NL Central

For the fourth time this season, Livan Hernandez put the Nationals on his back and carried them late into the game.

By doing that, he gave them a chance to earn a victory.

With early run support, Washington was able to do just that as they defeated the Cubs 3-1 and nipped a one game losing streak in the bud.

Throughout baseball, the aces of pitching staff's are called stoppers.

They are the pitchers who managers, general managers and fans feel comfortable putting in every fifth day to make sure that no losing streak gets out of control.

How can a player with a six-year stint in the majors, and a .200 career batting average become one of the most beloved characters in Major League Baseball?

Be Bob Uecker—that's it, fairly simply.

Milwaukee Brewers' fans are lucky enough to have the opportunity to listen to the "Ueke's" colorful and often legitimately laugh-out-loud funny commentary on a nightly basis.

Uecker, 75, will undergo major heart surgery on Friday, and most likely be out of commission for 10 to 12 weeks.

 To help preview the coming series against the Chicago Cubs, we sat down with Joe Aeillo from an outstanding Cubs blog, View From The Bleachers . Go check out their site, they do some really cool stuff over there. I also prepared a short preview for them which I will post here once it gets put up. Anyways, Joe and I talked about Riggleman, Strasburg, Zambrano, and getting the Cubs back to the World Series.

With such a rich and lengthy history, the Cubs have seen roughly 2,000 don the Cubbie blue over the years. Because of that, I thought it would be fun to name who I feel are the top five players for all 26 letters of the alphabet, going by last name.

To qualify, the player needs only to have played at least one game for the Cubs.

Mike Leake is not your typical pitcher. Leake, 22, has made the jump straight from the draft to the major leagues. Aroldis Chapman and Stephen Strasburg have made more headlines with their 100 mph fastballs, yet they are not in the major leagues and Leake is.

Leake is only 5'10" and 180 pounds. His fastball barely tops out in the low 90s. Now how does a right-handed pitcher who puts up average numbers on the radar gun get to the major leagues before two flamethrowers such as soon-to-be teammate Chapman and highly-rated and hyped Strasburg?

If actor John Houseman were alive today, I'm sure he'd modify his Smith Barney commercials to fit the Houston Astros: "The Houston Astros: they win ballgames the old fashioned way...they EARN them!"

A few weeks ago a reader named Clayton Elkins thought I was being far too pessimistic regarding the Astros' slow start and referenced a Jim Rome quote. Being in a sour mood and not having listened to Romey in a while, I became upset right away. Now, in retrospect, it appears Clayton was on to something.

Despite their early-season struggles, the Chicago Cubs have plenty of reasons not to be afraid just yet. From the revamped minor league system, to a smarter Jim Hendry, to the twenty-fifth man on the roster (and the fortieth in September), the Cubs organization and their ever-loyal fans have no reason to worry about the 2010 season.

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Cincinnati, whether deserved or undeserved, has long held a reputation of racist city.

And no, that's not a photo of Joe Morgan giving a "black power" fist. He's waving.

But the photo looked silly after trying to crop it down and get the wave into the shot.

Having never lived in Cincinnati, it's tough to properly judge. 

Just a hunch, but most whites would probably deny it, blacks would agree that the city has serious issues regarding racism.

Don’t expect the Cubs (6-10) to have an easy go of it facing the Milwaukee Brewers (8-7) this time around.

The Cubs opened up their home schedule by taking two of three from the Brewers back on April 12-15—their lone series win to date—but Milwaukee and Chicago are two teams heading in opposite directions.

The Brewers piled on 20 runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates yesterday and outscored the Buccos 36-1 in a three-game sweep.

The Cubs, meanwhile, haven’t scored 36 runs in their past eight games combined.