I'm out of exclamations. I've used many to describe  the 2008 Cubs team, and I'm fresh out for the moment. Shame too, as they again found a way to win last night, with Alfonso Soriano hitting a game-winning single to left, giving the Cubs a 2-1 win in 10 innings.

I don't think I've personally watched or seen a better pitching performance than last night since Weaver vs. MIllwood back in April. The Derek Lowe vs. Carlos Zambrano matchup was fantastic. Both pitchers were on last night, and with the cooler air to boot, each could have probably gone nine, if the situation allowed. Zambrano did have a touch of wildness early on, allowing a pair of two-out singles, and a HBP to load the bases in the 3rd. Then walking in the only Dodgers run with a free pass to Blake Dewitt, before retiring Chin-lung Hu to end the inning. And that looked like all the runs the Dodgers would need, as Lowe gave way to Jonathan Broxton in the 8th inning, who easily struck out the side.

But the late innings were once again where the Cubs did their best work. In the 9th, an extremely patient Cubs team let Dodgers closer Takashi Saito suffer through some fairly extreme wildness, with Ryan Theriot and Aramis Ramirez drawing walks. Then, after a Fukudome singles loads the bases, Geovany Soto hit a game-tying sacrifice fly to right. Sadly, they couldn't get more then, but they came back in the 10th. After Mike Fontenot reached on a sharp double to left-center, Alfonso Soriano -- yes, that please don't boo me guy himself -- hit the game-winning single to left.

This win now leaves the Cubs with their second sweep of an NL West foe, and tied for the best record in baseball. I think the argument about how competitive the NL Central would be this season can be put to rest. And as for the new argument that I've been hearing; "It's only May, and Lou's managing like it's the playoffs", well, I say get over it. This team has a long, long history of losing. And in many of those seasons, early-season woes have doomed them from the onset, regardless of the talent level. Lou Piniella said repeatedly during the off-season that his major goal was to get the team out of the gate with a good start, and build on that. He's done it. Frankly, this team needed to be dragged kick and screaming out of a century-long doldrum, and into a winning state of mind. Some of the moves I don't particularly agree with, and I don't think a major-league manager would typically do. But this is Chicago, and this isn't a typical franchise. So, let's close our eyes for a bit, and pretend it's October.