers	7:15 PM		Carpenter (8-3)	Wolf (5-4)	Tickets
Tue, Jul 28	LA Dodgers	8:15 PM		Wainwright (11-6)	Billingsley (10-5)	Tickets
Wed, Jul 29	LA Dodgers	8:15 PM		Pineiro (9-9)	Kershaw (8-5)	Tickets
Thu, Jul 30	LA Dodgers	8:15 PM		Lohse (4-6)	Kuroda (3-5)	Tickets
Fri, Jul 31	Houston	8:15 PM		Wellemeyer (7-9)	Moehler (7-6)	Tickets
AUGUST	OPPONENT	TIME (ET)	TV	STL PITCHER	OPP. PITCHER	TRAVEL
Sat, Aug 1	Houston	7:15 PM		Carpenter (8-3)	Rodriguez (10-6)	Tickets
Sun, Aug 2	Houston	2:15 PM		Wainwright (11-6)	Oswalt (6-4)	Tickets