It's amusing to see that while the Cubs haven't been able to get clutch hits early in ball games to ease some of the pressure off the pitchers, they seem to get the clutch hits when they are do or die: Aramis' single up the middle Tuesday, Soriano's blooper down the left field line last night. That's either the mark of a really good ball club or a really, really lucky one, and normally "Cubs" and "luck" don't appear in the same sentence.

If these wins bide enough time for the Cubs bats to find the gaps and holes in the defense instead of honing in on the opposing outfielders, well then that's fine by me, but the Cubs can't expect to skirt by like that all season long by any means. 3 out of their 5 last games have gone to extras and 5 out of their 5 last games have resulted in higher blood pressure for Cub fans. Pinella's team is also lucky that it's been able to divvy up the relief duty between Marmol, Ascanio and Howry. It also would appear that Pinella told his players not to take the lead in the 8th inning so Kerry Wood could get a much needed day off.

It's the hitting however, that needs to be addressed, though luckily the Cubs should not need it in this four game series at home against the Rockies, who limp their way to Wrigley Field today after getting lambasted by the Phillies, with many of their major players on the DL including Troy Tulowitzki, Matt Holliday and Brad Hawpe. The Cubs will be facing a AAA loaded lineup and a starting rotation that with the exception of Aaron Cook has been absolute garbage. It's the perfect opportunity for the Cubs bats to get ready for the road where they have yet to prove themselves.

The two players that need to have a good series: Mark DeRosa and Jim Edmonds. Edmonds tenure with the Cubs could be short-lived. The Cubs will likely see two righties and two lefties in this series and with Micah Hoffpauir itching for at-bats he's deserved and an interleague schedule that will mostly take place on the road, Edmonds will need to find his swing a little quicker if he has any left. The Cubs could really benefit from him getting some hits, but the team owes him nothing. DeRosa still has a great average, but only 7 of his 26 RBIs have come in the month of May and he is second behind Soto with the most strikeouts though unlike Soto, Mark's not a power hitter. With Ronny Cedeno and Mike Fontenot wanting playing time and arguably deserving it, you'd like Lou to feel comfortable keeping DeRo in the lineup.

The Cubs should reasonably take 3 of 4 this weekend. Lefty Jeff Francis, former Rockies ace, takes the mound tonight against Jason Marquis. If the wind stops blowing in, this should be a hitter's game, which means the Cubs will need to hit if they want to win. The Rockies' poor lineup and inability to score of late should give the Cubs an automatic advantage in every game.