Big Z: Hitter's AND Pitcher's Worst Nightmare?

Carlos Zambrano is hitting .356....and has a slugging percentage of .542...not to mention he's 11-4 with a miniscule 2.96 ERA in 20 starts this year. If none of those numbers mean anything to you, allow me to put some emphasis on them. First off, don't get me wrong...I understand the guy only hits in the lineup every 5 games, but seriously, have the Cubbies considered moving him up in the order? That .542 slugging tops the .501 a certain Ryan Howard is posting. Oh and that one guy...uhh..oh yeah, Josh Hamilton: Slug % of .542. That .356 average puts him only behind Chipper Jones, who finally is no longer in the chase for .400 sitting at .369. The Biz Z on the mound is also tied for 5th in the NL in wins and 6th in ERA. Knocking the ball around the park and pitching your team to wins in a tight divisional race (thanks to the Brew Crew's 8 straight victories) has got to feel good, especially for a guy who brings that kind of an attitude to the ballpark. How can you not like this guy?

Other notes:

With Dan Haren and Brandon Webb, can someone please tell me how the D-Backs are a game under .500? Oh yeah, this is why. Those two are a combined 22-9 and Doug Davis, Micah Owings and an ancient Randy Johnson round out the rotation with a 16-20 record and posting an average ERA of about 4.70. The team is young...you can't expect them to throw up 6 or 7 runs on the board every game.

The Rays and Red Sox are now knotted up at the top of the AL East thanks to a disappointing loss by Tampa to Kansas City. Why do I have a bad feeling about this feel-good Rays story...?

The Packers might postpone Brett Favre's jersey retirement...really? Fancy that.

17 players got ejected during a 10 minute brawl in a class A game between the Cubs and Reds affiliates and a fan was taken to the hospital when a Cubs pitcher threw a ball at the Reds' dugout but missed. Wow guys, can someone tell these hotheads to grow up? You can see the whole fiasco here.

That WNBA fight lead to a 50-year old ESPN analyst Nancy Lieberman playing tonight.