A Rejuvenated Pitching Staff

After worries in recent weeks about the health of the Cubs pitching staff, Harden and Zambrano put all those worries to rest.

Harden used his extra rest the Cubs gave him to pitch 6 strong innings against the Cardinals to earn his 5th "W" for the Cubs, a much needed one at that.

However, the big story comes from Big Z. Coming off of shoulder tendinitis and stating that his arm was tired, he pitches a no-hitter against the Astros in his first start back.

Some may question Lou Piniella's decision to let Big Z throw over 100 pitches considering his arm issues, but I think it was the right decision. It was exactly what the Cubs needed as they head into the final two weeks of the regular season.

Without Harden and Zambrano, the Cubs looked vulnerable the past couple of weeks, but now with a strong Harden and Zambrano the Cubs have that swagger back that Lou Piniella knew they had in them.

If these two can stay healthy, the 1-2-3 punch in the post season of Z, Harden, and Dempster is one I feel will be hard to beat.

Side note: With the Cubs victory and two losses on Sunday by the Brew Crew the Cubs now have a magic number of 7.