It isn't above or below Sweet Lou to show his sour side from time-to-time

After two very docile months in the Windy City, things blew up this weekend.

And to everyone’s surprise, the Chicago Cubs finally started winning.

It all started during Friday’s 8-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Pitcher Carlos Zambrano and catcher Michael Barrett got into a fistfight in the dugout in the middle of the fifth inning.

The two went at it after Atlanta scored five runs in the top of the fifth. Barrett allowed a run to score on a passed ball and a throwing error.

Barrett isn’t Zambrano’s usual catcher. While he starts most games for Chicago, backup catcher Henry Blanco has taken over the role of Zambrano's personal catcher. Blanco missed Zambrano’s last start with a herniated disc in his neck.

“I would venture to guess that the blow-up between Barrett and Zambrano had something to do with Big Z basically saying that Barrett can't call a game as well as Blanco,” says Covers Expert Scott Rickenbach. “I am just speculating and haven't really read up on the issues but even if something else was publicly stated I truly believe the issue tied back to this. Zambrano misses Blanco.”

Blanco is now on the 15-day DL, retroactive to May 30. He started every Zambrano start this season until his injury.

Barrett and Zambrano were fined by the team, but not suspended. Zambrano will start for the Cubs on Wednesday afternoon against the Milwaukee Brewers.

A fight with his catcher isn’t the only thing troubling Zambrano lately – the big right-hander allowed thirteen hits and six earned runs in just five innings against the Braves. He also had no strikeouts in a start for the first time in his career.

The 2007 season has gotten off to a rough start for Zambrano. He is 5-5 with a 1.59 WHIP and a 5.62 ERA in 12 starts.

The second incident came the very next day, in Saturday’s 5-3 loss to the Braves. Manager Lou Pinella was suspended for making contact with umpire Mark Wegner while in the middle of a dirt-kicking tantrum. Pinella was suspended for the next four games.

Bench coach Allen Trammell took over managerial duties and led Chicago to wins in each of his first two games on the bench.  He’ll try to make it three in a row on Tuesday before the series finale on Wednesday.

“I definitely feel they are much better than they have shown so far this season,” says Rickenbach. “Their offense has a lot of potential and I expect them to continue showing some offensive muscle in the coming weeks.”

Chicago’s 24-31 record puts it fifth in the NL Central, but the Cubs have scored 20 more runs than they have allowed.

Using Bill James' pythagorean theorem (RS^2/(RS^2+RA^2), which calculates a team's record were luck not a factor, by basing record solely on total runs scored and allowed, the Cubs' runs scored/runs against ratio projects to a 29-26 record. This becomes a respectable .540 winning percentage as opposed to their actual winning percentage of .436.

Jeff Suppan will pitch for Milwaukee on Wednesday afternoon. The Brewers are a -115 favorite.