After over a week of warm fuzzies from the Cubs, fans got a dose of the cold pricklies over the weekend. The Cubs fell back into a three-way tie for the Wild Card by losing the last three games of their series with Houston.

Uncharacteristically, the pitching was the problem. The starting pitching was shaky, and the bullpen wasn't much better, though Cubs fans will be relieved of Kyle Farnsworth's antics for a few weeks. Talk about a dumbass. Kyle was actually putting together a solid season until August strolled along, when he decided to have the mother of all meltdowns.

Here at home, I'm spending the next couple days avoiding the delegates and protesters who've invaded my island. Not to get all political on you, but I'm less than pleased with the takeover; the RNC isn't exactly my crowd, and I'll betcha they aren't reserving too many warm fuzzies to send my way, either.

At any rate, you may have noticed that Christian is absent these days. He's on vacation, though the good news is that he's swinging through the city in a couple days and he and I get our first face time. That may come as a surprise to some readers, but Christian and I have never met.

I'm actually heading to Maine for a short vacation towards the end of the week, and I doubt I'll get a chance to check in while away. Both your hosts will be away, but Christian and I have lined up some great guest columns to keep things fresh.

The Cubs begin a three-game series in Montreal tonight, facing the Expos for the first time this year. The Cubs are catching the Expos at their most vulnerable -- Vidro and Johnson are out with injuries, and even ex-Cubs Francis Beltran and Alex Gonzalez are likely to miss the series.

Monday
6:05 pm, WGN
Greg Maddux (12-8, 3.86 ERA, 118 K/28 BB) vs. Rocky Biddle (4-7, 7.42, 47/29)

Tuesday
6:05 pm, FSN
Mark Prior (4-3, 4.60, 88/37) vs. Livan Hernandez (9-12, 3.79, 153/61)

Wednesday
6:05 pm, FSN
Kerry Wood (7-6, 3.57, 102/39) vs. Scott Downs (2-4, 7.24, 14/16)