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For a good part of this season, hearing people talk about the Cubs winning the National League Central is like hearing them talk about whether the sun will come up in the east. It's strange because there are two teams (Cardinals and Brewers) within five games of the Cubbies on the Fourth of July. The Cubs are good, but this thing isn't over by a long shot.

Right now, the Cubs are in a bit of a slide with seven losses in the ten games since their sweep of the White Sox. That makes tonight's return of Carlos Zambrano particularly timely. The Big Z hasn't pitched since June 18th due to shoulder problems. The Cubs have held their ground without him, but the Brewers are charging hard and the Cardinals don't seem to be going away.

If Zambrano's healthy, this is the perfect series for him to be back in because the Cubs are playing the Cards and have a chance to create some space in the division. Now that we're in the second half of the season, series like these start to matter just a little bit more.