Q. It might be a pipe dream to some, a feel-good story to others. But in your opinion, do the Cubs have all the pieces in place to win the World Series?
— Bill Atkinson, Colonial Heights, Va.

A. If you had asked me a week or so ago — when they had the best record in baseball and a 6 1/2-game division lead — I would have said yes, Bill. But that appears to be getting a bit dicey lately.

The Cubs have lost five in a row through Wednesday, and perhaps more importantly, ace Carlos Zambrano is showing every sign of a tired arm (and you hope for nothing worse than that). Zambrano had a 7.43 ERA in August, and rested two extra days before his last start on Tuesday against Houston, but still lost a few miles per hour off his fastball and was throwing from a lower arm angle, usually a sign of shoulder soreness. He will undergo an MRI soon, and we'll know more then.

No. 2 starter Rich Harden also is being backed off a few days before his next start, just as a precaution. He says it isn't serious, so we'll take his word for it — at least for now. But obviously, the Cubs will need Zambrano and Harden at 100 percent to advance deep into the playoffs.

Even a potential first-round matchup with Arizona would be difficult with those two at less than 100 percent, as the D-Backs will run Brandon Webb, Dan Haren and Randy Johnson out there for the first three games. (Of course, those three are having problems of their own right now, but that's another story).

Derrek Lee and Kosuke Fukudome are having their offensive struggles, but the Cubs offense still leads the NL in runs, batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, so I wouldn't be overly concerned there.

In the bullpen, Bob Howry is a concern, and you'd like to have a better left-handed combination than Neal Cotts and Sean Marshall. But the back end trio of Jeff Samardzija, Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood are reminiscent of Piniella's Nasty Boys combination of Rob Dibble, Norm Charlton and Randy Myers for the 1990 world-champion Reds.

The Cubs also have some leeway, with a 4 1/2-game lead over the Brewers, who are the wildcard team by a comfortable margin. And here's another thought: Maybe one pitching injury (but only one) would take pressure off the Cubs, and cast them in the role of an underdog rather than a heavy favorite to win the NL pennant — as they were only a week ago. So Cubs fans shouldn't be panicking just yet.

Q. Do the Brewers have any chance of signing one, two or possibly all three — Ben Sheets, CC Sabathia and Prince Fielder — to long-term contracts? I am especially hopeful for Fielder and Sabathia.
— Lori Kay Weyer, Sheboygan Falls, Wis.

A. Keeping either one of the two starting pitchers beyond this season is going to be a difficult proposition for the Brewers — but not out of the realm of possibility, especially in Sheets' case.

Sabathia will be the top starting pitcher on the market, and the New York Yankees already have said they will be in the bidding. So we're likely looking at a Barry Zito-plus type deal, something in the area of seven-eight years and $130-140 million – a neighborhood I don't think the Brewers will go, even though under owner Mark Attanasio, they have bumped up their annual payroll to a middle-of-the-pack $80 million or so.

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But if Sabathia is out of the picture, the Brewers could decide to stay in the bidding on Sheets, which will be at a much lower cost given his history of injuries. There also could be some sort of hometown discount that Sheets will accept to stay put. But I think we're still looking at at least half of what Sabathia will get, probably over a four- or five-year deal.

Fielder's situation is entirely different. The Brewers have him under control for three more years, although he will be arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter, when his salary will increase dramatically.

They couldn't work out a long-term deal with Fielder last spring — when they signed Ryan Braun to an eight-year, $45-million deal. But I do think you will see something along those lines materialize in the upcoming off-season.

Q. Albert Pujols could possibly lead the majors in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, walks and intentional walks. Has anyone done that before? It sounds like something Babe Ruth could have done, or possibly Barry Bonds.
— Larry Simon, Scottsdale, Ariz.

A. Yes, as this season unfolds, Albert Pujols' numbers get more and more impressive – enough so that he is the favorite to win the National League MVP award. As you say, Sir Albert has a very comfortable lead in slugging percentage, and narrow leads in batting average and on-base percentage. But he does not lead the majors – or even the National League – in walks. That would be the new guy for your hometown team, Larry – Adam Dunn – who had a 15-walk lead over Pujols through Wednesday.

But you're right on both of your guesses, as Barry Bonds (2002) and Babe Ruth (1924) led their league in all those categories. In both cases, that was the only batting title each player won. Here are Bonds' numbers — .370 batting average, .582 on-base percentage, .799 slugging percentage, 198 walks and 68 intentional walks. And Ruth's — .378 batting average, .513 on-base percentage, .739 slugging percentage and 142 walks (there was no record kept of intentional walks back then).