Pittsburgh Pirates – Tied for 1st (Odds to win World Series: 35-1)
At the start of the season, most sportsbook had the Pirates as 100 or 200-1 odds to win. But after having a very solid first half of the regular season, the sportsbook have now boosted their position and dropped the odds on the Bucs winning the World Series. with one of the best young pitching staffs in baseball, this could be the year Pittsburgh makes some noise heading to the post season.

St.Louis Cardinals – Tied for 1st (Odds to win World Series: 22-1)
The Cardinals were seen as outsiders when it came to capturing the division and having a chance at winning the 2011 World Series. To date, the Cards have performed a bit better than expected and have hung in, sitting in a 3-way tie for top spot in the NL Central. And with first baseman Pujols back and hitting, St.Louis may just surprise.

Cincinnati Reds – 3 games behind (Odds to win World Series: 35-1)
The Reds have struggled a bit at times this year, but are still a solid club and as good a bet as any to lead the NL Central come September. The defending divison champs were ranked much higher than they currently are, and may be good value heading down the stretch to the post season.

Chicago Cubs – 11.5 games behind (Odds to win World Series: 300-1)
At the start of the 2011 season, and with the additions of Garza and Pena, the Cubs were certainly expected to rise out of the basement, but no further than fourth. Well to date, they have done that, sitting 8.5 games up on last place Houston but with no chance to move out of fifth. Another long year for the Cubbies faithful.

Houston Astros – 20 game behind (Odds to win World Series: 1000-1)
Houston was expected to finish last in the division and be one of the worst teams in baseball. They have surpised or dissappointed anyone. They are just a bad team on their way to a very bad record.

The Cubs and D-backs are both major underdogs to win the World Series in MLB odds, Chicago at 50-1 and Arizona at 100-1.

Both of these teams have struggled to win games this season and they are both in only above one team in their respective divisions. The Cubs are 10-12 on the season and the Diamondbacks are at 9-12. Both of these teams have gone 4-6 in their last 10 contests.

The Diamondbacks and cubs are both suffering from poor pitching staffs. With Arizona allowing 115 runs to this point and the Cubs allowing 117, only the Astros have allowed more runs this season in the entire MLB. While Arizona has a fairly potent offense, they certainly cannot rely on their offense to outscore their opponents if they don’t get more help from their pitchers.

The Diamondbacks have been solid at home, winning half of their games. Meanwhile, the Cubs are 1 game under .500 while playing on the road. Arizona does have a field that is unique and outfielders sometimes struggle to adapt to the layout of the outfield fences. This could serve as an advantage for Arizona in the series.

While the Cubs are 2 games under .500, they are still just 2 games behind the Cardinals in the standings. A solid series against Arizona could launch them into contention for 1st place in the division. The Diamondbacks are already 5.5 games behind the Rockies in the standings and they’ll need to string together a handful of wins to get back into contention.

Over the Arizona Diamondbacks, for the first time, the Chicago Cubs have won four straight matches. With Carlos Silva on the mound, they will try to extend that streak Tuesday night. Against Arizona (32-51), Chicago (36-47) has always struggled, going 36-52 from that franchise’s 1998 inception through last season. With a total of 10 homers and 37 runs, the Cubs have responded easily to take the next four.

As part of an 11-hit performance by the Chicago lineup in a 9-4 victory Monday, Starlin Castro and Geovany Soto each drove in two runs. During a seven-game homestand, after Alfonso Soriano went 4 for 23 last week and he could be back in the lineup. After going 3 for 25 on the homestand, Derrek Lee also did not start Monday. After missing two games with a sprained left thumb, Aramis Ramirez returned to the Chicago lineup and had a single in four at-bats.

From April 16-June 7, Chicago won all 10 of Silva’s (8-2, 2.96 ERA) starts. While receiving four total runs of support in his last four starts, Silva is 0-2 with a 3.04 ERA. Last Thursday in a 3-2, 10-inning loss to Cincinnati, the right-hander allowed two runs over 7 2/3 innings, allowing a season-high five runs over five innings and not receiving a decision.

Since winning Kirk Gibson’s managerial debut last Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Diamondbacks have lost three straight games. In the three losses, Arizona has totaled six runs.

Last Wednesday, Barry Enright (1-0, 1.80) debut was a success, as he gave up one run over five innings to earn a 4-2 victory at St. Louis.

Replacing an ineffective Dontrelle Willis, the 24-year-old right-hander will remain in the rotation. In 2007, at Double-A Mobile this season, in a second-round draft pick, Enright was 4-1 with a 2.88 ERA in 14 starts.

In early August, Chicago was in first place in the NL, even though it stumbled down the stretch and missed the playoffs for the first time in three years.

While Bradley is hitting .215 after 49 games, he has left the Mariners (28-41) for two weeks to deal with personal and emotional issues. The Cubs (31-38) are in third place in the division and they have dropped 12 of 19. Seattle swept Cincinnati to push its winning streak to four games, even though Bradley went 0 for 11 over the weekend. Over those four games, the Mariners have allowed two runs and concluded their series against the Reds with a 1-0 win Sunday.

Chicago, in the last 19 games has scored three or fewer runs 10 times. For only the second time since May 25, it will be trying Tuesday to win back-to-back games.

For the Mariners, Jason Vargas (5-2 2.88 ERA) continues to pitch well and the Cubs will him. In 7 2/3 innings of a 2-1 win over the Cardinals on Wednesday, he gave up one run and five hits. In a game since April 9, Vargas has not allowed more than three earned runs. In three starts against the Cubs, the left-hander is 1-0 with a 4.74 ERA, but he has not faced them since 2007.

To Ryan Dempster (5-5, 3.67), the Cubs will hand the ball. On Wednesday, in 6 2/3 innings of a 6-2 win over the Athletics, he gave up two runs and struck out seven. In Dempster’s 14 starts, it was the fifth time that the Cubs have recorded a win.

New York recently got All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes back from injury. Reyes missed over 120 games last year in addition to the first four this year, and the quick-footed leadoff man could be the spark that gets the Mets back on track.

Chicago has been without Ted Lilly – who was the Cubs only All-Star last year – since the beginning of the season due to a shoulder injury. He was scheduled to make his 2010 debut during the series against the Mets, but that was pushed back as he recently had a stiff back that he suffered while making a rehab assignment in Iowa. Lilly will return soon, but it’ll be after the Cubs play the Mets.

The Cubs starting pitchers are expected to be: Randy Wells in Game 1, Carlos Zambrano in Game 2, and Carlos Silva in Game 3. While the Mets counter with Jonathan Niese, Mike Pelfrey, and Oliver Perez. The pitching match-ups are subject to change with an injury.

For the Cubs to be successful this year, their veterans have to stay healthy and have big years. Those players would be starting pitcher Carlos Zombrono, outfielder Alfonso Soriano, 3rd baseman Aramis Ramirez and 1st baseman Derrek Lee. These guys are the core group of players who need to lead this team.

New additions to the Cubs this year should also help. Marlon Byrd in center field will definitely help the offense. And splitting time with Kosuke Fukudome will be Xavier Nady. That is a nice combination in right field.

With all of the injuries the Cubs suffered last season, they still won 83 games. Now imagine a season where they don’t have the injuries to so many key players. If this happens, the Cubs realistically could win close to 100 games.

Look for the Cubs to score a lot of runs this season. They have a new hitting coach in Rudy Jaramillo. Jaramillo’s hitters won numerous awards when he worked for the Texas Rangers. He had Silver Slugger winners and homerun and RBI champions and one batting champion. The Cubs total runs last year were way down from the previous season. So look for Jaramillo to help bring those numbers up again.