Cubs come back to win 2-1, to even series with L.A.

Friday afternoon there was a pitcher's duel at Wrigley Field. The wind was blowing straight in, so runs were at a premium. Ted Lilly was masterful: 7IP, ER, 4H, 5K and a rare 3BB. The lone run he allowed was a solo-HR to Matt Kemp in the 7th inning. Cubs announcer, Bob Brenly, was very surprised the ball left the yard, as it barely cleared the basket in left-center. Overall, Lilly (6-4) did a great job keeping the Dodgers' hitters off balance and got them to ground into three double plays.

The Dodgers starter, Chad Billingsley, was equally impressive yesterday: 7IP, 2ER, 8H, 7K. Billingsley got into a few jams early like in the second inning, when Derrek Lee and Micah Hoffpauir led off the inning with a single and a double respectively. However he was able to strand them at second and third base. The Cubs had multiple opportunities with men in scoring position, but were unable to get anything done. Mostly because Andres Blanco left 4 runners on in scoring position with two outs. I did not think the Cubs would score a run in this game. Then the Cubs offense finally broke through in the bottom of the 7th when Koyie Hill belted a solo-HR to right field. Later in the inning, Jake Fox singled to center-field, and would later score on a Sac-Fly by Fukudome. Unfortunately for me, I did not get to see the Cubs score these runs, I was on a bike ride with my girlfriend. We did stop by a great dive, The Corner Bar, and did manage to catch the 8th and 9th innings.

The Cubs bullpen did there job yesterday. Carlos Marmol pitched a scoreless 8th, despite walking two batters. Kevin Gregg pitched a scoreless 9th to earn his 8th save of the season. Things did get interesting with two outs in the 9th however, Gregg allowed a bloop single to Andre Eithier. Then Cubs third-baseman, Bobby Scales, booted what should have been a game ending ground ball. Gregg recovered nicely though, getting pinch-hitter extraordinaire Mark Lorretta to ground into a fielder's choice to end the game.

In other news, Micah Hoffpauir was 2-4 2B, and seems to have broken out of his "slump". Derrek Lee and Andres Blanco were each 0-3, but more than made up for it with some flashy defensive plays. Blanco can not hit a lick, but he can really field. Fukudome had a nice game as well, with a 2B (in which he reached 3rd on an error) and a Sac-Fly.

This afternoon the Cubs and Dodgers play at 3:05 and will be televised nationally on Fox. Ryan Dempster (3-3, 4.99 ERA) is pitching for the Cubs. Eric Stults (4-1, 4.29 ERA) is pitching for the Dodgers. I have never heard of Eric Stults, I thought we were facing Eric Stoltz, the actor (see Mask, Pulp Fiction, The Butterfly Effect, and The Rules of Attraction). Nevertheless, Dempster needs to pitch well today, he has sucked as of late, example: Monday night vs Pittsburgh. Dempster needs to step up and pitch like the ace the Cubs are paying him to be! Maybe today is the day he finally shows up to play?

Cubs waste opportunities, fall to Dodgers 2-1

Some nights the Cubs really upset me, last night was one of those nights. First, they wasted yet another strong outing from Randy Wells: 7IP, 2ER, 8H, 7K. Wells actually got better as the game went on, his record is a tough luck 0-2 on the season. Wells just simply got out pitched by the wily-veteran and Cub killer, Randy Wolf, who pitched into the 8th inning, and was removed only after allowing his first run. Aaron Heilman pitched a perfect 8th inning. And Jose Ascanio pitched into a jam in the 9th, only to have Angel Guzman come in and bail him out. Guzman is becoming quite the story, his ERA is down to 2.95, after a shaky start to the season. He has become a solid set-up man. Hopefully Lou Piniella realizes this and stops using Heilman when were ahead late in games. Back to Wells for a second, I do not care what his record is, but once Rich Harden comes back, Wells stays in the rotation. He is a gamer, throws strikes, and can go deep into games, something Sean Marshall has been unable to do.

The Cubs hit the baseball last night, they had nine hits, which was one more than the Dodgers. Unfortunately the Cubs did not have any timely hits. The only run the Cubs got was a solo-HR by Bobby Scales in the 8th, when he pinch-hit for Mike Fontenot. I am happy for Scales who just got called up again from Iowa a day after he was sent down, he does not take anything for granted, and is making the most of his opportunities in the big leagues. Derrek Lee also had a fine game going 2-4 2B, he also had a single in the 9th. The Cubs had their chances in the 9th inning against relief pitcher, Ramon Troncoso, Milton Bradley got things going with a surprise bunt single that dropped in between the Troncoso and Orlando Hudson, it was a nice heads-up play by Bradley. Lee then followed with a single. Reed Johnson then advanced both runners with a ground-out. Geovany Soto was intentionally walked to load the bases. Unfortunately neither Scales nor Jake Fox (who did have a hit earlier in the game) could get the job done and the Cubs lost the game. Fox also saw action at third base and almost started a double play in the 9th inning. I would like to see more of him at third, because of his bat, and when the Cubs are facing a left-handed starter.

Three things really upset me in this game:
1) The Cubs grounded into FOUR double plays! Ryan Theriot grounded into two! He is too fast to be doing this. Bradley and Soto were responsible for the other two. The Cubs ended 3 innings with double plays, I believe they were the 6th, 7th, and 8th. The double plays squandered multiple scoring opportunities last night.

2) Juan Pierre getting two hits, also not acceptable. Pierre got things going early and was a pest on the bases, he scored the games first run. Pierre beat out a throw by Andres Blanco that would have gotten any other player out, it was a fine play by Blanco to even get to that ball. While I am on Blanco, how about we keep this kid around for the rest of the season, he can really flash some leather. He has not shown that he is much of a hitter, but his fielding alone makes him more valuable than Aaron Miles.

3) Dodgers' Catcher, Russel Martin's dirty slide into Cubs second-baseman Bobby Scales in the 9th. I am all about hustle, but this was a dirty play. Martin went to the inside part of the bag and slid into Scales, but he did not stop there. He continued to whip his legs around Scales' (Scales was a few feet behind the base mind you) and trip Scales. The Cubs better retaliate today, because this B.S. is not cool. It just so happens the Cubs have the perfect guy starting today to plunk this fat bastard, my man Ted Lilly. Bank on it, Martin will get plunked.

The Cubs and Dodgers play today at 1:20 with Ted Lilly (5-4, 3.77 ERA) vs Chad Billingsley (6-2, 2.82 ERA). From what I have heard, Billingsley has been very good this season, and dominant at times. The Cubs will have their work cut out for them today.

Report: MLB to suspend Carlos Zambrano

SI.com is reporting that MLB is set to suspend Cubs P Carlos Zambrano for his tirade, antics, and ejection from Wednesday's game against the Pirates. The suspension is most likely due to the fact that he made contact with home-plate umpire, and giant tool, Mark Carlson. Zambrano was upset that Nyjer Morgan was ruled safe on a close play at the plate. Replays have been inconclusive as to whether or not Morgan was actually safe. Players are not allowed to make contact with umpires, Milton Bradley was suspended for one game earlier in the season for making contact with an umpire. But yesterday, it was clear that Carlson walked towards Zambrano causing the contact, Zambrano even signaled that he was throwing Carlson out of the game for making contact with him. I can not imagine Z getting more than six games for this, six games would only cause him to miss one start, which I think would be fair. Anything more than that would be ridiculous. MLB if they have a pair (of balls) should also fine or suspend that little-shit Carlson who instigated the whole thing to begin with by walking into Zambrano. Umpires are supposed to represent MLB on the field and act professionally at all times. If this is the case, then Carlson should have just walked away from Zambrano, not towards him. Do not get me wrong here, Zambrano acted like an ass, and likely deserves a suspension. However, if he misses more than one start, MLB will have some explaining to do. Not to mention the fact that umpires are completely out of control, Bud Selig needs to make an example of Carlson to further prevent umpires from acting like out of control tyrants. This is twice in the last month that umpires have initiated contact with players (some other douche "ushered" Magglio Ordonez out of the batter's box). Umpires need to be put in their place, NOW! Before things get even worse.

Cubs Win 5-2, take 2 of 3 from the Pirates

The Cubs won again today, defeating the Pirates 5 to 2. Carlos Zambrano was very effective today: 6.1IP, ER, 7H, 6Ks. He even got ejected in the 7th inning while arguing a call at home plate when Nyjer Morgan was ruled safe on a bang-bang play on a wild pitch. I could not see the play because a beer vendor was blocking my view, but Zambrano acted as if Morgan was out. His ejection was one for the ages as he bumped into the umpire then acted like he was throwing the ump out of the game. On his way to the dugout, Zambrano launched the baseball into deep left field, threw his glove into the dugout, and beat the hell out of the Gatorade machine. Hopefully Zambrano does not get suspended, but I have a feeling he will miss at least one start, for me it was worth it!

Offensively the Cubs were solid once again. They got things going early when Milton Bradley tripled to right to score Ryan Theriot in the first inning. Then Reed Johnson grounded into what should have been a double play, only the Pirates' shortstop made a throwing error and he was safe, allowing Bradley to score the second run. The game was tied going into the bottom of the 8th when Johnson hit a solo-HR to left (this was immediately after he made a catch at the wall in CF), his HR was the game winner. The Cubs tacked on two more runs in the 8th when Andres Blanco and Jake Fox each doubled. Fox's double was more impressive, since he pinch-hit (Blanco started), and he worked his way to a full count after being down 1 and 2. This was great to see, Fox showed some composure at the plate, and provided some much needed power for the Cubs.

Additionally, the bullpen was great. Angel Guzman, Carlos Marmol, and Kevin Gregg combined for 3 scoreless innings to end the game. These three guys should end every possible game for the Cubs when they have a lead. Also, Derrek Lee grounded into his first double play of the year. I feel bad because I jinxed him, when I said to my roomate (as he came to the plate) "He has not grounded into any you know what's yet this year" and sure enough he then grounded into a double play. Milton Bradley seemed pumped up today, he showed a lot of emotion after his RBI Triple and after he drew a walk later in the game.

I was lucky enough to fall into a free ticket today, my roomate, Peter, had an extra ticket at the last minute, and I took advantage. We sat in the upper deck and had a great view of the action. When I have sit in the actual stadium this season, I have not been to a loss.

My personal 2009 Cubs record: 4 and 1.
The next game I am attending as of right now: 6/14 vs Minnesota.

Cubs Win rain shortened game to end 8 game losing streak

The Cubs finally won a game! Last night the Cubs bats were hot, Sean Marshall was effective, and we got a little help from mother nature. Marshall was having one of his better outings before the umpires stopped the game in the top of the 6th due to rain: 5IP, ER, 4H, 6K. Marshall did walk two men in the 4th, but was able to escape, only allowing one run to score. This was a big win for Marshall and his confidence.

The Cubs offense was at it again scoring 6 runs, after scoring 8 on Monday night. Fukudome got things started with a solo-HR to right in the first inning. In the second inning, Marshall even helped his own cause with an RBI single. Alfonso Soriano, Ryan Theriot, and Fukudome (the top three hitters in our line-up) each had at one hit and scored runs. As the top of the order goes, the Cubs go! Micah Hoffpauir got out of his "slump" going 2 for 3, 2B 2RBIs, he hit the ball hard twice, which is encouraging. For the record: I was never worried about Hoffpauir. All hitters have little slumps once in awhile. He even said after the game that he just made a few adjustments, like all professionals do. Maybe this will shut up all of the Anti-Hoff, Derrek Lee backers out there. Mike Fontenot also had a big game going 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored. The Cubs' bats might just have gotten back on track, over the last two games, everyone has been hitting.

In other news: I love Ted Lilly. Apparently he was tossed for arguing the strike zone during Monday night's game. This guy is great! Who gets tossed from a game they are not even playing in? Hopefully he does not get suspended. My Dad texted me this morning, telling me the Cubs have called up slugger Jake Fox (you heard it hear first!) from AAA Iowa. The Cubs have sent down Neal Cotts and a player to be named. They also called up LHP Jason Waddell and somebody named Blanco? Aaron Miles has been placed on the 15-Day DL. If this is true, I would expect to see Fox in the line-up somewhere, today. Lou Piniella loves getting new guys into the action right away. Also, the Cubs are facing a left-handed pitcher today, Zach Duke, Fox I would assume crushes lefties. Starting for the Cubs today is Carlos Zambrano, who looks to bounce back after a sub-par start last week.

Furthermore, weather permitting, I will be attending this afternoon's game. I was lucky enough to stumble into a free ticket.

Cubs pitching takes the night off, Pirates win 10-8

Last night the Cubs lost their 8th straight game, falling to the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates 10-8. This game was painful to watch, the Cubs pitching staff gave up 18 hits, and blew multiple leads. The wind was blowing in too, which makes it even more unbelievable that they allowed 10 runs. I have to tip my cap to the Pirates though, former Batting Champion, Freddy Sanchez, had a career night going 6 for 6 with 3RBIs.

The main reason the Cubs lost last night was Ryan Dempster: 4IP, 6ER, 7H, 3BB, 3K, WP, HBP, Errror. What a jackass, Dumpster is seriously the worst! His ERA is now at 4.99 and I only expect it to get higher. Dempster is not the same pitcher we saw last year, probably becuase he got paid, and the fact that last year was a career-year for him. The Cubs drastically overpaid this bozo, I would rather see the Cubs sending Les Walrond out there to start games. The fact that I have to watch this Canadian ponce pitch for the next few years is depressing.

Jose Ascanio pitched the 5th inning, allowing 3 hits, but thankfully no runs. Then Lou Piniella inexplicably allowed Ascanio to bat for himself in the bottom half of the inning only to yank him for Neal Cotts. This blew my mind! I did not realize however that Derrek Lee was sent home with the flu. Still, somebody else should have hit for Ascanio, like: Koyie Hill or Fukudome? Now back to Cotts, who should be released, here is what he treated us with last night: IP, 3ER, 4H, K. Cotts also took the loss in this game, but why was he brought into the game to protect a lead in the first place? Cotts might actually be worse than Dempster, except he is not paid like a Cy Young Winner. Cotts' ERA is up to 7.36, it is time for him to go, Lou showed nowhere near this much patience last season with Scott Eyre. After Cotts came Aaron Heilman who allowed his usual one run in one inning of work. By the way, when did Heilman turn into Bob Howry? The lone bright-spot from our pitching staff last night was David Patton, who was released from the Witness Protection Program, he pitched the final two innings, and allowed no runs. Seriously though, Patton should be sent back to the Rockies, the Cubs have no use for him, and he is taking up a valuable roster spot. The Cubs really could have used an extra position player last night, I just do not understand how Jake Fox is not on the team. Why were both Angel Guzman and Kevin Gregg not used last night? Guzman is our best reliever when the Cubs are Sans-Carlos Marmol and Gregg has not pitched in a week.

Now for some good news: the Cubs scored 8 runs! Seven of the runs came off of Pirates starter Paul Maholm, who actually pitched worse than Dempster. Ryan Theriot had 3 doubles off of Maholm, driving in two runs, and scoring twice. Alfonso Soriano, although he did not have a hit, actually showed some patience at the plate, taking two walks, and scoring twice. Milton Bradley had a big game going 2 for 5 2B, HR, 4 RBIs. Bradley's HR was an absolute rocket hit out to deep left field, the wind had no chance of knocking that ball down, it also would have been a game winner if not for Cotts. Hopefully this means Bradley is starting to come out of his slump. Geovany Soto had a nice game as well, with two hits.

Two more things I had a problem with/ Jackass Calls of the Day:
1) Why was Carlos Zambrano used to Pinch Hit for Heilman in the bottom of the 7th with two men on, with a chance to at least tie the game, or possibly take the lead? I know Z is a decent hitter, but c'mon Lou! What are you thinking here? I know Lee was not available and that Bobby Scales was used in the 4th, but Fukudome should have been used to pinch hit in that spot, period. This is unacceptable and some very poor managing.

2) Carlos Marmol, our best relief pitcher was given two days off to go to New York, to be with his wife while she gives birth to their second child. Do not get me wrong, he should be with his wife in this situation, but why the hell do they live in New York?!! Seriously, had Marmol and his family lived here in Chicago, he could have been available to pitch after the kid was born.

Last night, I was lucky enough to be at the game. My friend Justin hooked us up with discounted rooftop tickets at Wrigley Done Right, it was tight. The view was great and I got my money's worth in beer (10+) and Italian Beef Sandwiches (3). If you have the means, I highly recommend the rooftop experience, it is quite choice. My personal winning streak came to an end last night, but at least the Cubs bats came back to life. Maybe I am their version of Joboo from Major League.

My personal record at Cubs games in 2009: 3 and 1. The next game I am attending as of right now: Sunday, June 14th vs Minnesota, where I will have my family's bomb-ass seats.

One more thing, last night we were discussing how terrible of a hitter Aaron Miles is and how he is worthless as a player. I leave you with this question:

Who would you rather have on your roster?
A) Aaron Miles
B) Cesar Izturis
C) Neifi Perez
D) Jose Macias
E) Tony Womack

7's Up: Cubs lose to Padres 7-2, lose 7th straight game

The Cubs finally scored some runs today, unfortunately they only scored two. Today the Cubs were swept by the San Diego Padres, who have won 9 straight games. After being swept earlier in the week by the Cardinals, the Cubs ran into a buzz-saw in San Diego. The Padres hitting is not great, but it was good enough against the Cubs. It was the Padres pitching however that won them this series. Today, Chris Young made the Cubs hitters look foolish allowing only 2 runs on 4 hits over 7 innings. Young does not throw hard (Mid-80's) but our hitters looked as if they were not picking up the ball clearly out of his hand today.

Ted Lilly started for the Cubs today and was off to a good start, unfortunately he got into trouble in the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings. Lilly's line: 6.1IP, 5ER, 8H, 2BB, 4K. He also made a couple of bad plays in the field, he could not field a bunt, and later threw a suicide-bunted ball over Geovany Soto. Lilly's fielding has been awful all season and last season even, this is not acceptable. Aaron Heilman came into the game in the 7th with a man on third-base and one out. He got a strikeout, then intentionally walked Adrian Gonzalez (and rightfully so), only to then give up a 3R-HR to Kevin Kouzmanoff. Heilman is a joke, everytime he comes in he allows runs. I thought I heard Len Kasper say that Heilman has come in with 14 men on base this season and that 8 of them had scored, not including the inherited runner who scored today. Maybe Heilman needed the work, but if I were Lou Piniella, I would stick with Angel Guzman as my bridge guy from here on. Kouzmanoff has been slumping all season, but not today, he was 2-4 2B, HR, 4RBI. Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune wrote that Kouzmanoff, a third baseman, was on the trading block. From what I saw today, the Cubs should look to trade for this guy.

The Cubs offense was absent again today combining for only 4 hits and two runs. The two runs came when Reed Johnson hit a 2R-HR in the 7th inning. This was good to see from Reed, he had been struggling lately at the plate and has not shown much power this season. Johnson started in Center-field in place of Fukudome who had the day off. The only other Cub hits were from Milton Bradley, Mike Fontenot, and Bobby Scales, all singles. The lack of power from the Cubs hitters is a serious problem. The last time I remember the Cubs offense looking this bad was in 2006 when Derrek Lee was out for the season and we had clowns like Phil Nevin playing first-base. By the way, the Cubs missed the playoffs in 2006. Today Lee was a late scratch from the line-up because he was sick. This was too bad for the Cubs, he has been their hottest hitter of late, he even hit a long home run on Saturday. Micah Hoffpauir played in place of Lee and was 0-4 and fouled out on a 3-0 pitch. Hoffpauir looks like he has been pressing lately and has been hitting a lot of shallow pop-ups, I hope he finds his stroke again soon. Hoffpauir looked bad today, but Alfonso Soriano has looked bad all week, today he was 0-4 and watched his average drop to .257. Soriano was incredibly impatient at the plate today, swinging at the first pitch at least two times, and making outs. He needs to get hot soon, usually the Cubs offense goes, as Soriano goes.

The Cubs have now lost 7 straight and are back to .500 at 21-21. They return home for a three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates, starting at 7:05 pm Monday night. Ryan Dempster, who has been improving as of late, is pitching for the Cubs. Left-hander, Paul Maholm is pitching for the Pirates. Maholm is 3-1 this season with a 5.91 ERA. The Cubs hitters should hit this guy, hard. Unfortunately the Cubs have not hit anybody hard in over a week, hopefully returning home will get them back on track. I expect to see more righties in the starting line-up tomorrow, hopefully Lee is ready to play, and Lou will likely ride Johnson's hot bat. Plus the Cubs have a secret weapon tomorrow: ME! I am going to the game and am 3-0 on the season. Not to mention that Lee has homered in two of the games I have attended this year. Hopefully I can continue my winning streak and the Cubs can start one.

Cubs get shut out by Padres 4-0, lose 5th straight

Hopefully the Cubs have hit rock bottom. Last night they got shut out by Jake Peavy and the Padres, which is embarrassing. The Cubs again managed only 5 hits and no extra-base hits. Peavy struck out 10 Cubs hitters in only 6 innings. Micah Hoffpauir had his worst game as a Cub, with a "Golden Sombrero" 0-4 4Ks. I guess he was pretending he was Milton Bradley for one night. Alfonso Soriano is in free-fall and can no longer hit apparently. I am still wondering why Aaron Miles was even in the line-up? He should be released. This team has no power! No extra-base hits, this is getting pathetic.

Carlos Zambrano was less than good in his return from the DL: 4.2IP, 3ER, 3H, 4BB, 7K. He walked too many batters for my liking and then gave up hits when men were on base. A bad outing for Z. This guy is supposed to be the best pitcher on our team, it is about time he started acting like it! I am tired of Zambrano underachieving, he makes too much money to be this average of a pitcher. With Rich Harden going to the DL (retroactive to May 18th) we need someone to step up in our rotation, but do not count on Zambrano, he never pitches well under pressure.

Tonight the Cubs are starting Randy Wells, who still has a 0.00 ERA. Hopefully Wells can continue pitching well, we need him. The Padres are starting a guy named Josh Geer, besides the fact that his name sounds made-up, I have never heard of this guy. He has a 5.61 ERA, we should crush this guy. Seriously, if the Cubs do not score 5 runs off of this clown, changes need to be made.

Cubs lose to Cards 3-1, get swept out of St. Louis

Last night the Cubs offense was horrible. Again scoring only one run while combining for 5 hits. Just like I said Adam Wainwright dominated for the Cardinals: 8.2IP, ER, 5H, 7K. He was pulled in the 9th when he allowed a Derrek Lee single. Ryan Franklin, who is apparently untouchable (at least for the Cubs hitters), recorded the final out. Sean Marshall started last night for the Cubs and was not great: 5IP, 3R, 2ER, 4H, 3K. He was not bad either, but the two home runs he allowed to Albert Pujols and Brian Barden, were enough to lose the game. In my opinion, Marshall should be moved to the bullpen and Randy Wells should join the rotation. Wells is the hot pitcher right now and Marshall just is not that good. At least the Cubs bullpen was solid last night as Jose Ascanio, Neal Cotts, and Angel Guzman combined for three scoreless innings to end the game.

There is not much to talk about offensively from last night. Lou Piniella, after saying he needed to get Micah Hoffpauir and Koyie Hill some at-bats during last night's press conference, played neither. Instead he went with basically the same line-up as the last two nights, except he started Ryan Freel at third-base and Mike Fontenot at second-base. Without Hoffpauir in the line-up we had no pop last night. Freel was 0-3 and is hitting .100, he also made a costly throwing error that led to an un-earned run for Marshall. However, later in the game Freel made one of the best plays I have seen by a Cubs third-baseman in awhile, so I feel that the jury is still out on him being a regular at third-base. Bobby Scales scored the Cubs only run, when he walked while pinch-hitting for Marshall. Fukudome drove in Scales with an RBI single with two outs in the 6th inning, he was 1-4 on the night. Derrek Lee was the only Cub with two hits, both singles. I like to see Lee hitting, it is just that he is hitting only singles. As a clean-up hitter he needs to drive the ball more. The Cubs do not have a need for another singles hitter, they have plenty already, they need power in the middle of the order. Geovany Soto had the teams only extra-base hit, a double. It is pathetic that the Cubs are only getting one extra-base hit a game, we can not win like this, we do not have enough speed. The fifth Cubs hit was a single by Marshall, maybe he can bat clean-up too?. Meanwhile, neither Hoffpauir nor Hill even got an at-bat. Milton Bradley hit the ball hard three times, but had nothing to show for it, going 0-4, and watching his batting average slip to .184. Fontenot also had another poor game, 0-3, and now has a BA of .195.

Tonight the Cubs go to San Diego to face the Padres and P Jake Peavy. Note to Lou: Play Hoffpauir, I do not care how you fit him in the line-up, just play him! Especially against a tough right-hander like Peavy. Tonight I would sit Lee, despite his "hot streak", because he does not hit right-handers well. Also, Hoffpauir is not good enough defensively to play right field in spacious Petco Park. I also expect to see either Hill or Scales in the line-up as well. Carlos Zambrano will make his first start since injuring himself while running out a bunt on May 3rd. Hopefully he will be a spark to this zombie-like Cubs team, heck we could really use his bat right now. Zambrano was not particularly sharp in his minor league outing, but the Padres line-up is incredibly weak (as we saw last week), and Petco Park is a real pitcher's park. Then again, maybe Peavy will shut the Cubs out, and show Jim Hendry why we need to acquire him.

Note: This is the only non-interleague series in MLB this weekend. I am OK with this, the Cubs would get smoked by just about any AL team right about now (except the White Sox, Mariners, A's, and Orioles), given they can not score any runs.

Jake Peavy to the White Sox?

This is the FIRST time I have written about the Chicago White Sox. All of the buzz this morning has been about the Sox trading for San Diego Padres P Jake Peavy. Peavy is owed $60M through 2013. The deal is basically done, Peavy just has to OK the trade (he has a full no trade clause). The Sox would send pitchers Clayton Richard and Aaron Poreda to the Padres, they are the two top pitching prospects in the Sox's system. I would think they would have to include a few more prospects. My question is: Why are the Sox doing this? The Sox have pitching, despite how bad Gavin Floyd, Jose Contreras, and Bartlolo Colon have been. The Sox are also an aging offense, who look like they only have a few good seasons left in them. This move would not make the Sox a World Series contender, let alone a playoff team. They still can not hit (sounds familiar see Cubs).

In the end, I do not expect this deal to get done. Here are my reasons:
1) Peavy wants to pitch in the NL, he enjoys hitting, and facing weaker line-ups.
2) The Sox would have to give up more, like SS Prospect Gordon Beckham.
3) The Padres should be suspicious of Sox GM Ken Williams, who has a history of fleecing other teams for good players. Examples: the Carlos Quentin trade with the Diamondbacks and the John Danks trade with the Rangers, just to name two.

Furthermore, if this deal were to be completed, it would not be the end of the world. The Sox are not going to be a realistic contender over the next few years anyways. I would rather see Peavy go to the Sox than the Brewers (the team other than the Cubs, he said he would waive his no trade clause for). In the end, I still hope Peavy comes to Chicago as a Cub. I just do not think we have the prospects to get the deal done, I would be willing to part with Jeff Samardzija and Jake Fox, but not 3B Josh Vitters, who is the heir apparent to Aramis Ramirez and supposedly the guy the Padres really want from the Cubs farm system.

Cubs offense again pathetic, fall to Cards 2 - 1

Last night the Cubs bats were again nowhere to be found, they managed only 6 hits, and one run. Meanwhile they wasted a stellar effort from starter Ryan Dempster: 7IP, 2ER, 6H, 3K. Dempster was not at this best, but he was effective, throwing strikes, and keeping the ball down in the strike zone. This was good to see from him, considering he has had location issues this season, and teams have been hitting him hard when he leaves the ball up in the zone. Carlos Marmol threw a scoreless 8th inning allowing no hits and no walks. For the Cardinals, Chris Carpenter made his return from the DL, and was dominant: 5IP, 0ER, 3H. The Cubs hitters had no answer for his big curve ball. We were lucky he only went 5 innings, but we could only muster up one run off of the Cards weak bullpen.

The Cubs offense was terrible, again. The only extra-base hits they had were doubles by Ryan Theriot and Milton Bradley. Bradley, who did score the Cubs' only run, was foolishly doubled off at first early in the game. For the first 8 innings of this game the Cubs offense was in hiding. I have said it before and I will say it again, you can not expect to win (and score runs consistently) with Derrek Lee batting clean-up. Lee did have a hit, but it was a single, and he struck out twice, once while looking with a man on second. Micah Hoffpauir should have been in the line-up last night. Whether in place of Lee or Bradley, he should have been in there! Hoffpauir got one at-bat, in the ninth inning, with two outs, and hit a hard RBI single. I am fairly certain he leads the team in batting average with men in scoring position with two outs. Lou Piniella can not justify not playing him any longer, especially with Lee and Bradley struggling so much to drive in runs. No other team in the league has their best power hitter on the bench. Additionally, Alfonso Soriano had a bad game as well, 0-4 3K's, but we have to live with his streaky hitting. Nevertheless, he looked foolish at times swinging at sliders way out of the zone last night.

Tonight the Cubs look to avoid being swept by the Cards. The Cubs start Sean Marshall and the Cards are starting Adam Wainwright. Wainwright is a superior pitcher and very similar to Carpenter. Barring a miracle: either Marshall pitching really well or the Cubs actually scoring more than 3 runs, I see us losing tonight. I expect to see Hoffpauir in the line-up tonight as well. Also I would sit Lee since he has not been hitting right-handed pitching along with Geovany Soto, who can not hit a breaking ball, and Wainwright has a great curve.

Chris Carpenter returns, Trade Thoughts

Last night I wrote that Adam Wainwright would be starting tonight for the Cardinals, I was mistaken. Chris Carpenter is set to make his return from the DL tonight versus the Cubs, while Wainwright will start on Thursday. They are actually similar pitchers who feature hard fastballs with big-breaking curveballs. The only difference is that Carpenter also features another offspeed pitch, some sort of change-up, splitter, or sinker. He should be pumped up making his return, he was effective before he got hurt (while batting). Luckily for the Cubs, Carpenter is on a pitch count of 80 pitches, so hopefully the Cubs can get to him early, and limit his innings.

With Carlos Delgado out until at least July, the New York Mets could be looking for a first-baseman to replace him in the line-up. I have yet to hear his name mentioned, but Derrek Lee could be a possibility. He has one more year left on his deal and would be good insurance for the often-injured Delgado. Although Lee hits right-handed he would fit nicely into the Mets line-up. The Mets would also have be willing to eat most of Lee's remaining contract after this season, about $13M. We would probably have to send them cash in return for a pitching prospect. This trade would allow the Cubs to play a platoon of Micah Hoffpauir and Jake Fox at first base. For those who do not know who Jake Fox is: he is 26 and is a former Catcher who was a liability defensively. He has played most of the last two seasons at first base and outfield, primarily at first-base, he hits right-handed. This season Fox is hitting .431, 17HR, 50RBI in 35 games. He also has an OBP of .513. This guy can hit a ton and Lou Piniella is fan of his bat. A platoon of Fox and Hoffpauir at first would give the Cubs an instant upgrade offensively at the position. They would lose a lot defensively however. But, by clearing Lee's contract from the books, the Cubs would have a little bit of money available for Jake Peavy, if they are still interested in trading for him. Peavy would be a nice addition to our sometimes inconsistent rotation. I am not even sure if the Mets would be interested in Lee, but I think it is worth asking.

Cubs manage only 3 hits, fall to Cardinals 3-0

The Cubs offense was pathetic tonight, they managed only three hits off of Joel Pineiro. Even more disturbing was that Pineiro only had to throw 92 pitches in 9 innings. Alfonso Soriano led the game off with a single only to be picked off at first. Derrek Lee would later single (his average is up to .229 by the way) only to have Milton Bradley ground into a double play. Later in the game, Mike Fontenot had the only Cubs extra base hit with an opposite field double, but Geovany Soto could not knock him in with 2 outs. Simply put, this was a terrible effort from the Cubs offense. Pineiro even pitched a four-pitch inning! He walked nobody! The Cubs were overly aggressive throughout the game. Bradley is finally starting to worry me, his .188 AVG at this point in the season is unacceptable and he needs to step it up. Also, Micah Hoffpauir has been one of our best run producers this season, he needs to get more at-bats. Especially against right-handed fastball throwing/control pitchers like Pineiro (who did strike him out in his only at-bat). Either sit Bradley or Lee for Hoffpauir in one of the two remaining games in this series.

Cubs starter, Ted Lilly (5-3) gave the team a quality start: 7IP, 3ER, 4H, 5K, 3BB. His lead-off walk in the bottom of the first led to the game winning run for the Cards. He also allowed a 2R-HR to Colby Rasmus in the bottom of the fifth. All three runs for the Cards were scored with two outs. Ted Lilly did not have a bad game, the Cubs hitters did, and Pineiro was very effective. Thank goodness I had the Blackhawks game, which was a heart-breaker, to distract me from watching most of this yawner tonight.

Tomorrow night Ryan Dempster faces Adam Wainright. Wainright is a tough customer, he has a power fastball, and a big curve ball. I would expect Lou Piniella to insert some lefties into the lineup, especially Hoffpauir, who is capable of driving in runs. Also, Soto appears to be unable to hit a breaking ball, perhaps Koyie Hill should start at Catcher in his place? Hopefully for the Cubs, Dempster will pitch like he did in his last outing, when he dominated the Padres over 7 innings. The Cubs will need him too if they hit like they did tonight.

Cubs vs Cards Preview

The Cubs are down in St. Louis for a three game series with the suddenly struggling Cardinals. The Cards lost three straight games to the now first-place Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend, and have now lost seven of their last ten games overall. The Cards have been hurt recently by injuries (but who has not in this division) to Chris Carpenter, Ryan Ludwick, and Rick Ankiel. Carpenter is set to return to the rotation on Wednesday night and Ankiel is expected to be available tonight. Carpenter scares me as a Cubs fan. He is arguably, when healthy, the best pitcher in our division. He has just not been able to stay healthy over the last few seasons. With him back in the rotation for the rest of the season, I expect the Cards to stay in the division race. On a side note: The Milwaukee Brewers after sweeping the Cards over the weekend have taken over first-place in the Division. They did however lose starting 2B Rickie Weeks for the season. Weeks was off to the best start of his young career and will be a major loss for their lineup, especially since he was their lead-off hitter, and every day second-baseman. Fiinally, other teams in our division are having to deal with major injuries to their key players.

Now to the Cubs. They split their weekend series with the Astros after Friday's game was rained out. I was unable to see most of their two games over the weekend since I had to attend my sister's graduation ceremonies at The University of Notre Dame, from Friday through Monday. But here is what I do know from the weekend: Randy Wells can pitch, he gave us 6 scoreless innings in his start on Saturday, he may just replace Sean Marshall in the rotation. I did see the final innings of Saturday's game and could not believe what I saw. Kevin Gregg looked awful (similar to Chad Fox) and almost cost us the game, luckily ND-guy Aaron Heilman came in to bail him out of a bases-loaded nobody out jam (I said a prayer while watching this). After Bobby Scales led off the bottom of the 9th with a walk (nice), Alfonso Soriano did what he was paid to do and drove him in to score the game winner (after a nice sac-bunt from Ryan Theriot). Also from that game: I was impressed to see Derrek Lee come up with a clutch RBI single and then my boy, Micah Hoffpauir, launched a 2R-HR to deep left field.

I did not see any of Sunday's game. What I do know is that Lee had a monster game with a HR, single, and a double. Way to go Lee! He has been hot over the last two games going 5-8 and raising his average up over the Mendoza Line to .226. I still expect more from him over the next few months, hopefully this is a sign of good things to come, and hopefully what we saw from him in the San Diego series last week was just an anomaly.

Tonight: Ted Lilly (5-2, 3.27 ERA) faces off against RHP Joel Pineiro (4-3, 4.17 ERA). Lilly is off to a good start this season and has been keeping damages to a minimum. He has given up a lot of HRs (9 which is good for 4th most in the NL). Lilly has given up few walks and has not had a lot of men on base for any of those HRs. He also has pitched a few games at Wrigley with the wind howling out this season. Lilly needs to be careful tonight against this Cards team, they can hit, but are hitting only .227 against lefties this season. Regardless, new Busch Stadium is a band-box/hitters park, where HRs are easy to come by, so Lilly will need his best stuff if he wants to win. As for Pineiro, I do not know much about him, except that he used to play for the Seattle Mariners, and his career has been saved by Cards Pitching Coach, Dave Duncan. Pineiro throws in the low 90s and is an average-at-best pitcher. The Cubs should be able to score a few runs against him tonight.

The Cubs have won seven of their last ten games and are 21-15 overall, which is the exact same record the 2008 Cubs had at this point last season. This shocks me. Mostly because of how impressed I was with last year's team and how un-impressed (at times) I have been with this year's team. Despite all of the injuries and poor play out of Lee, Milton Bradley, and Geovany Soto we are still in good shape and only two games out of first-place.

Cubs rout Padres 11-3, sweep series

This afternoon the Cubs pounded the San Diego Padres. The game got off to a boring start and was tied 1-1 going in to the bottom of the fifth inning. It was in the bottom of the fifth that the Cubs offense exploded for 6 runs. The Cubs would add 4 more runs in the next inning and that was all she wrote for the Padres.

Today was interesting because Lou Piniella sat a few regulars and went with a new line-up. Today it was the bottom of the order stepping up and driving in the runs. Geovany Soto was 0-2 but did hit a Sac-Fly and had two RBIs for the game. Reed Johnson got the start in center-field and went 2-5, 2B, 2RBI, 2R. Even Aaron Miles (who I still think is a joke) was 2-5, 2B, RBI. But on this afternoon, Bobby Scales was the star of the game going 2-4, 2 2B, 4RBIs and did not strike out. He also started at third base and did not commit any errors. I really like Scales, he appreciates that he is getting his chance, and he is making the most of it (he is hitting .444). Although Mike Fontenot is slumping, I still feel as if Miles should be the one to sit, and that Scales should be getting more playing time while Aramis Ramirez is on the DL. Regulars Milton Bradley, Derrek Lee, and Fontenot had the day off.

I said that Ryan Dempster was due for a good start and today he finally had one: 7IP, 2ER, 3H, 5Ks. Today Dempster looked like he did last year, or maybe its just that the Padres line-up is terrible. Nevertheless, this was a big win for Dempster who improved to 3-2 for the season. The Dempster we saw today is the Dempster we need to see all summer. With Ted Lilly and Rich Harden clicking, and Carlos Zambrano due back soon, our starting rotation could dominate in the next few months. Recent call-up, Jose Ascanio, made his Cubs debut. Ascanio pitched 2 innings in mop-up duty allowing a solo HR to Drew Macias, not to be confused with Cubs-Legend, Jose Macias. I was impressed with Ascanio. He throws strikes and throws hard with a fastball touching 93-94. He had three strikeouts and no walks, something I am sure Lou noticed. Former Cub, Chad Gaudin, whom Ron Santo refers to as "Chad Go-Dad" was not impressive today: 4.1 IP, H, 4ER, 7BB, 3K. I can see why Lou Piniella wanted him out of town.

In other news, MLB announced after the game that Milton Bradley's suspension has been reduced to one game and will be served tomorrow. Too bad they could not have announced this yesterday after the Cubs gave Bradley the day off today. I have believed all along that Bradley did not deserve this suspension and I appreciate that he made a stand against MLB and stuck to his guns. I still say that the umpire who he "bumped" is full of bologna. Hopefully this incident will motivate Bradley who I still think is going to have a big summer for the Cubs.

Up next for the Cubs are the Houston Astros. Randy Wells will make his second start as a Cub and Brian Moehler (who is washed up) will start for the visiting Astros. By the way Moehler has an ERA of 8.44 and was on the DL recently. I expect the Cubs to stay hot and hit Moehler hard. We have now won four games in a row, let's go for five!

What is the deal with Pat Hughes?

First of all let me start by saying that I think Pat Hughes is a terrific play-by-play announcer and is one of the best in the history of the Cubs. Today I was listening to the Cubs broadcast on WGN 720 AM in my kitchen. In the bottom of the third, Micah Hoffpauir hit a ball to deep left, and Hughes was yelling and saying "that ball is........caught at the wall." Hughes gets over excited for everyball hit to the warning track, it is misleading to listeners, and just annoying. He did this again later in the inning when Reed Johnson hit one to the warning track. Then in the top of the fourth, Adrian Gonzalez hit one out and he just acted as if it is was no big deal. Please Pat stop freaking out every time someone hits a fly ball to the outfield! Only call a HR if it is actually going to leave the park, I am tired of being fooled.

Cubs defeat Padres 6-4 in rain shortened game

Last night the wind was howling out of Wrigley Field, it had been for hours, I had been walking around the stadium before the game with my girlfriend trying to find the Jones Soda Guy giving out free sodas, he was a no show, I will never drink that soda again!

As for the game itself Cubs starter, Ted Lilly, got off to a slow start in the first inning allowing a single and a wind-assisted HR to Adrian Gonzalez to left field. Lilly would recover nicely only allowing one more run, his line: 6.1IP, 3ER, 8H, 7K's. He kept hitters off balance all night and did a great job keeping the ball in the park, despite the windy conditions. He was probably lucky he was facing such a soft lineup. The third run he allowed was a solo-HR to Adrian Gonzalez, again. Lilly got his team-high 5th win of the season improving to 5-2.

The Cubs bats got off to a hot start in the bottom of the first, starting with a Alfonso Soriano lead-off HR to Waveland Ave. The next batter, Ryan Theriot then hit a HR to left-center, this one was clearly aided by the wind, but I will take it! Later in the inning, Geovany Soto knocked in Milton Bradley with a RBI single to give the Cubs the lead. The Cubs would lead the rest of the way in this game. In the third inning, Soto finally hit his first HR of the season, scoring Bradley again. In the fourth inning, Theriot hit his second HR of the game, a solo shot to left.

Even our bullpen did a decent job last night. Angel Guzman, who is improving by the day, relieved Lilly in the 7th, and allowed no runs in 0.2IP. Carlos Marmol earned his 3rd save of the season by pitching the 8th, he allowed one run on a fluke Jody Gerut single, he did have two walks as well, and looked less than stellar. It was after this half inning that the game was sent into Rain Delay and subsequently called a final.

My thoughts on this game: Kudos to Geovany Soto, who I have been quite critical of this season. He was 2-3, HR 3RBI's (all 3 RBI's came with two outs). This was by far his best game of the season. Hopefully he has found his hitting stroke, we could really use his bat (especially when he is hot) with Aramis Ramirez out of the line-up. Derrek Lee had another bad night going 0-4, he is hitting .194 on the season. His .194 batting average ties him with Bradley. I have a lot of friends who have been critical of Bradley all season for his poor average, so hopefully they will be just as critical of Lee. I would hope Lou Piniella has the sense to play Micah Hoffpauir today. Lee has been consistently horrible at the plate and is even booting plays in the field: he allowed a ball to drop in behind him on what should have been an easy play down the right field line. Lee can no longer hit, he does not belong in the 3 spot. Lou dropped Bradley to six, now he needs to switch them back or just do the smart thing and bench Lee.

This afternoon the Cubs look for a sweep of the Padres. Ryan Dempster is pitching for us and is due for a good start, he has been awful lately. This Padres line-up is a joke, if Dempster is for real, he needs to shut these guys down. Former Cub, Chad Gaudin, is starting for the Padres. I am assuming he would like to stick it to Lou.

Cubs defeat Peavy, Padres 6-2 to start homestand

The Cubs got off to a good start on their six game homestand vs the lowly San Diego Padres. Rich Harden gave the Cubs another strong outing: 6IP, 2ER, 4H, 5Ks to improve his record to 4-1. Harden has been the ace of this staff so far this season, he has been the rock in this rotation without Carlos Zambrano. Harden is off to a great start this season and his arm appears to be healthy, Harden could be the key for the Cubs post-season hopes this season. If he keeps pitching this well and stays healthy, he should win a lot of games for the Cubs.

The Cubs were able to score six runs off of Future-Cub, Jake Peavy. Peavy was cruising along until the 5th inning when Alfonso Soriano hit an RBI double to score Geovany Soto (who was actually on base!). In the bottom of the 6th, Milton Bradley hit a very long 2R-HR to straight away center field, clearing the bottom part of the center field bleachers. This was after he was booed in the 4th inning. Bradley stuck it to all the clowns at Wrigley who thinks he sucks. I have been confident all along that he will hit eventually and the fans will love him when he does. Bradley is just too good of a hitter to stay in this slump to long. Bradley's HR put the Cubs ahead for good.

We added insurance runs in the 7th when pinch-hitter, Bobby Scales, hit his first Major League HR, good for you Bobby! This guy continues to produce: he is hitting .429! I ask Lou Piniella this question: How in the world can you continue to play that loser Aaron Miles, who is hitting .208 every day? The guy flat out can not hit. Lou continues to play Miles despite having a hungry lefty who can actually hit, sitting on the bench. This just does not make any sense.

Soriano drove in another run in the 8th inning, he was 3 for 5 on the day with 2 2B and 2 RBI's. The last run we scored was when Micah Hoffpauir scored on a wild pitch, after reaching base on a pinch-hit single. Which brings me to my next question: Why wasn't Hoffpauir in the starting line-up? He played much better than Derrek Lee while Lee was injured, heck he even got base hits! Last night we faced a right-handed pitcher in Peavy, so why would Lou not play the lefty, especially since Lou is obsessed with lefties! By the way Peavy dominated Lee who was 0-3 BB, 3K's and was one strikeout away from the "Golden Sombrero" (going 0-4 with 4Ks). I'm really not sure what Lee was doing in the line-up last night. Maybe it was to get him back on track, but what track are we talking about here? The guy is hitting a woeful .202 and has an equally bad .280 OBP. These numbers are unacceptable for our #3 hitter. The only regular on the Cubs with a lower OBP is Miles, who sucks. By comparison Bradley is at .329 and Soto is at .305, despite both of them having a batting average under .200 most of the season, they at least draw walks. Lee is striking out way too much. He should not have been in the line-up last night and his numbers reflect this. I'm still waiting for the Cubs brain-trust to figure out he does not belong in the starting line-up. If you look really close at the stats Hoffpauir has equalled Lee this season in all important categories in 30 less at-bats and is hitting more than 100 points higher. The Padres starter tonight is Chris Young, maybe he can bean Lee again, and these two can fight again. That seemed to light a spark under Lee a couple of years ago and at the very least he could be suspended for a few games.

In other news, the Cubs bullpen was effective, with Aaron Heilman, Carlos Marmol, and Kevin Gregg combining for three scoreless innings to finish the game. This was good to see, especially after Heilman's efforts last weekend in Milwaukee. Ted Lilly starts for the Cubs tonight for the Cubs.

Cubs- Brewers Series Recap, thoughts

I was busy all weekend with partying and family obligations, so this is my first chance to write about the Cubs series up in Milwaukee this weekend.

Game One: This game was moving along quite nicely until the bottom of the third when Aramis Ramirez made a nice diving stop only to dislocate his left shoulder. I do not care what other fans say, Ramirez is the best hitter and best clutch hitter on our team. He is irreplaceable. He is the guy you can always count on to step up and get a clutch hit when the team needs one.

The Cubs got a nice outing from recent call-up Randy Wells:5IP, 5H, OER, 5K. It seems like Wells was pitching in and out of trouble all night, yet he kept escaping. I was impressed with his velocity at times he was overpowering. Wells belongs on the big league roster. Wells left the game with a 1-0 lead after my boy Milton Bradley hit a towering solo-HR to right field. Alfonso Soriano added a Sac-Fly in the 6th. The Cubs were done scoring, Milwaukee was not. Angel Guzman gave up a run in the 6th and Aaron Heilman choked again walking Corey Hart and giving up a HR to Ryan "Lloyd" Braun in the bottom of the 8th. I have a question for Heilman, how do you walk Hart? He swings at everything! The Cubs looked demoralized after losing Ramirez to a serious injury and then blowing the save in the late innings. I seriously felt as if the season could be over at this point. In all fairness, I did not get to see all of the end of this game because my friend Eric was more concerned with watching an episode of The Cougar on TV Land, weak.

Game Two: I really do not even want to write about this game, it upset me in so many ways. The lone bright spot for me was to see Micah Hoffpauir, who is better than Derrek Lee, hit a double and a 2R-HR. Hoffpauir has been filling in nicely for the injured Lee, who is set for a MRI today. We could really use Lee's defense at the very least, maybe even his leadership with Ramirez out. But again I ask, how can you sit Hoffpauir for Lee when one hits and the other does not?

What bothered me most in this game: 1. Ryan Dempster/Lou Piniella: I am not sure whose idea it was to send Dempster out to start the 7th, but he had 111 pitches to that point, and sure enough he imploded giving up two solo-HR's and basically putting the game out of reach. Leaving Dempster out there so long, was Lou's fault. He keeps on doing this with everyone, Marshall, Rich Harden, and now Dempster. Lou needs to stop doing this, no matter how pathetic our bullpen. Also, Dempster has sucked this season: 2-2 4.98 ERA, I am sorry but this is not the same guy as last year. He no longer has consistent control and seems prone to allowing the "big inning", a lot! This guy is certainly not deserving of the fat contract he got from the Cubs, now we get to watch him lose games for the next four years, sweet. Dempster is showing no signs of improvement, I expect him to lose at least 10 to 12 games this season. On a serious note however, I do hope that his baby daughter is ok and gets better, she is very ill, and I'm sure this is seriously weighing on him. 2. Geovany Soto: Yeah he had two hits, both singles. But this guy is a joke. I keep saying he's fat and out of shape because he is! His offense is atrocious (.169 avg, 0HR, 4RBI, 2Extra Base Hits, for the season!) and so is his defense (he had an error in this game and almost everyone steals on him now). Soto needs to figure things out fast to get back on track and to be honest I do not think he will. I would send him down to the minors and play Koyie Hill and anybody else every day, until Soto shows improvement in the minors. And 3. The Bullpen enough said here, they were terrible, but this game was over when Dempster came out to pitch in the 7th inning. Thank goodness the Blackhawks were on TV Saturday night and won. Watching this Cubs game was like getting punched in the stomach over and over again.

Game Three: Going into this game, I thought this was a must win, and the most important game for the Cubs this season. Also I had the pleasure of listening to most of the game on the radio, since I was driving to South Bend and back, Pat Hughes is the man!

Cubs starter, Sean Marshall, got off to a rocky start allowing a lead-off HR to the impressive Rickie Weeks. I have seen a lot of Weeks in the past few years (I used to live in Milwacky) and he has improved a great deal, even since last year, and this is not good news for our Cubs. Any who, Marshall allowed another run in the 2nd inning after former-Cub Jason Kendall (deep breath) Tripled! To score Bill Hall, who had doubled, and is the greatest Mother's Day hitter of all-time (Seriously, ESPN ran a segment on this last night). Kendall played well all series and always tries to stick it to his former teams and I like it. He is a hard worker and a real pro. Can we trade Geovany Soto for him? Just joking. After the 2nd, Marshall and the Cubs did not allow another run. Marshall's line: 5IP, 5H, 2ER, 3BB, 4K, he did not have his best stuff (no curve) or control yet he got the win. It looked like Marshall took a page out of Ted Lilly's book in this outing.

The Cubs got all of their runs in the top of the 3rd inning. Bobby Scales got things started with a single (he's hitting .385) and Soriano knocked him in with a LONG 2R-HR to tie the game. Bradley had an RBI single and Fukudome scored on a Jeff Suppan Wild Pitch. The Cubs were done scoring and it was enough to hang on for a 4 to 2 win. Angel Guzman was impressive in his two scoreless innings. Carlos Marmol made things interesting, loading the bases, and getting out of the jam. Kevin Gregg got his sixth save, despite allowing a walk, he made up for it by striking out Braun to end the game (although he was aided by the sun, which was obstructing the hitter's view). The Cubs had a big inning going in the 9th, until newly acquired Ryan Freel was picked off 2nd base by Kendall. This happens to Cubs players way too often, where is our focus and intensity?

Thoughts: Lou thinks he may have finally found his 7th inning set-up guy or bridge guy in Angel Guzman, I still am not sold, he has not been very consistent, ever. Mike Fontenot made a lot of nice plays at 3rd base over the weekend and is improving quickly. This is exactly what we need. Although I still think he is too short to play 3B, he does hit well enough, and has a solid arm. The Cubs have had short 3rd Basemen before, just look at Ron Cey. If the line-up were up to me: I would have Fontenot playing 3B every day with Scales playing 2nd against right handed starters, allowing Aaron Miles to play 2nd against lefties. Lou also now has Freel to play at 3rd base as well, but he will likely see some time in the outfield. Chad Fox's career is over... again. The Cubs called up minor league starter Jose Ascanio who had a 1.01 ERA at Iowa and will pitch out of the bullpen for the Cubs. The Cubs have the day off today after playing in 20 straight. The Cubs return to action against the visiting San Diego Padres and (future Cub) Jake Peavy on Tuesday night at 7:05pm. Also, is it possible the Indians would trade us back Mark DeRosa? No offense to Fontenot, Miles, Freel, and Scales, but all of you combined (maybe except Fontenot) are not as good as DeRosa.

Good-bye Joey Gathright

I wrote this morning that after last night's performance, Joey Gathright had to go. This afternoon, the Cubs sent him down to AAA Iowa in order to make room for tonight's starter Randy Wells. Then the Cubs sent Gathright to the Baltimore Orioles for veteran outfielder/infielder Ryan Freel. The Orioles agreed to pay $2.7M of Freel's $3.3M contract, as well as the remaining money on Gathright's contract. I absolutely love this trade! We got rid of the most useless player on our team and got a hard-working, high energy player in return. I can remember seeing countless highlights of Freel making diving catches all over the outfield on a consistent basis. Freel also plays third-base, which means Mike Fontenot can stay at second-base and Aaron Miles ran ride the bench (where he belongs) if Aramis Ramirez were to get injured again. Not to mention we just got Freel for free. I am a little concerned as to why Baltimore was so eager to get rid of this guy? Apparently he was unhappy about playing time, but c'mon Baltimore, you should have gotten more than Gathright in return, but thanks, seriously. Freel is a career .271 hitter with a .357 OBP.

Insurance runs prove big, as Cubs hang on to beat Astros 8-5

The Cubs were supposed to win this game. We had Ted Lilly pitching and the Astros had Russ Ortiz pitching, enough said. Seriously, Ortiz was washed up after the 2003 season, I did not even know he was still in baseball. The Cubs jumped all over Ortiz with one run in the first and two more in the third. Ortiz left after only retiring one batter in the third inning, unfortunately the Cubs were only able to get three runs off of this clown. Micah Hoffpauir had an RBI single in the first, while Milton Bradley has a bases loaded single in the third (only one run could score because of Hunter Pence's strong arm in right), and Mike Fontenot would add a Sac-Fly in the third as well.

Ted Lilly also got off to a poor start in this game, walking the lead-off hitter, then giving up a HR to Miguel Tejada, his first HR of the season. Fortunately for the Cubs, Lilly gathered himself and shut down the Astros for the remainder of the game: 6IP, 2ER, 4H, 5K. Lilly improved to 4-2 on the season.

Alfonso Soriano was the offensive star of the night for the Cubs, hitting two home runs, and three RBI's. The latter HR came in the 9th inning, which proved to be important. In all thee Cubs scored 4 runs in the 9th inning to give themselves an 8-2 lead. In that inning, Aramis Ramirez (3-4, RBI) drove in another run, and Fontenot was walked with the bases loaded.

Chad Fox made his 2009 Cubs debut and it was a disaster. He walked the first guy he faced on four pitches. Then he gave up a 3B to Ivan Rodriguez, who should be too slow to even hit a 3B, but in all fairness it looked like Joey Gathright misplayed that ball or was afraid of running into the wall. Fox retired one hitter he faced and gave up a second 3B to Darin Erstad. This time the ball should have been caught. Gathright and Soriano were running towards it and it was clearly Gathright's to catch, but he didn't call for it, and the ball hit the warning track. It looked to me as if Gathright was trying to avoid a collision with Soriano, but it also looked that if he tried to catch it, they would not have collided. My question(s): 1. Why was Gathright out there? When we have a guy on the bench, Reed Johnson, who would have caught both of these balls. This is what Johnson is known for, so I just do not understand why Lou Piniella did not have him out there for defense, his strong suit. 2. Why is Gathright on this team? He does not hit (.214 avg, he had a hit last night), he does not steal as many bases as he should, and he plays what appears to be poor defense. He appears to be a less powerful version of Freddie Bynum. Joey Gathright needs to go!

Because of Gathright's poor fielding, Lou was forced to bring Kevin Gregg in to end the game, which he did. The Cubs hung on to win 8-5 and swept the two game series with the Astros. Next up a 3-game weekend series in Milwaukee.

Manny Ramirez suspended 50 games for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs

This figures, what a jerk. Manny Ramirez hit like a mad man last summer and fall. Too bad he had to cheat to put up such big numbers. Apologists like ESPN's Peter Gammons are saying its not a big deal because it wasn't necessarily steroids, rather a medication prescribed to help him recover from an injury/illness quickly. I thought that was one of the reasons to take steroids? I once had to take steroids for inflammation of the jaw, and it made me much stronger, seriously. Gammons is douche, I just lost a lot of respect for him. Thank goodness he is suspended though, this will likely slow the LA Dodgers. In fact in the past, their offense has been hapless without him. This is what they get for having a cheater on their team. Who next to be caught using performance enhancing drugs?

I just wish that ESPN and the national media would stop playing this down. I just don't understand why they like Manny so much. Face it, he is an older player putting up huge numbers, hmm, sounds like a guy who was using steroids to me.

May I add that the Cubs have a 4 game series with the Dodgers at the end of May. Let's see how tough the Dodgers are without their steroid-using, fraud, Manny.

Cubs return to form, defeat Astros 6-3

The Cubs got off to a fast start tonight versus the Astros. Alfonso Soriano and Milton Bradley had first inning hits, Geovany Soto followed with a walk and Reed Johnson knocked them all in with his first extra-base hit of the season, a triple to left-center. Johnson would score soon as well on a passed ball, one of two by Ivan Rodriguez, who looks washed up behind the plate. The game was basically over from here on. Aramis Ramirez looked good at the plate tonight going 2-4, HR, BB. Aaron Miles and Micah Hoffpauir each had a double, with Miles finally crossing the Mendoza Line. Tonight was a solid, balanced effort from our offense, with the exception of Soto, who seems to be lost at the plate. He was 0-3, although he did draw a walk and score in the first inning, he is currently hitting a dismal .159.

Cubs starter Rich Harden came up big tonight, as I expected him to: 7+IP, 3ER, 8H, 4Ks. These numbers are misleading however, since Lou Piniella brought Harden back out to start the 8th inning (he had only given up one run through 7 innings). This was not a good move since he allowed the lead-off man to reach base and then gave up a HR to Lance Berkman. I was watching the game with my roomate and we both agreed that this move made no sense, Harden even batted for himself in the top of the 8th, and he is not a great hitter (although he did have one tonight and is hitting .250). I just don't understand why Lou left him out there, maybe he was testing Harden to see how deep he could go into a game? Maybe it was only because Harden finished with 99 pitches and Lou thought he could handle one more inning? Nevertheless, he should have been taken down for a pinch-hitter in the 8th, and allowed to leave the game after seven strong innings, especially since we had a rested bullpen. But overall, I was very happy with Harden's performance. Carlos Marmol came on in relief and stranded the one runner he inherited. He appeared to look like his old self. Kevin Gregg pitched a 1,2,3 9th inning to get his 5th save of the season, he looked like the pitcher we all expected him to be when the season started.

Also, the Cubs sent pitcher Jeff Samardzija down to AAA Iowa today and called up RP Chad Fox. Fox is a solid veteran who when healthy has always been a reliable set-up man, which is something the team can always use. I am not sure however if he is capable of throwing more than one inning per appearance. Fox's career has been marred in recent years by serious arm injuries. As for Samardzija he will return to the role of a starting pitcher at Iowa. This is something I agree with, he wants to be a starter, let him start! In AAA. Hopefully he can figure out what was wrong, who knows, maybe he could be starting for the Cubs soon as a replacement to Carlos Zambrano, while he is hurt? Although I think that is unlikely.

Jackass Call of the Day : (In my opinion) Lou Piniella bringing Harden out to pitch the 8th inning. He allowed the same thing to happen yesterday with Sean Marshall, which led to us falling way out of that game. Why would Lou allow the Astros to get back in the game tonight? Especially with Harden who has a history of shoulder trouble, I just do not understand what Lou was trying to do here.

Giants end Cubs 4-game win streak

The game yesterday afternoon was over after the first inning, when Cubs starter Sean Marshall gave up a 3-R HR to Giants C Benji Molina. With the B-Team lineup that Lou Piniella put out there, it was going to be hard for the Cubs to muster up 3 runs, in fact they only scored two. After the first inning however, Marshall settled in nicely, before leaving the game in the 8th inning with two on and nobody out. His final line for the day: 7IP, 5ER, 8H does not do him justice for how well he pitched. Lou probably should not have let him pitch the 8th. Jeff Samardzija was brought in to relieve Marshall and he shit the bed, 0.1IP, 2H, ER, BB. It seems like every time Samardzija comes in with men on base they eventually score. He looked awful and his ERA is up to 8.10. Maybe instead of sending down Bobby Scales to make room for Randy Wells (Big Z's replacement), the Cubs should send down Samardzija, who has looked nothing like the occasionally dominant set-up man he was last year. The Cubs decided to tinker with Samardzija's release point which looks like it did no good. Not only has this made him ineffective, but it also can lead to an injury.

Offensively, the Cubs were not very impressive, but that was assumed given that most of the regulars did not play, and we were facing Tim Lincecum. The Cubs managed to score two runs off of Lincecum, who looked sharp. Unfortunately the Cubs could only put up 5 hits and only Derrek Lee had an extra base hit, a double off the wall in left. Just like I called it, Scales got a hit! Even the pathetic one-two combo of Joey Gathright and Aaron Miles got one hit apiece. Unfortunately, after Gathright got his, Miles grounded into a double play. Overall, a weak effort from the Cubs offense. Mike Fontenot did get his 15th RBI of the season, he is now tied for the team lead.

Tonight the Cubs head to Houston for a short two game series with the Astros. Tonight's match-up is Rich Harden vs Mike Hampton. Harden was not too sharp his last time out, I look for him to have a solid outing tonight. Hampton is a veteran lefty and the Cubs have struggled vs lefties all season. Hopefully, with some regulars back in the line-up, the Cubs can score a few runs tonight, and get back to winning games.

Cubs to rest regulars today vs Giants

Cubs Manager, Lou Piniella, said he wanted to give his regulars some rest, and today's line-up is one of the weirder ones I've seen:

1. Joey Gathright, who is hitting .111, and hasn't started a game this season.
2. Aaron Miles, he's been hot lately, but is still only hitting .190.
3. Fukudome
4. Derrek Lee, he too has been swinging a hot bat lately, still only .207.
5. Micah Hoffpauir, but he's playing left-field in place of Alfonso Soriano. This could be ugly.
6. Mike Fontenot, back at Third Base, despite the return of Aramis Ramirez and the call up of...
7. Bobby Scales, who is playing Second Base? I thought he was a Third Baseman?
8. Koyie Hill
9. Sean Marshall, batting .000

Honestly, despite his recent power-surge, Ryan Theriot was overdue for a day off, he had previously started every game at SS for the Cubs this season. I also have no problem with Lou giving Soriano the day off either, we need him rested and healthy for the whole season, and hopefully pennant race. Hill playing for Geovany Soto is fine with me, Soto should be jogging or getting into better shape/ hitting in the cages while not playing today. I also like that Lou is starting Scales, it is nice to see a guy get his chance, especially since he won't likely be around for long. I bet he even gets a hit! Although I have never seen him play nor do I know if he bats left or right. One question I have, where is Milton Bradley? I feel he should be playing today given how many games he's missed recently, he needs the at-bats! I would just assume that the Cubs are being careful with Ramirez's return and are trying not to rush him back, wise move.

Also according to a report on CSN this afternoon, neither Carlos Marmol nor Kevin Gregg are available to pitch today. That leaves Lou with a short bullpen today, especially when they were down a man (Carlos Zambrano) to begin with. Lou better hope Marshall gives them a nice long outing today.

Also, I got into an argument with my roomate yesterday regarding Lee and Bradley. He is a huge fan of Lee. I am not. I am a believer in Bradley. He is not. We were discussing who on the Cubs should bat 3,4,5. He was critical of Bradley and his .130 batting avg. I feel he will get out of this and he still gets on base, with an OBP of .310 to Lee's OBP of .283 (even after being walked 3 times last night!). I just like that even when Bradley is not getting base hits, like now, he still finds a way to get on base. Eventually I think that Lou is going to settle on a middle of the order like: Fukudome, Bradley, Ramirez, and likely move Lee down to the 6-spot, and this is assuming he will keep Theriot in the 2-spot. Does anyone else have any better ideas for the Cubs regular line-up(assuming we ever get healthy)?

Cubs beat Giants 4-2, for 4 straight win

The Cubs placed pitcher Carlos Zambrano on the Disabled List Monday morning, he will be out for 2-3 weeks with a calf strain. This injury could not have come at a worse time for the Cubs we were just starting to get hot. Ryan Dempster needed to have a strong outing on Monday, and he did: 7IP, 2ER, 5H, 7Ks for his second victory this season. It was good to see Dempster have a good start, he has struggled most of the season with walks and location, last night he only walked two. Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg pitched scoreless 8th and 9th innings respectively, Gregg picked up his 4th save. It would be nice if these two could get on a roll and stabilize our bullpen.

Good news: Aramis Ramirez returned to the starting line-up, but he was rusty, going 0-3, and leaving 5 men on base. We need Ramirez, not only to bolster the middle of our line-up, but to play 3rd base. I have nothing against Mike Fontenot, but he is not a 3rd Baseman. As a team the Cubs' bats were pretty quiet last night, they only managed 5 hits as a team. The big play of the day was a 2-R HR by Ryan Theriot in the 2nd inning, which ended up being the game-winner. The HR was Theriot's 3rd this season which tied his career high. Other than this, not a lot happened. Geovany Soto had a 2-out RBI as did Reed Johnson. Aaron Miles also added a double, raising his average to .190. Soto, Johnson, and Miles have all been slow starters this season, it was nice to see them all contribute. Johnson also made a sweet catch in CF to end the game.

Next Up: the Cubs play again this afternoon, Sean Marshall is starting for us and Tim Lincecum is starting for the Giants. Good luck Cubs, you'll need it. But I guess you never know, the Giants offense is terrible, so maybe Marshall can keep us in this game.

Two Cubs Games in Two Days

This past weekend, I decided to attend not one, but two Cubs games. It was a perfect weekend as far as weather goes and the Cubs bats were heating up.

Game One

Saturday my friends and I had bleacher seats. The game started at 12:05, so we needed to get there early. My friend Justin and I got there at 8:00 am, I packed two Gatorade and vodka's, a PB&J, and some cigs, needless to say I was set for the pre-game. The wait was not so bad, the gates opened at 10 and we ran to get front row seats in the Right Field corner. These seats were worth the wait, we were right up against the outfield wall. The Marlins took batting practice for a solid hour while we sat there, but we got no action, but we did manage to harass a few players.

Ted Lilly was solid: 8IP ER, 5H, 10Ks. He kept the Marlins hitters off balance the whole game. This was his best outing of the season, his record is 3-2. Aaron Heilman pitched a scoreless 9th inning in relief.

At the plate the Cubs had a strong game. Lilly probably had the biggest hit of the day, with a 2-out, 2RBI 2B. I was also holding the Cup (for the Cup game) and won some cash with this hit. Ryan Theriot also had a nice game 2-5 3B, HR. Lou Piniella had both Derrek Lee and Micah Hoffpauir in the line-up (I was disappointed, I wanted to talk to Milton Bradley in RF). Lee did hit a towering HR to left in the second inning, he also struck out 3 times. Hoffpauir was 2-3 before being removed from the game for defensive purposes in the 7th inning. The Cubs went on to win 6-1. I had a few too many Labatt Blue's and not enough food.

Game Two

My friend Nick came home from Mexico and of course he wanted to go to the Cubs game on Sunday afternoon. His plan was to get tickets from a scalper after first pitch, which he did. He did not give us much time to get there, he called about an hour before the game. But we got sweet tickets: Aisle 127, Row 13, Seat 102 for $40, not bad. We were in the sun most of the game, the only thing that was not good, was we were sitting around a bunch of families and had to watch our language. We got to the game by the top of the second inning, despite walking to Wrigley from Western & Roscoe. When we got to the game we picked up some Grilled Chicago Dogs in the concourse (These are worth the extra $1) and picked up beers down there too (for 50 cents less). Later we got a box of "Love Me Tenders" which is basically a box of chicken fingers and french fries, with BBQ sauce, not bad for $5, but not as good as all of the hoopla led me to expect.

As for the game itself, the big news was Carlos Zambrano leaving the game in the bottom of the 5th trying to leg-out an infield single (which he did). Big-Z did get the win, going 5IP, 2ER, 4H. As it turned out, his bunt single was the spark for an ensuing rally. Fukudome hit a fly ball to RF that was dropped by Ross Gload leaving the bases loaded for Lee. Lee then proceeded to hit a towering Grand Slam off the hitters eye in CF and the stadium went crazy. It was perfect irony that Lee hit two HRs in the two games I attended this weekend. But honestly, it was good to see from him, maybe he is not washed up after all? Also this was the second game I have been to since 2007 where Derrek Lee hit a Grand Slam, the other was vs the White Sox in '07. Mike Fontenot added his 5th HR of the season and is on pace to have as good of a season as Mark DeRosa did last year. Geovany Soto and Aaron Miles both had a double, these guys have started slow, so this was also a sight for sore eyes.

The bullpen tried to blow the lead but Angel Guzman and Carlos Marmol only gave up one run apiece. While Kevin Gregg pitched a scoreless 9th for his third save this season. The Cubs held on to win 6-4 and we sneaked out of the stadium without having to hear too much of the "Go, Cubs, Go" song. We topped the day off with a few Old Style 16oz's, free hot-dogs, and Sorry (the board game) at the Full Shilling.

My personal record at Cubs games in 2009: 3 and 0.
Next game I will be attending as of right now: June 14th vs Twins

Bulls win in Triple-OT, send series to Game 7

Last night's Bulls vs Celtics game was ridiculous. It had 3 OT's, it was 4 hours long, Ray Allen had 51 points, Joakim Noah had a break-away dunk off of a steal, that won the game for the Bulls. For the Bulls, Ben Gordon flopped. He fouled out in the 4th quarter and then received a technical, which cost the Bulls a point in the final minutes of the game, I understand he was upset, but this was stupid of him. John Salmons had his best game as a Bull, on a bad groin, he had 35 pts, played solid defense on Paul Pierce all night, and played all 60 minutes of this game. Derrick Rose had a nice game as well with 28 points, although he did brick 2 free throws in the third overtime, which could have iced the game for us. Even Brad Miller came up big, hitting many clutch free throws, and even scoring 5 straight points to tie the game at 101 in regulation. And I like Kirk Hinrich getting in the face of Rajon Rondo early in the game. Rondo is a punk and has been getting away with a lot of cheap shots in this series. Its about time someone stood up to him. Hinrich set the tone for the Bulls last night, they finally played a physical game, and made it clear they were not going to take any more crap from the Celtics.

I have one question. Where was Kevin Garnett at the end of the game? Garnett is usually jawing at the Bulls' players and coaches, but oh wait, he only does this after the Celtics win, because he's gutless. I did not see him talking any trash down the stretch of this game, he obviously has a lot of confidence in his teammates. I also love how ESPN, neglects to mention Garnett's foul behavior in this series. Anchor Chris McKendry said today, that Noah shouldn't be celebrating with our fans because the series isn't over. Wow Chris, no guff. But had Garnett been doing the same thing, they'd probably be saying what a great guy he is, typical East-Coast Bias bullshit.

And while I'm on Garnett, he is apparently saying he's going to suit up for game 7. ESPN is already comparing him to Hall of Famer Willis Reed, who did the same thing with the Knicks in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals. Sorry, Garnett, but you are no Willis Reed, and this isn't the finals. I hope the Big Tool does suit up, maybe he can finally back up all of the trash he's been talking. Then again maybe Miller or Aaron Gray will throw you to the ground. Garnett is such a jackass, I really can't believe he is this big of a jerk. Few things would make me happier than this clown taking the court and taking a beating, he deserves it.

I just hope that Game 7 is as good as the previous 6 games, I expect a real dog-fight in this one.