It doesn't seem to matter what the condition, situation, team, or even how they do. Get the Cubs at Wrigley Field, and they are just going to find a way to beat you. Known for offensive explosions at home early on, they won again 3-1 last night in front of 39,854.

Maybe I'm just not living right. Last night was probably my 7th game at Wrigley this season, and it was frigid. Again. The wind chill game time was in the mid-30s, the wind was howling in, and this looked like another game that everyone wanted finished quickly. Personally, I'd like to actually see a game before August that didn't require my wearing a parka and gloves, but the good news was that pretty much everything was going to be a long, wind-blown fly last night. So if you could get to it, it was going to be an out.

Good thing too, as Sean Gallagher had loads of trouble getting his breaking ball over for strikes early on, and that was even before the ball hit off his pitching hand in the first. But his fastball was really on last night, hitting mid-90s with regularity. That, coupled with him having more luck finding his release point as the game progressed, kept the Dodgers off-balance for much of the game. Sean went seven big innings, allowing one earned run. Big, considering that this performance probably allowed Lou Piniella to properly reset his bullpen -- taxed way too hard in Pittsburgh -- back to their normal alignment. This kid just keeps looking better and better, and is looking more confident by the start. Even from when I last saw him against the Diamondbacks, he looked more confident, especially with his off-speed pitches, which still look like a work in progress.

But the big star of the night was Kosuke Fukudome, who was supposedly very excited about the matchup against Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda. First, he made a number of fantastic defensive plays; playing an Andre Ethier hit off the wall -- with a great throw to second -- to keep him to a single, then robbing him altogether with a sliding catch in the 6th. In the 7th inning, he keyed the three-run inning with a double to give the Cubs the 3-1 win. Let me set it up. With Ryan Theriot reaching on a fielders choice, Alfonso Soriano singles to left, sending Theriot to third. Blake DeWitt then bobbles the Mike Fontenot ball, allowing Theriot to score. With Dodgers Jonathan Broxton on in relief, Derrek Lee hits a sacrifice fly, sending Soriano to third. Then the Cubs come up with a big pair of two-out hits; an Aramis Ramirez single to score Soriano, then the Fukudome double to plate Fontenot. If the Japanese media was looking for theater last night, they got it. Kuroda looks like a legit major leaguer, and Fukudome was gold.

Now let me a share a couple of thoughts about who wasn't, and why. Jim Edmonds, it's over. Another 0-4 night, Jim again looked frustrated constantly at the plate, and to be frank, has no bat speed left. I've scouted the Padres games from earlier this season, and I've seen plenty of his at-bats in person now. It's not there. Maybe he can latch on with someone as a defensive replacement; perhaps a 5th outfielder somewhere. But thinking he can slug for you is silly, and the sample size is large enough to make a decision. Let him go.

Ronny Cedeno, there's a reason you're stuck on the bench. You've no head for the game, and you proved it again last night. First, your inability to move the runner over in the third, which likely cost the Cubs a run. Then your misguided error in the 7th. And finally, your inexplicable inability to get down the bunt in the 8th. Bad play all around, which I suspect speaks volumes about why you can't get off the bench. It's bad baseball, and this team won't have it.

On to today. And hopefully the sweep.