The last time the Cubs faced San Francisco -- scratch that, the last time these two teams met, nobody cared about the Giants; it was the Cubs vs. Barry Bonds -- the Giants sat firmly in last place, 13.5 games out, with no hope of a turnaround.

The good news is threefold: The Giants are still in last place, now by 15.5 games, and the Barry Bonds circus folded up its tents and left the nation's consciousness weeks ago.

But best of all, the Brewers -- the team many forgot about over the course of the four-game Cardinal series, and that is now tied with the Cubs after picking up a game last night -- get treated to a three-game set with the Diamondbacks, who lead the NL with 71 wins.

St. Louis, though, tonight plays the first of three games against Florida, a team nearly as abysmal as San Francisco.

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Let the rejoicing begin:

The Chicago Cubs optioned infielder Ronny Cedeno to Triple-A Iowa...

...right where he belongs.

* * * *

Jason Marquis is on the mound tonight. After a strong start, Marquis has faltered, seeing his ERA rise from 3.31 on July 1 to 4.25 a month and a half later. His 106 ERA+ is nothing spectacular, but nobody was so delusional as to believe the Cubs were signing an ace when Marquis inked his deal last winter. If Marquis finishes the season with his current ERA, I'll be perfectly content.