by Ken Rosenthal

At that point, they had won 14 of their last 15 games. The Cubs had just won two straight in St. Louis after losing eight of nine.

The whole thing seems so unfair — the hurricane, the shifting of the Cubs' series to Milwaukee's Miller Park, the Carlos Zambrano no-hitter against the Astros on Sunday night.

Well, Ike's real-life impact is more unfair. And Zambrano, who originally was scheduled to pitch Saturday night, probably would have been just as dominant on 11 days rest at Minute Maid as he was on 12 days rest at Miller.

Zambrano's career numbers at the two parks were almost identical. The Astros could not touch him at Miller in front of a pro-Cubs crowd.

They would not have touched him at Minute Maid in front of a pro-Astros crowd. Ten strikeouts, one walk, 110 pitches, no chance.

Still, no one should dismiss the possible effects of Ike on the Astros, who spent the past several days worrying about their families and homes, then were assigned the privilege of playing a "home" series against the Cubs at a neutral site about 90 miles north of Chicago.

The inclement weather around the country wreaked havoc on a number of contenders over the weekend, forcing the schedulings of double-headers and the jugglings of rotations. The Astros, dealing with more than just rain, had it worse than any club.

Yet, baseball's options were limited.

The Cubs' series obviously could not be played in Houston. Moving the games to an outdoor park and risking further rainouts made little sense. So did playing in an American League dome such as Minnesota's Metrodome, a quirky stadium that is largely unfamiliar to N.L. clubs.

Aside from Minute Maid, the only two N.L. parks with roofs are Miller and Arizona's Chase Field. The Diamondbacks currently are at home, and Chase is as much Wrigley Southwest as Miller is Wrigley North. By process of elimination, Miller was the logical choice.

A desirable outcome? Hardly. But in baseball, luck works in all kinds of weird ways, even when not influenced by hurricanes. The Brewers' CC Sabathia can attest to the difficulty of throwing a no-hitter. The previous no-hitter by a Cub was from Milt Pappas in 1972. The Mets, who began play in '62, are still waiting for their first.

If anything, Zambrano's no-hitter might prove more detrimental to the Cubs long term than it does to the Astros. The Cubs surely did not envision Zambrano throwing 110 pitches in his first start coming off shoulder trouble. They surely would have removed him if only he had given up a hit.

The Astros had been on an incredible roll — and experienced some incredibly good fortune. They never expected journeyman Brian Moehler to win 11 games at age 36, or reliever LaTroy Hawkins to emerge as a linchpin after getting purged by the Yankees. Ty Wigginton is hitting like a right-handed Ty Cobb. Randy Wolf, before Sunday night, had pitched like Randy Jones.

Of course, the Astros also lost Carlos Lee on Aug. 10 due to a fractured left finger. Things don't necessarily even out, not in life, not in baseball. The good news for the Astros is that they play again on Monday — and that the opposing pitcher will not be Carlos Zambrano.