Cubs weekend news

After another hectic weekend with the family, let get caught up on the Cubs news:

After Lou Piniella predicted a better outing from Carlos Zambrano today, Zambrano promptly went out and gave up 11 hits in 3 plus innings.  Mark's Remarks - Zambrano has not looked right in 2 starts now since coming back from his back injury.  Add to that the fact that he has not looked right for the last 2 years and one begins to wonder if Zambrano might end up another one of Dusty Baker's victims.

Zambrano's not the only one struggling.  With Geo Soto continuing to struggle, Piniella says he'll catch Koyie Hill a lot more.  Mark's Remarks - When Koyie Hill is outproducing last year's Rookie of the Year, you know your team has problems.

On the injury front: an MRI on Alfonso Soriano's knee only showed inflamation and medication may be all he needs to recover.  In addition, Aramis Ramirez should be able to avoid surgery on his troublesome shoulder.  Mark's Remarks - Finally, some good news for the Cubs.  If these two were to miss a lot of time, you could pretty much just put an end to the Cubs season now (not that you can't already).

On the trade rumor front, Rich Harden was claimed on Waivers by the Minnesota Twins.  The Cubs have until Noon Monday to trade him or pull him back.  Mark's Remarks - The Cubs should STRONGLY consider trading Harden, if they get some good prospects in return (i.e. worth more than the draft picks the Cubs will receive).  The team is going nowhere and its time to try to improve in any way they can.  Plus, they could always sign Harden in the offseason.

Finally, at least the Cubs Broadcasters are having a good year and as far as Cubs fans go, no one suffers more than Ron Santo.  Mark's Remarks - Let's just hope that Santo is still around when/if the Cubs ever make the World Series.

Arizona Fall League Rosters Announced

For those of you already looking forward to the future for the Cubs, the Arizona Fall League rosters were announced earlier this week and it features some interesting prospects for the Cubs.

The following players will be headed to Mesa to play for the Solar Sox:

Josh Vitters (3B) - Leading the list is the Cubs' top prospect, Vitters.  He started off in low A Peoria before getting a midseason promotion to high A Daytona.  The Cubs have high expectations for him and could fast track him to AA to start next year with a strong showing in the fall.

Andrew Cashner (RHP) - Cashner has pitched very well (2.58 ERA, 72 K's in 87.1 IP), making it up to AA in his first full season in the minors.  Although he's pitched mostly as a starter in the minors, he could be in the mix for a bullpen role next year.

Stalin Castro (SS) - Castro has speed to burn, as evidenced by his 24 SB's this year, but he also has a lot to learn about stealing bases as his 11 CS's can attest.  Still he can play second or short and may be the Cubs answer to the second base issues as early as next year.  Watch to see what position he plays in Arizona.

Wellington Castillo (C) - A strong-armed catcher who has drawn comparisons to the Cardinals' Yadier Molina, Castillo is still learning the art of hitting.  If he can improve his strike zone judgement and learn to hit righthanders, he could blossom into a starter.  Otherwise, he may be relegated to a backup/platoon role.

Each of the above players were featured in my mid-season update on the Cubs top 10 prospects.  The following players, also headed to Arizona, you may not have heard of, but still should keep an eye on:

John Gaub (LHP) - Acquired from Cleveland, who drafted him in the 21st round of the 2006 draft, Gaub had some trouble coming back from arthroscopic shoulder surgery and lost some mph on his fastball.  However, he seems to still know how to pitch, posting a 1.80 ERA between AA Tennessee and AAA Iowa to go along with 70 K's in 55 IP.  He could end up being a valuable lefthander in the Cubs bullpen next year.

Blake Parker (RHP) - Drafted in the 16th round of the 2006 draft, Parker was ranked as the 26th best prospect for the Cubs by Baseball America.  He features a low-90's sinking fastball and an improving changeup and slider.  He has been used as a closer in AA and AAA, racking up 22 saves and a 2.33 ERA in 58 IP.  He could also be in the bullpen mix next year.

James Russell (LHP) - Drafted in the 14th round of the 2007 draft, Russell has not been very impressive so far.  Although he's made it to AAA Iowa, he's posted a 4.62 ERA in his 3 seasons in the minors with only 164 K's in 231 IP.  At best he may develop into a lefthanded specialist.

So there you have it, the 7 players the Cubs are sending to Arizona this fall.  Usually, a trip to Arizona means you're probably in the teams long-term plans and they want to quicken your development.  So, keep an eye on Vitters, Castro and Cashner, as they could move quickly with a strong showing this fall.  Castillo and Gaub are intriguing players, who could see time in the majors as well, and I don't really know what to make of Russell's selection (perhaps the Cubs are just desperate for lefty relievers).  In any case, it should be fun to see what these kids can do.

Racism in Wrigley

After Tuesday and Wednesday night's games at Wrigley, Milton Bradely accused some Cubs fans of making racist remarks towards him.  This is not the first time he has brought this subject up either.  Back in April, the Sun Times reported that fans at Wrigley and Boston's Fenway Park are "considered among the worst by African-American players for a racist element comprising at least vocal minorities."  In that article, Bradley stated that he was aware of Wrigley's reputation and that he was ready for it.

Another instance of racism involved some Kosuke Fukudome related T-shirts bearing a racist image.  ”I don’t know what the creator of the shirt meant this to be, but they should make it right,” Fukudome said through his interpreter after being shown one of the shirts Thursday. ”Maybe the creator created it because he thought it was funny, or maybe he made it to condescend the race. I don’t know.”  The Cubs ended up banning the sale of the T-Shirt the day after the Sun Times article came out.

Then there was this T-Shirt, in response to a similar T-Shirt produced by some Cardinals fans.  Apparently, racism and poor taste has no limits.

Probably the worst example of Cubs fans racism occurred back in 2006, when Cubs Manager Dusty Baker was the recipient of several racist letters. 

Overall, not something the typical Cubs fan would want to be associated with.  Although these examples probably represent a very vocal minority of Cubs fans, it is a stain on the Cubs and Wrigley Field in general. 

While security is suppose to expel fans for making inappropriate or racist comments during games, they cannot always here everything that is said.  Therefore, I think it is important for other fans to report racist comments to security and get those offending fans expelled.  That is the only way for us to clean up Wrigley's reputation and make it more appealing for minority players to want to play here.  Players like Torii Hunter, who has passed on the Cubs and included them in his no-trade list specifically because of the racism.

Nats swat Cubs 15-6

The Washington Nationals beat up on the hapless Cubs tonight, all but ending any chances of the Cubs making a run at the playoffs.  If the Cubs had hoped to climb back into the race, they would have shown more life than they did tonight.

Carlos Zambrano, coming back from his notorious back injury, was not sharp giving up 8 runs in 4.1 innings.  The Cubs' offense wasn't much better, failing to amount much of a threat until after the game was already out of reach.  Josh Willingham was a one-man wrecking crew for the Nationals, going 4 for 4 with 2 homeruns and 6 rbi's.

So, as the postseason continues to slip away from the Cubs, just remember that the football season starts in just 19 days.  GO BEARS!!!

Marmol impresses in Closer Debut

The Cubs beat the Dodgers yesterday, 3-1, to salvage one game of the 4 game series.  However, the big news wasn't the win, it was that Carlos Marmol got the save and looked like his former dominant self in the process.

Marmol pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out 2 and throwing 12 of his 16 pitches for strikes.  After a season-long battle with his control, this was a refreshing change, to say the least.

Chances are the Cubs are probably going to take a long look at Marmol in the closer role as the season winds downs.  The Cubs are 8 back in the Central and 7 back in the Wildcard, so they don't have much to lose at this point.  Marmol has arguably the most dominant stuff on the pitching staff, but his pitches have so much movement, they're hard to control.  If he can harness his stuff, he could be one of the most dominant closers the Cubs have had since Lee Smith.  If he can't harness his control, he could become the righthanded version of Mitch Williams.

So, with Kevin Gregg becoming a free agent after this season, the Cubs are hoping that they can fill the closer role in-house.  If not, they may be forced to explore the free agent closer market, such as Billy Wagner, Mike Gonzalez, Rafael Soriano or Trevor Hoffman, to name a few.

I think its probably best if the Cubs develop a closer in-house, because it doesn't make sense to spend a lot of money on a closer when the rest of your team is in shambles.

What can the Ricketts family do for the Cubs?

With the Tribune Company signing an agreement to sell the Cubs to the Ricketts family, there was much rejoicing from Cubs fans who believed that the Tribune Company was all about making money and not concerned with putting a quality team on the field.  And while that may have been true in the past, Cubs fans cannot say the Tribune Company didn't spend the money the last few years.  In 2007, 2008 and 2009, the Cubs payroll was 8th, 7th and 3rd in the majors, respectively.  However, much of the free spending was probably pushed by the Tribune Company to make the team a winner and more attractive to potential buyers.

The Cubs had a payroll of $134.8 million at the beginning of this season, only the Mets ($149.4 million) and the Yankees (a whopping $201 million) have spent more on their payroll.  But, as the Mets can tell you, spending money doesn't always equate to winning.  You have to spend the money on the right players.

The Cubs have made a big splash in the free agent market each of the last three years.  In November 2006, they signed Alfonso Soriano for $136 million over 8 years.  In December 2007, they signed Kosuke Fukudome to a 4 year, $48 million contract.  And in January 2009, the Cubs signed Milton Bradley to a 3 year, $30 million contract.

Add to that the 5 year, $91.5 million contract extension the Cubs handed Carlos Zambrano back in August 2007, and you have 4 players on big contracts who have not produced this year.  Fukudome has shown signs of life this year, after going AWOL in the second half of 2008.  Bradley and Soriano have been largely ineffective this year, after producing great numbers in the past.  Zambrano, for all his money, can't be motivated to do his abdominal exercises.

So, the Cubs are stuck with a quartet of overpaid, underperforming veterans.  They cannot trade them, without paying a large chunk of their salaries.

What about Jim Hendry, the guy who signed all these underperforming players to bloated contracts?  Well, he is signed through 2012.  So, the Ricketts family will have to decide if he's worth keeping around or if they should eat his contract and find someone else.  For what its worth, Aramis Ramirez is behind Hendry.

That leaves Lou Piniella, the Captain of this sinking ship.  Should he go down with the ship?  Well, Piniella has said he plans to return for the final year of his contract in 2010 and the players support him.  However, what happens after 2010 is anybody's guess.

Finally, with the sale of the Cubs not expected to be finalized until around January 2010 (due to owners' approval and bankruptcy court approval), the Ricketts family will have very little time to put their mark on next year's team.

Cubs news and notes

It seems like eons ago, but it was only August 6th, two weeks ago, that the Cubs were tied with the Cardinals atop the National League Central.  Since that day, the Cubs have gone 4-8 while the Cardinals have gone 10-2 to give the Cards a 6 game lead in the Central.

With the way the Cardinals have been playing, the Cubs have all but given up on winning the Central and are starting to focus on the Wildcard.  Mark's Remarks - If the Cubs think they have a better chance at winning the wildcard, they had better think again.  They are 5.5 games and 4 teams behind the wildcard lead.  In any case, time is running out on the Cubs.

Lou Piniella is blaming the bigger West Coast ballparks, particularly San Diego's Petco park, for his teams struggles there (the Cubs were 0-5 in San Diego this season before finally winning last night).  However, Tribune writer Steve Rosenbloom is not buying it.  Mark's Remarks - Well, at least now Piniella has an excuse for when the Dodgers sweep the Cubs over the next few nights.

As if acquiring Mark DeRosa, Matt Holliday and Julio Lugo wasn't enough to spark the Cardinals, now they are adding future Hall of Famer John Smoltz to their mix.  Mark's Remarks - and the fat lady is warming up to sing "take me out to the ballgame" for the Cubs.

At least Cubs GM Jim Hendry has the balls to take the blame for the Cubs woes this year.  Even though, he was just trying to get Piniella what he wanted.  Mark's Remarks - There has been a lot of speculation on the talk radio shows as to whether Piniella will be back next year, even though he has one year left on his contract.  Perhaps they should be speculating on Hendry as well.  Especially now that the sale to the Ricketts family seems imminent, the new ownership may want to bring in their own management team.

Has Scott Boras gone soft?

For those of you who may have missed it (and its understandable, since it didn't involve the Cubs), there was a big signing yesterday.  Stephen Strasburg, the best player of the 2009 draft and arguably one of, if not the best college pitchers in history, was signed by the Washington Nationals for a record $15.1 million over 4 years.  Who's record did he break, well none other than Mark Prior of the Cubs, who signed for a then record $10.5 million contract back in 2001.

What's even more noteworthy about this signing is that Scott Boras, the scourge of owners everywhere, represented Strasburg.  After much posturing by Boras, including rumors that Boras could ask for upwards of $50 million for Strasburg, the fact that the Nationals were able to reach an agreement and at a fairly reasonable price is quite surprising.

It was even rumored that Boras could take Strasburg to Japan to try to circumvent baseball rules and make him a free agent.  However, in the end, it came down to Strasburg wanting to play baseball and HIS agent getting a deal done.

Now, how much will the Nationals have to pony up for likely #1 pick for 2010, Bryce Harper?

Marmol named closer. God help us!

The Chicago Tribune and Sun Times are both reporting that Carlos Marmol was named the new closer by Lou Piniella.  Apparently Lou doesn't have enough excitement in his life or he's trying to get out of being the Cubs manager by giving himself a heart attack.

In any case, Marmol would not be my first choice, not based on what he's shown so far this year.

So, break open the case of rolaids, the Carlos Marmol era has begun.

Casting Call for Cubs Closer

After Kevin Gregg gave up 4 runs with 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth, Lou Piniella announced that "I think we're going to make some changes as far as what we're going to do in late innings."  The problem is, if Gregg is not going to be the closer, then who is?

Lets take a look at the potential candidates:

Carlos Marmol - After losing the closer battle to Gregg in spring training, Marmol has had mechanical issues/control problems all year.  He's walked 52 batters in 56.1 innings so far this year.  Marmol certainly has electric stuff, as his 67 K's can attest, however until he solves his command issues, he probably cannot be counted on to close out the ninth.

John Grabow - Since being acquired by the Cubs at the trade deadline, Grabow has pitched 7 scoreless innings.  Overall, he has a 2.98 ERA on the year.  However, he does not have overpowering stuff and he is lefthanded, usually not what managers look for in a closer. 

Angel Guzman - He's been one of the Cubs most consistent relievers all season, posting a 2.42 ERA in 52 innings.  But he's still young and unproven and Piniella may want a veteran handling the closing duties.

Kevin Gregg - For what its worth, Gregg says he still believes in his stuff.  Problem is no one else does.  Gregg could still be in the mix for saves if Piniella goes to the dreaded "closer-by-committee".  However, he will no longer be the primary closer.

Jeff Samardzija - A longshot, Samardzija has closer-type stuff and mentality, but he has not pitched well on the major league level.  So, although he may end up being the Cubs closer of the future, chances are the future is not now.

So there you have it.  Not a strong list to choose from, but it is what it is.  If I had to choose, I would go with Guzman for now and, if the Cubs completely fall out of the race, try Samardzija as the closer and see what he can do.

Chances are that Piniella will probably go with a comittee approach, based on matchups.  So, Grabow, Marmol, Gregg and Guzman could all be in line for saves down the stretch.  Frustrating fantasy baseball players everywhere.

Carlos Zambrano is lazy, who knew?

In articles by the Tribune and Sun Times today, Carlos Zambrano admitted that he is lazy when it comes to doing the abdominal exercises that the trainers have prescribed for him to help alleviate his back issues.

While this may not come as a big surprise to anyone who has seen Zambrano up close, Zambrano has vowed to get serious about his ab work.  I would hope so.  The Cubs are paying him $17.75 million to do just that.

In other news, the Cubs were rained out yesterday, which upset a some of the 40,000 fans who waited 4 hours before the game was finally called.

Ryan Theriot was sent home yesterday and did not play tonight due to the flu.  He is questionable for the rest of the series with San Diego.

Cubs take their frustrations out on Pirates

After getting swept by the Phillies, the Cubs took out their frustrations by pounding the Pittsburgh Pirates today, scoring 17 runs in the first 4 innings and cruising to a 17-2 victory.  The 17 runs were the most the Cubs have scored in a game all year.  The Cubs had 18 hits and 6 walks on the day and hit 11 for 20 with RISP.  Derek Lee was the driving force behind the Cubs offense, going 3 for 3 with 7 rbi's.

Randy Wells was the beneficiary of all that run support, pitching 6 strong innings to gather his 9th win on the season.  Wells continues to impress, showing that you don't have to have dominant stuff to pitch effectively.

So, once again the Cubs proved that they can beat up on the bottom-feeders on the NL.  The Pirates are a shell of the team that the Cubs won 4 of 6 from earlier this year, having traded away Freddy Sanchez, Adam LaRoche and Jack Wilson, among others. 

So, after losing 5 in a row and 7 of their last 8, the Cubs found the perfect tonic in a rebuilding (again) Pirates team.  The Cubs will try to make it two in a row as Tom Gorzelanny, facing his former team, squares off against Zach Duke tomorrow.

Let's face it the Cubs stink and everyone knows it

The Cubs lost again today 6-1 as Phillies swept the 3 game series with the Cubs. Cliff Lee won his 3 straight start for the Phillies, since being acquired before the trade deadline, allowing only 6 hits and 3 walks in 8 innings.

The Phillies outscored the Cubs 22-9 in the series and just played better overall baseball.  Its pretty obvious that the Cubs cannot play with the good teams.

The Cubs are in a dive and everyone is taking notice.

Cubs announcer Bob Brenly is questioning the Cubs intensity, asking where is the Cubs urgency?  Brenly has been very critical of the Cubs lately, and rightly so, but if he doesn't watch out and tow the "company line", he could end up leaving the way Steve Stone did.

Lou Piniella is feeling the heat and one wonders, if things don't improve soon, could he be replaced, possibly even by Ryne Sandberg?

There is a faint glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel though, Ted Lilly pitched 5 shutout innings last night for Peoria and said he's ready to go on Monday for the Cubs, Carlos Zambrano could return to the rotation next week against the Dodgers, and Aramis Ramirez received a cortisone shot and could return to the lineup this weekend.

The Great Beer Conspiracy

During last night's game against the Phillies, some drunken idiot threw his beer at Shane Victorino as he was trying to catch a flyball.  Security intervened and a fan was removed from the game, however it was the WRONG FAN.

Shane Victorino has filed a complaint against the fan and a police search was conducted for the tosser.

Today, the drunken idiot turned himself in to authorities.  He has been charged with two misdemeanors, battery and illegal conduct within a sports facility.

Let's face it, every baseball stadium has its share of drunken fans who do stupid things.  The White Sox had the father-son team who attacked the firstbase coach awhile back.  However, when your stadium is treated like one big beer garden, you're going to have more than your fair share of idiots.

I hope Chicago authorities prosecute this guy to the full extent of the law.  Maybe if fans start to realize there are consequences to their stupidity, they will show a little more control.

Cubs coming unraveled

Lou Piniella got testy with a reporter who asked him if he was frustrated by yesterday's loss, saying "You want to manage and lose five out of six, and see how you feel? You come up here and sit here and let me ask you the questions and see what your emotions are."

Well, Piniella probably was a little more "frustrated" after tonight's loss.

The Cubs were trounced by the Phillies 12-5, as Jeff Samardzija, making his first major league start, was pounded for 7 runs in just 3.1 innings.  Sean Marshall replaced Samardzija and didn't fare much better, allowing 5 runs in his 3.1 innings.

The Cubs offense couldn't do much against Pedro "old man river" Martinez, who proved he had just enough left in the tank to get major leaguers, or at least Cubs hitters, out.

With the Cardinals winning tonight, the Cubs are now 4 games back in both the division and the Wildcard standings.

The Cubs will face new Phillies ace Cliff Lee tomorrow.  Lee, who was acquired before the trade deadline, has been impressive in two starts with the Phillies so far, going 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA.  The Cubs will counter with Ryan Dempster (6-5, 4.04 ERA on the season).

Cubs lose heartbreaker in 12 innings

The Cubs lost a heartbreaker tonight, 4-3 in 12 innings, as Kevin Gregg gave up a solo homerun to Ben Francisco in the top of the 12th for what became the game winner.

This was a sea-saw game throughout, as Rich Harden was dominating from the start, pitching a perfect game through 5 innings, before giving up a walk and a two-run homer to Jimmy Rollins in the 6th.  Overall, he only allowed just 2 hits and 2 walks in his 7 innings of work.

With the scored tied 2-2, Carlos Marmol coughed up the lead run in the 8th, walking 3 batters and hitting another in his 0.2 innings of work.  Jon Grabow got the last out in the inning to keep it close and the Cubs rallied against Phillies closer Brad Lidge to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th.

That set the stage for Francisco's heroics and the second-guessers to question why Lou Piniella would allow Kevin Gregg to pitch a second inning after he complained of a tired arm just a week ago.

The Cubs had 17 baserunners in the game, thanks to 10 hits and 7 walks, but left 12 runners on base and lost 2 more via the double play.  Jeff Baker was the hitting star on the night, going 4 for 5, however it was an empty 4 hits as he did not score or drive in any runs.

The Cubs will send rookie Jeff Samardzija out to the mound tomorrow against retread Pedro Martinez.  It should be an interesting matchup of a pitcher just beginning his major league career versus a pitcher in the twilight of his career.  However, the way the Cubs have been playing, my money's on Pedro.

Cubs are in trouble

With the Cubs losing tonight and the Cardinals winning, the Cubs are now 3 games behind the division lead.  With the way they've been playing lately, that might as well be 10 games.

After sleepwalking through a shutout loss to Justin Lehr and the Reds last Wednesday, the Cubs appear to have carried that over to the 4 game series against the Rockies.  With the 11-4 loss tonight, the Cubs lost the series 3 to 1 and looked pretty pathetic in the process.  The pitching staff allowed 5 or more runs in each game, the defense committed 6 errors in the series and the offense continued to struggle with RISP (8 for 40 in the first 3 games and 5 for 11 in the finale, but most of those hits come after the game was out of reach).

Tom Gorzelanny, who was spectacular in his first start with the Cubs, was roughed up for 6 runs in only 1.1 innings, before being mercifully forced to leave the game after taking a batted ball off his foot.

With Carlos Zambrano's sore back and Aramis Ramirez' ailing shoulder, to go along with Ted Lilly on the DL, the Cubs could ill afford to lose anyone else.  If Gorzelanny is forced to go on the DL, it will be interesting to see who the Cubs can scrounge up as their next victim, er starter.

The Cubs came out strong after the All Star Break, winning 14 of their first 20 games.  However, most of that damage came against weaker opponents (the Reds, Nationals and Astros).  Against stronger opponents (the Marlins, Rockies and Phillies) the Cubs are 3-7 after the Break.

The Cardinals, on the other hand, struggled a little after the Break, going 4-7 in their first 11 games.  Since then, however, they have gone 10-3 and won or split every series.

After tieing the Cardinals for the Central lead on August 4th, the Cubs have lost 4 out of 5, while the Cardinals have won 4 of 5.  In case you think the Cubs can sneak into the playoffs as a wildcard, they are 3 games behind the Rockies for the wildcard lead with San Francisco also ahead of them.

There is even more danger ahead for the Cubs, as they face the Phillies next at home, a team they lost 2 of 3 against a couple weeks ago.  So they had better wake up soon or this race could be over in a hurry.

Cubs pounded by Rockies

The Cubs were pounded by the Rockies 11-5 today, losing 2 out of 3 so far for the series, with a chance to even the score tomorrow against Jorge De la rosa.

After winning his last 4 starts, Randy Wells pitched a clunker today, getting roughed up for 7 runs (5 earned) in 5.1 innings.  The defense didn't help matters much, committing 3 errors, which led to the 2 unearned runs.

In addition, the Cubs had 17 hits today, but only scored the 5 runs as they let 13 runners on base.

The Cubs have one more game against the Rockies on Monday, with Tom Gorzelanny going against Jorge de la rosa.  They're hoping the Gorzelanny will be able to pitch another gem like his Cubs debut.

Milton Bradley: Man on Fire

Don't look now, but Milton Bradley is on fire.  He went 7 for 11 during the 3 game series against the Rockies this weekend and is now hitting .450 for the month of August (.266 for the year).  During the month of July, Bradley hit .275, but had an OBP of .457 with 23 walks in 24 games.

Although Bradely was brought in to provide some lefthanded pop in the middle of the order, Lou Piniella recently moved Bradley to the second spot in the order.  The move was made at the start of the Rockies series.  Bradley has yet to find his power stroke this year, having only 8 homeruns so far.  However, he's hitting and getting on base, which makes him a good choice for the second spot.

Bradley has been much maligned this year, but if he can get it going for the last two months and help carry the Cubs to the playoffs, I'm sure that many Cub fans will forgive him.

Cubs hurting again

In what has become a bad trend this year, one player comes off the DL while another player goes on, Geo Soto came off the DL to start on Friday night, while Carlos Zambrano had to miss his start and was later placed on the 15 day DL with a "sore back".

This is the second time that Zambrano has been placed on the DL this year, he went on the DL for 18 days back in May due to a Strained Left Hamstring.

In addition, Aramis Ramirez left tonight's game with soreness in his left shoulder. This is the same shoulder he dislocated earlier this year.  Reports are that it is not serious, but as with most dislocated shoulders, it doesn't take as much to dislocate it a second time.

Overall the Cubs have had 13 different players on the DL this year, including Reed Johnson, Aaron Miles and Carlos Zambrano twice apiece.  Not only are players getting injured, but they are key players:  Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Rich Harden and Ryan Dempster, 4/5ths of the Cubs starting rotation, have all been on the DL this year, along with Aramis Ramirez, Geo Soto and Reed Johnson.

So, the Cubs have been getting some bad breaks this year (no pun intended), but it is a good sign of their depth that they've been able to hang close in the NL Central race.

With Zambrano going on the DL, it probably means that Tom Gorzelanny is going to get more starts than the 3-start trial that was originally planned.  Although his first start with the Cubs was terrific, it remains to be seen if he can sustain that success.  Remember, this is a pitcher who has struggled for the last two YEARS, we can't expect him to regain his form overnight.  However, he will need to step up if the Cubs are going to remain in contention.

Jake Fox will probably see more playing time if Ramirez' shoulder continues to bother him.  Fox may not be the best defender at third, but he can certainly hit.

Every team goes through its share of injuries each year.  Its the mark of a good team that it has enough depth to overcome its injuries.  So far the Cubs have had enough depth to weather the storm.

Cubs news and notes

According to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Sun Times, Lou Piniella has taken every opportunity to "rest" Milton Bradley on days the Cubs face a hard-throwing righthander with good offspeed stuff.  Although Lou denies that he is platooning Bradley with Jake Fox, it might behoove him to do just that.  Bradley is hitting only .207 against righthanders this year, while Jake is hitting .325.  I say go to a straight platoon and, if Fox shows the ability to hit lefthanders, go with Fox full time!

In minor league news, the Cubs released B.J. Ryan today.  Ryan's velocity was not up to par and with the acquisitions of John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny, the Cubs now have a few more options for lefty relief. 

With Geovanny Soto schedule to return to the Cubs lineup on Friday, Koyie Hill is finally going to get some rest.  Hill has started the last 26 games for the Cubs, a grueling task for any catcher, let alone one who is normally a backup.  During that stretch, Hill hit .194 (18 for 93) with only 7 rbi's.  The Cubs will be thankfull to get Soto back.

Cubs shut out in loss to Reds

The Cubs failed to take advantage of an earlier Cardinals loss and fell to the Reds 4-0.  The Cubs were shut out by pitcher Justin Lehr, who had a career 5.32 ERA heading into this game, held the Cubs to 4 hits, while striking out 4 and allowing only 1 walk.  In Lehr's last start against the Rockies, he allowed 3 runs in 5 innings on 4 hits and 6 walks.

Needless to say, the Cubs offense was pathetic tonight.  The Cubs usual bugaboo, hitting with runners in scoring position, was not the problem tonight.  Tonight the problem was just getting runners on base. 

So, the Cubs head into their next series against the Rockies still tied with the Cardinals for first place in the Central.

Tom Gorzelanny sparkles in Cubs debut

Tom Gorzelanny looked more like the 2007 version of himself than the more recent version in his Cubs debut tonight.  Gorz pitched 7 innings, allowing only 3 hits, 1 walk and striking out 6 while giving up just one run.  He also helped himself with an rbi single.

Kosuke Fukudome hit his first homerun since July 8th (his 8th of the year) and ended up going 2 for 5 to raise his season average to .273.  The Cubs may have found their present and future leadoff hitter, in Fukudome, who now is hitting .333 in 19 games as a leadoff man, including a .447 OBP.  Just goes to show that you don't need to steal a ton of bases to be a good leadoff man.  You just need to get on base.

Derek Lee added a homerun of his own, his 22nd of the year, and Koyie Hill went 2 for 4 with 2 rbi's.

The bullpen was shaky once again, giving up 2 runs in the last 2 innings, but they were able to hold on to give the Cubs a 6-3 win.

Rich Harden will square off in the series finale against Justin Lehr (who?), as the Cubs go for the sweep.

Catching up with the Cubs

Hi everyone, I took a little break from the blog this weekend while I was out of town, so let's catch up on what's been going on with the Cubs.

First of all, the Marlins won 2 of 3 from the Cubs over the weekend.  However, the Cubs won tonight over the Reds 4-2 to move back into a tie with the idle Cardinals.

The Cubs have been having some issues with their bullpen of late, even after acquiring John Grabow from the Pirates.  The bullpen has been worked pretty hard, to the extent that Lou Piniella raised the possibility that Carlos Zambrano could be used out of the bullpen.

How bad has it been for the Cubs bullpen?  Well, Kevin Gregg gave up back-to-back homeruns against the Marlins Sunday to blow his second save in as many games.  This caused some to question if Piniella should remove Gregg from the closer role.   To which Piniella replied, "Why should I?"  Gregg later admitted to having a tired arm.

However, before everyone annoints Carlos Marmol as the new Cubs closer, take a look at his most recent performances.   Filling in for Gregg tonight, he struggled, giving up two hits, a walk and a run before finally getting the last out.  This is after two shaky performances on Friday and Saturday night had the Cubs on watch.  For the season, Marmol is tied with injured Brewers' pitcher Dave Bush for the lead in hit batsment with 10 and Marmol could become the first full-time reliever during the 89 year "live ball" era to lead the league in HBP.

Finally, in the some things never change category, Mark Prior is going to be released by the Padres.  He has been unable to get over the hump in his rehab from shoulder injuries and this may end up being the end of his career.  At least Cubs fans cast rest assured that Dusty Baker cannot do any more damage to Cubs' pitchers, like he is doing to Reds' pitcher Aaron Harang.