Carlos Zambrano and the Cubs are finally on a roll.

As we close in on the trade deadline, there have been blockbuster deals going left and right, and it took us forever to be able to get them all down here and give them the attention they deserve.

Okay, not really, but wishful thinking, right?

National League Central

Chicago Cubs

The team continues to make up ground on the Brewers based largely on their pitching. Carlos Zambrano and Ted Lilly are each 3-0 since the break, Rich Hill and Sean Marshall have each only allowed three earned runs in two starts, and Jason Marquis only allowed five runners and two runs in his last start, and win, of 7.2 innings.

Hot: Derek Lee used a five game suspension to rest his tired bones and has come back revitalized. He has two home runs, five runs and RBI since his return from his mini-vacation.

Cold: Jason Kendall. It seems cruel to pick on a player who was hitting .225 on the year, but his record for the Cubbies is even worse, and he has just one run and one RBI in eight games.

Cincinnati Reds

In one of the more interesting trades of the day, (notice the sarcasm) the Reds picked up Jorge Cantu, who hit .249 last year and has been a place holder on my mediocre AL-only league named The Cantu Can’t Do’s. This year, Cantu is hitting just .207 for 2007 in the bigs, and not much better in Triple-A at just .237. The power is gone too, with just one homer total between the majors and minors. Cantu had been in Triple-A Durham, and he will stay in the International League, shifting over to Louisville. What the Reds’ long-term players are for Cantu are unknown and, since it is the Reds, probably unfathomable.

Hot: Jeff Keppinger will probably never be mentioned as the hot offensive player again, but he has hit over .300 over three weeks in July. This week was a career week for him. Literally. His eight RBI equaled his total in 2006 over 22 games and was only one short of his 2004 total in 33 games. He was 10-for-25 in the last week with one homer and two runs scored.

Cold: Ken Griffey Jr. actually hit a homer and a double, but with two runs and two RBI in seven games, this makes for a pretty empty .185 batting average. Matt Belisle only lasted 3.2 innings in his last outing – this means that in five of his last seven starts he lasted no more than five innings and has allowed runs at a clip of at least one per inning. In his other two starts, he only allowed one earned run each. He remains a major question mark.

Houston Astros

The ‘Stros actually made a move for a player who might contribute today; picking up Ty Wigginton from the Devil Rays. Behind by 11 games, the question is really why. They dealt Dan Wheeler, who has been Brad Lidge’s security blanket for the last two years. Who knows where he will play, but he has experience virtually everywhere.

Hot: Roy Oswalt had a chest strain last week which was expected to keep him out of the lineup till next Tuesday, and probably caused him to be benched in fantasy lineups, but he decided a couple of days ago, he could start on Saturday. Oswalt threw seven innings of shutout ball for the win, striking out 10 only allowing three hits and one walk.

Cold: Mark Loretta has played many games at all the infield positions this year. However, playing in seven games in the last week, he was 5-for-27 with no RBI and a .185 batting average.

Milwaukee Brewers

This remains one of the closest races in baseball despite the Brewers losing five games in the last week.

Hot: Pencil Ryan Braun in as NL ROY now. In 57 games, he is hitting .349 with 18 homers and 9 stolen bases. In the last week, he has three home runs, seven RBI, one stolen base and a .414 batting average.

Cold: Jeff Suppan only lasted five innings in his last start and allowed ten hits, two walks and five earned runs.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Possessed of the worst record in the NL, it is not surprising that their best hitters are not living up to the promise of last year’s stats. Jason Bay averaged 31 homers over the last three years, but is on pace for less than 25 this year, with by far his worst batting average.

Hot: Despite the gloominess of his overall projections for this year, Bay has three home runs, eight RBI, a stolen base, and a .350 batting average for the last week.

Cold: John Van Benschoten, Ian Snell, and Tom Gorzelanny, combined for 8.2 innings in their last starts and allowed 23 hits and 19 earned runs. Shane Youman, a stopgap starter for this month only, allowed one earned run in eight innings but received a loss for his effort.

St. Louis Cardinals

Firmly entrenched in third place, and six games under .500, the Cardinals are essentially done for the year.  Injuries and a few underperformers have taken care of that.

Hot: Many doubted that Chris Duncan would be able to repeat his numbers from last year. However, they are virtually identical at this point. With one fewer at-bat, he has two less homers, two more combined runs and RBI, and three points lower in batting average – overall, virtually identical. In the last week, he has two home runs, seven RBI, and a .300 batting average.

Cold: David Eckstein is 3-for-18 and his only fantasy relevance was one stolen base.