FanHouse Larry Rothschild

The "Battle For The Best Third Place Team in Chicago," also known as the Crosstown Rivalry, will come to an end for the 2009 season on Sunday, but that doesn't mean there won't be any lingering issues between the two teams.

Though the Windy City rivals have split the first two games of this series, which has been pretty entertaining to watch, the big story was and still is the argument between Lou Piniella and Milton Bradley on Friday.

Piniella sent Bradley home early on Friday after calling him a "piece of [naughty word]" in the visitor's clubhouse. According to both of them they've hugged out their differences, and now the Cubs seem to be turning their anger towards the White Sox. Particularly Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild, who wants to know who's been snitching.

As baseball's offseason slogs along at a molasses-like pace, the Jake Peavy-to-Cubs rumors just won't die. Whether it's actual reality or just pure conjecture at this point is hard to tell.

For now, Peavy and each front office remain pretty quiet. And all we're left doing is speculating.

Yet we do know a few things that still make the deal a logical one.

At this point in his career it would be foolish to expect Rich Harden to be a workhorse starter. His injury history means that the Cubs will be constantly rolling the dice, hoping that he can turn in strong performances while other pitchers do the heavy lifting. That said, there wasn't any reason to think that Harden wouldn't be ready to go when Spring Training gets under way at the end of February.

That prognosis has changed, however. According to sources who spoke with the Chicago Sun-Times, Harden has a tear in his shoulder. It's an injury that can be treated with surgery or managed with therapy and a work schedule that lessens stress on the joint. Harden's opted for the latter, and he's been working out like a demon, but there's still reason for concern.

Stop that, Cubs fans. You know what I mean -- the repeated mumblings of "That's why they call it a series" followed by the "Something-something ... don't mind if I do!" Homer Simpson-like behavior. Seriously, stop. It's totally okay to freak out.

After all, you are down 1-0 in the National League Division Series to the Dodgers, and as TBS was kind enough to squeeze in between "I Love This Town" soundbites, the team that wins the first game of such a series has gone on to win said series 24 of 28 times.

Of course, it didn't have to be this way. There were a lot of things going in your favor. On paper (in theory) you had the better team. You also had a hefty wind (17 mph at last check) blowing into Wrigley. And Joe Torre made the mistake of using ground ball pitcher Derek Lowe tonight instead of saving him for a change in weather.