As statements go, the Cubs 6-4 win over the Brewers wasn’t exactly a definitive declaration of divisional dominance, but it’ll do. The Cubs got the lead, gave it up, got it back, gave it up again and got it back for good. They had to retire Gabe Kapler three different times to end the game. We got to see Alfonso Soriano loaf and turn a double into a…double, turn a Corey Hart single into a double that scored the corpulent Prince Fielder from first, and hit a bomb that shook loose any feeling of invincibility that CC Sabathia might have still been giving off.

Sabathia had been so good in his four Brewers starts, especially the last three, that many were conceding the first game of the series to the Brewers. But the Cubs got to him in the first after Soriano followed up his double (that he thought had hit over the wall, not off of it) by stealing third base and scoring on a Derrek Lee single. In the third, Soriano unloaded on a fastball for his second homer in as many days (so much for the broken hand stealing his power) and the tenor of the game changed. Suddenly, the mood changed from “how are the Cubs going to get any runs off of CC” to “how many runs are they going to get off of CC?”

In the end they only got three earned runs off of him. Thanks to Rickie Weeks throwing a double play turn into the dugout, Derrek Lee avoided his 22nd double play of the year. But the potent Cubs offense, the one we so admired in the first half of the season. The one that wears down pitchers even if they aren’t scoring a ton off of them, showed up last night.

They rolled up the fat boy’s pitch count, they banged out nine hits off of him in less than seven innings, and they got him to throw more than 120 pitches. They got into the musty claptrap of a Brewers’ bullpen and that’s where they won the game.

Because the Brewers know they will not be able to re-sign Sabathia, they are basically just pitching the crap out of him. They figure it’s a no-lose situation because whatever abuse they lay on him the rest of this season is somebody else’s problem next year.

But it might not be the wisest of plans. They have to get him through the regular season and into October, and while he’s been dominating, his history suggests even though he looks like a horse, he probably shouldn’t be ridden that hard.

Until last year, his career high for innings pitched was 210 in 2002. Last year, though, the Indians stretched him out and he pitched 241 innings, and then 15 and a third more in the playoffs.

He wasn’t too good in the playoffs, and whether that was from his big workload or a propensity to crap his pants in big games, we’re not sure. What is clear is that he gave up 15 earned runs in 15 and a third innings in the playoffs, and even though he won a start in the AL Division Series against the Yankees he didn’t pitch well in that one, either.

But even with his high inning total last year, the Indians were conservative with him. He never once threw 120 pitches or more in a game. This year he’s already done it four times and all in his last six starts.

The Indians were able to keep his pitch total down last year because their bullpen was incredible (it’s been horrendous this year, but last year it was great). The Brewers bullpen? Not so much. So Ned isn’t just not worrying about next year with CC, he’s worrying about coughing up games.

The only difference so far in the quality of the starts of CC Sabathia and Rich Harden are that CC has gone deeper into the games, and therefore hasn’t watched his bullpen cover his lead with kerosene and start flipping matches.

Harden comes out, strikes everybody out, gives up one solo homer and then the Cubs lose.  Great.

But what do we care about how many pitches CC throws?  He’s not the Cubs’ problem.  Neither is Ben Sheets who has already gotten the Brewers nine fans prepped for disappointment.  He hasn’t suffered an injury this year to put him out for months…yet.  Though he is complaining about a sore groin.  Oh, that’s too bad.

The Cubs have their own problems to worry about.

How many of us saw that Russell Branyan homer off of Bobby Howry coming from at least a batter away?  I know I did.  I even remarked that I hoped he got the first two out so that Branyan’s homer would only tie the game.

Bob, you got some big outs…last year.  Don’t tarnish what we had.  Just drink the Drano and lay down.  Thanks.

Lee had a good night with three hits and three RBI…but with the bases loaded and one out he hits another two hopper to the shortstop?  Guh.

Thankfully any time you want to rally you just hit the ball to Rickie Weeks.  It worked for the Astros on Sunday (his error led to five unearned runs in one inning) and twice last night for the Cubs.

What the hell is wrong with Mike Quade?  Last week he got two guys thrown out at home with nobody out in one game.  He seems hell bent on getting Lee killed, and then after sending Lee to near certain death earlier in the game, he held little Mikey Fontenot at third when he easily would have scored.  Maybe he’s in a slump?

Or, maybe he’s prepping for a role in an Annie sequel where Daddy Warbucks waves Sandy into traffic?

Carlos Marmol was filthy as ever last night, completely overmatching Bill Hall and Mike Cameron to start the inning.  Then, of course, he walks Jason Kendall, when after one pitch it appeared as though Kendall’s entire strategy was, “Shit, I can’t hit this.  I’m just gonna stand here and hope I walk.”

The final three pitches of the game were…interesting.  On the third to last, Marmol appeared to strike Kapler out looking, but the pitch was called a ball.  On the second to last Kapler barely got a piece of the ball and bounced it on one quick hop into Geovany Soto’s glove.  Geovany either thought he caught it or just is a good actor because he did everything to convince the umps the game was over short of throwing the ball into the stands and starting the singing of “Go Cubs Go.”  Then, on the last pitch, Kapler was badly fooled, stuck his bat out and because he’s got freakish weightlifter strength sent the ball into dangerous territory (left field.)

Marmol was asked if he had any thoughts that it might be trouble and he said, “Only when Soriano jumped for it.”  Soriano didn’t do the regular one leg Rockette kick catch.  This time he jumped off both feet, meaning that if he’d misjudged the ball at all that it would still be rolling.  But he didn’t, he caught it, and the Cubs won.

It’s just one game, but it was a big one.  Earlier in the year, the Cubs had made a habit of winning the first game in series’, home or away, to set the tone.  They’d gotten away from that lately.  Now that it’s back, how about the rare double of an opening road series win and an overall series win?

Now THAT is a message worth sending to our strange little friends in Wisconsin.