It's been smooth sailing for the Chicago Cubs, since the last week that is. You've likely noticed that despite being a proud, lifelong member of Cubdom I haven't been relishing in this season's accomplishments thus far. Why? Well, I know better.

Completely Useless By September goes the infamous acronym, and this year that holds to be true. At home where the Cubs have been dominant, they were swept by the Houston Astros. Combined with losing the last two games versus Philadelphia, that's five straight losses for the Northsiders.

This is why we drink. A lot.

All is not lost. Chicago still has the most wins in baseball and the best record in the National League, in addition to a 4.5 game lead in the NL Central.

Why the nationwide concern? Ah yes, Cubbie pitching trouble. Zambrano was removed from Tuesday night's start after five innings with some arm tightness and fatigue and is set to have an MRI this morning. He was supposed to have this procedure done yesterday, but apparently had something more important to do. If that wasn't enough, the oft-injured Rich Harden has been passed over in the rotation to give his arm more rest, inciting the "it was inevitable" reaction around the league.

My dad asked me this morning if I was panicking. My response: of course, I'm a Cubs fan. Panic, paranoia, anxiety is simply a way of life in Wrigleyville.

Very little has gone wrong this season. Even when Alfonso Soriano went down for a month, the Cubs rallied and posted two extended winning streaks. The truth is that before late August, Lou Piniella's club was the one team who had yet to suffer a slump of any kind. It was bound to happen, and I'm partially glad it's right now, I'm just not pleased about the pitching situation.

The Cubs are going to make the playoffs. My hands shake as I write that, assuredly jinxing it, but the current record gives them a comfortable advantage to at the very least gain a wild card bid that not even the '07 Mets could blow. But my mind is focused on the playoffs and breaking that damn curse. This is the best Cubs team of my lifetime and would have a solid shot to win it all with Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden.

Let's forget about my pipe dream at the moment. Is this the typical Cubs collapse in progress, perhaps even a curse, or will things be fine in a few weeks with Z and Harden back comfortably in the rotation?