9/7/08 @ Reds; L 3-4; (86-57)

Ryan Theriot left the game today in the sixth inning because he was feeling sick. After his team blew a 3-1 lead in the ninth the entire Cub contingent is feeling sick.

Kerry Wood, pitching for the first time in four days, allowed a single and two walks to load the bases. A double and a single followed to score all three and give Cincinnati the win. Wood picked up his fourth loss of the season.

Sean Marshall had been sharp in his spot start. He allowed only three hits and two walks in six innings. Ronny Cedeno doubled in the seventh to break a 1-1 tie and put Marshall in position for the win. Mike Fontenot hit for Marshall and tacked on one more.

Ironically, the ninth inning double was originally ruled an error on Cedeno. After giving the Cubs the lead in the seventh, his failure to make that play may have cost them the game.

Chicago leaves Cincinnati with Monday off before they head to St. Louis. Thankfully the Brewers took it on the chin today in San Diego to stay four games back. They have only gained two games on Chicago over the last ten games.

Chicago needs to get back on track starting immediately. They have suffered through tough streaks this season, and this one is no different. But with only 19 games remaining, it is time to put an end to it.

9/6/08 @ Cincinnati; W 14-9; (86-56)

The Chicago Cubs threw a party for Derek Lee's birthday. It was a good one too with five home runs, eighteen total hits, and a convincing win to break that nasty losing streak.

Lee went four for six with three runs batted in. But it was Alfonso Soriano who stole the show on Lee's 33rd birthday, hitting three home runs for the second time as a Cub. He drove in five runs and scored four times, also tallying four hits.

Mark DeRosa finished an impressive third in this rbi competition with three of his own all on a home run in the seventh inning.

The Cubs had the lead extended to 11-1 in the eighth inning. Jason Marquis had another solid outing for the Cubs. Something much needed by this worn out pitching staff. The bullpen however, didn't follow up Marquis' solid outing and allowed the game to get much closer.

In the end it didn't matter. The win was therapeutic, at least for this fan, if not for the entire Cub faithful. I am sure the team itself breathed a sigh of relief in picking up their first win of September.

The Cubs will try to pick up their first series win with a victory on Sunday. Sean Marshall will spot start again for Chicago. Their wounded, Harden and Zambrano, will both try to come back later this week.

9/5/08 @ Reds; L 2-10; (85-56)

In an effort to lift the spirits and inspire some hope, let's not talk about the last six games. Let's talk about the last thirteen. Since August 22nd, the Cubs are 7-6. The Brewers have only gained a half game on them in that two week stretch. We added three games to the lead on the Cardinals in those two weeks.

In fact, if anyone wants to start giving Chicago crap about how badly this week has gone, just tell them "wait 'til next week."

In today's debacle, Ted Lilly gave up five runs in two innings. The offense didn't do anything until Lou started playing the whole bench. Koyie Hill had two hits, producing the only two runs Chicago scored.

What else can be said about a day that started with Lou Piniella and Matt Sinatro getting lost on the way from Chicago to Cincinnati? They eventually found their way. So too will the Cubs.

8/21/08 vs Reds; W 3-2; (78-49)

Chicago won it's seventh consecutive series Thursday with a 3-2 victory over the Reds. Their record is 17-5 during that stretch. They have increased their NL Central lead by 4.5 games and passed the LA Angels for the best record in baseball.

Thursday was Carlos Zambrano's day. He picked up his thirteenth win of the season and his fourth home run of the season. It was easily his best outing in the month of August. He went seven innings and gave up only one run. He picked up his first win in his last four decisions.

The Cubs scored early when Soriano led off the first with walk. Theriot's single advanced him to third. He scored on a double play ground out by Derek Lee.

Mark DeRosa added another run with a solo shot in the second inning. It was his fifteenth of the season, extending his career high. His is 11 of 31 in his last ten games with nine rbi and ten runs scored.

Zambrano's home run in the third ended the scoring for Chicago. Cincinnati chipped away at the lead with solo home runs by Bruce and Votto in the sixth and eighth respectively. Kerry Wood came in to pick up his 26th save pitching a perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts.

The Chicago Cubs have definitely hit a hot streak. They are finding ways to win and haven't lost back to back games since July 26th. Surely they will come back to earth in September. Let's just hope it isn't a crash, just a return to .600 baseball.

8/20/08 vs. Reds; L 1-2; (77-49)

Ted Lilly threw seven innings allowing only two hits and two walks. Unfortunately, two runs scored off those two hits. Both were lead off doubles and the Reds managed to move them around to score both times.

Chicago only scored one run on three hits...two by Mark DeRosa...all night. Bronson Arroyo threw 116 pitches through seven innings, but kept Chicago at bay. Two relievers combined for two perfect innings to close the game. They only had to throw 22 pitches.

Chicago's only two threats, in the third and fourth innings, were ended by double plays. They had two runners on in each inning. Ramirez and Soto were the double play victims, both good men to have up in a spot to drive in runs. It just wasn't Chicago's night.

8/19/08 vs. Reds; W 5-0; (77-48)

On the way up to Wrigley, we figured we were in for a pitcher's duel. We arrived to find the wind blowing in. That aided both Harden and Cueto, and the game was scoreless through four and a half innings.

Chicago finally broke through in the fifth. A lead off triple by Soto set the stage for a Harden sacrifice to score Soto.

Harden went seven scoreless innings giving up only two hits. He was pulled for a pinch hitter in the seventh. He earned his third win and struck out ten for the third time. He didn't walk a single batter all night.

The Cubs needed that kind of effort since Cueto battled valiantly for seven innings. He worked out of a lead off double by Theriot. After Chicago scored, he stranded a runner on third with one out.

In the eighth Chicago broke thee game open. Six of the first seven hitters reached base giving the Cubs four more runs.

Lee, Ramirez, and Fukudome all drove in runs in the eighth putting the game out of reach.

Kerry Wood warmed up for the save, but by the time he entered the game it wasn't a save situation any more. He struck out two and closed out the Reds.

The fans reveled in a home stand opening win singing Go Cubs Go for twenty minutes after the game.

7/10/08 vs Reds; L 7-12; (55-37)

In the eighth inning Thursday, neither team scored a run or even got a hit. I mention this because in every other inning one of the teams scored. The wind was only 12 mph, but the home runs were plentiful. Mike Fontenot hit one for the Cubs, a two run shot in the fourth. The Reds did a little better, hitting seven! Included in those, Griffey hit career number 605. David Ross notched two himself.

Ted Lilly, susceptible to the long ball, only gave up two of them. He left the game in the third inning having already thrown 63 pitches and having given up four runs.

Four bullpen pitchers took the Cubs the rest of the way, each giving up their share of the remaining eight runs. Chad Guadin, acquired in the Rich Harden trade, made his debut as a Chicago Cub. He pitched two innings allowing only two hits. One of them was David Ross' second long ball for his only earned run allowed.

The Cub offense kept trying to do their part, but every time the Reds answered. With the game tied 1-1 in the second, Ryan Theriot delivered with a two out two run base hit, giving the Cubs a two run lead. The Reds came right back with an RBI double by Griffey, and a two run bomb by Brandon Phillips.

In the fourth Fontenot hit his two run homer cutting the lead to three. The Reds responded with solo shots in the fifth and sixth to keep it a five run game.

The Cubs still took 2 of 3 from the Reds to win their second series in a row. They lost a game to the Brewers, who moved into second place at 4 games back. St. Louis lost as well and remains 4.5 back.

7/9/08 vs Reds; W 5-1; (55-36)

Carlos Zambrano earned his tenth win of the season Wednesday night at Wrigley Field. In doing so, he dominated the Reds, retiring 20 in a row following a second inning home run to Adam Dunn. Thanks to Geovony Soto cleaning up Jeff Keppinger, who reached on an error in the first, Z faced only one batter over the minimum through eight innings. Lou let him bat in the bottom of the eighth, and run the bases, leading me to believe he would go for the complete game. He didn't. Carlos Marmol pitched the ninth in relief, but didn't make it all the way through. Kerry Wood came in to face one batter with the bases loaded and earn the save.

Zambrano kept pace with Ryan Dempster, who picked up his tenth win on Tuesday night. Ted Lilly will look to get his tenth in the series finale on Thursday night. Three starting pitchers at ten wins before the All Star break is pretty good, right. Rich Harden's stats in most categories are better than any of those three.

He has a better ERA, strikeouts per innings pitched, as well as WHIP. We have known for most of the year this team could score runs. It looks as though the pitching has solidified, and with one acquisition, could challenge for the top staff in all of baseball.

You do have to score to win...and offensively, Aramis led the way at the plate, with two rbis on a double and a solo home run. That completed his cycle...over two games...since he singled and tripled on Tuesday night. He also made another nice defensive play at third.

Derek Lee had a nice defensive play in the ninth. Paul Bako led off and hit a ball headed down the right field line. Derek was in position to make the play when the ball hit first base and caromed high and back to Derek's right. He made a bare handed stop of the ball and flipped to Marmol covering.

After struggling through a tough couple of weeks, starting with their first losing streak of four, a win tonight gets them to .500 during those two weeks. It also gets them back to twenty games above .500 on the season.

Last night was particularly effective as the Brewers and Cardinals both lost. That increases the lead in the NL Central to 4.5 games. The Angels and Rays are both on losing streaks, putting the Cubs just one game back in the loss column to the Rays for the best record in the league.

Go Cubs Go!

7/8/08 vs Reds; W 7-3; (54-36)

The Cubs won two games in a row. That was a long two weeks in the life of a Cub fan.

Ryan Dempster, aside from one crazy inning, pitched well and is now 10-0 at Wrigley Field. The fourth inning for him was, to say the least, erratic. He had four walks on the night. All in the fourth inning, forcing in the only run he allowed. Other than that, he only gave up two hits over seven innings.

Offensively, the Cubs had multiple contributors. My boys and I, at the game, were betting on who would score the first run. Turned out to be Ramirez, so Zach was the winner. Aramis tripled to lead off the second inning and scored on Geovony Soto's sac fly.

Aramis ended up with two hits and an RBI to go with his run scored. His best plays may have been on defense. He had diving stops, one to his left one to his right, and on both occasions was able to get up and make the throw to beat the runner.

Soto added a two run homer later in the game to lead the team with three runs batted in. Mike Fontenot had a double and a home run, two runs scored and two rbi.

The boys and I had a great day at Wrigley in what is hopefully a great season. Our seats are down the left field line, up from the bullpen. Foul balls are rare, but tonight we had a shot. Aramis fouled one hard in the fifth inning that landed one row behind us. The storms that hit Chicago missed Wrigley, and I can't get enough of singing Go Cubs Go.

Not to mention, William Peterson does a great job with the seventh inning stretch and we got to see him in the stadium as we left. The only disappointment was that it was tote bag day instead of 1908 cap day (tomorrow)!

5/7/08 @ Reds; L 0-9; (19-15)

The Cubs were shut out a day after Carlos Zambrano threw his own shut out. That's the second time this season that Big Z has turned in a shut out, only to have the Cubs offense blanked the very next day. But this wasn't just a shut out, this was a blowout.

The Reds offense put up nine runs, all coming off home runs. Seven home runs to be exact, three of them by Joey Votto. Four of them in the second inning. That inning put a quick end to Jon Lieber's first start. He gave up seven hits, four home runs, and five earned runs in that short stint.

From that point on, I believe the Cubs may have been on cruise control. The Reds were too, especially Votto, but I think the Cubs phoned this in after two innings. The only time they put two hits together in an inning was in the fifth, and that was after we already had two outs.

Have you ever been on a long business trip, and on the last day, you just can't give the last meeting your best performance. All you can think about is getting home. I think that may be where the Cubs were today. They have played 11 of their last 14 on the road, with little success. Following today's game they head home to spend a day off and start a ten day ten game homestand. I have to believe that most of the guys, while still actually trying, chalked this one up after that rough second inning.

Unbelievable to me is the continual win one, lose two streak we have been on, and we kept that pattern going today. Oddly enough, we also kept up the pattern of getting shut out the day after Big Z throwing a shout out. I tend not to believe in fate, but these trends are weird. It forces me to look for a positive somewhere, and I've found it.....In 1908, through 34 games, the Cubs had been shut out twice, the same as the 2008 Cubs! Okay that is a stretch but at this point I am grasping for anything.

5/6/08 @ Reds; W 3-0; (19-14)

Big Z. Enough said. 5-1 this year in eight starts. He has two of the three wins for the Cubs when we score 3 or less runs. He has been shutting down nearly everyone he faces. His only loss was to Philadelphia when he gave up five earned. In his two no decisions, he went thirteen and gave up only one earned run. He was on track to be the winning pitcher in the second game until Woody blew the save. Oh yeah...he also has both of the teams shutouts this year.

Aramis Ramirez returned to the lineup and immediately produced with a first inning single scoring Theriot. That proved to be all that Carlos needed. Ronny Cedeno provided the insurance runs driving in D Lee and Ramirez who both walked.

Theriot and Soriano both had two hits in the game to lead the club. Geovany Soto extended his hitting streak to eight games with a single in the eighth inning.

Now we just need to break the pattern of losing two games following each win. Jon Lieber makes his first appearance this year as a starter in a day game against Cincinnati and try to make that happen.

5/5/08 @ Reds; L 3-5; (18-14)

One step forward, two steps back. The exact path this team has taken since they left Wrigley Field on April 22nd. Win one, lose two. Repeat three times. That gets you to 4-8, and moving towards the bottom of the standings not the top.



Today the Cubs committed two errors in three innings which led to five unearned runs. The offense didn't come through with the big hit when it was needed. Ryan Dempster, through no fault of his own, suffered his first loss of the season.



Soto homered in the third, but other than that the Cubs were shut down by Johnny Cueto until the fifth inning. He actually helped avoid a huge inning with a great play. With Pie on first to lead off the inning, Dempster laid down a nice bunt, but Cueto fielded it and threw a bullet to second to cut down Pie, and Izturis was able to make the relay in time for a double play.



Good for him that they did, because following that play, Soriano singled, Theriot doubled, and D Lee singled to give the Cubs a two out two run rally. That put the game within striking distance which is where it stayed until the ninth.



Francisco Cordero came in for his fifth save opportunity. He had converted all four of his previous attempts. Fontentot and Pie singled sharply to start the inning. Daryle Ward came to the plate as the potential winning run with no one out. He scorched a ball to center field but right to Corey Patterson. At that point, Thom Brennaman and Chris Welsh were feeling a little nervous. All three Cub hitters had made more than solid contact.



Soriano came to the plate and somehow managed to avoid swinging at his favorite pitch, a breaking ball of the plate in the dirt. He walked to load the bases. Then came more of the same to Theriot. Finally one of the pitches got away from Bako and Fontenot tried to score. Replays showed he may have got in under the tag, but the ball definitely beat him there. Cordero continued to be wild and walked Theriot to load the bases for D Lee.



After working the count, Derek hit a ball sharply to first, and Votto barely beat him to the bag to end the game. The rally was exciting, but disappointing. I love the days when this major league leading offense goes off in a big way. Those days probably fall into the George Will automatic 60 win column. We need to be winning more of the middle 42 games.



The Cubs have only won two games when scoring three runs or less. They have only lost one game when they score six or more. Amazingly, they haven't scored four or five runs in a game all year. One key hit, or one key defensive stop, is going to make all the difference for this team this year. Lou needs to find a way to make that happen.

4/17/08 vs Reds; L 2-9; (9-6)

What did Meatloaf say..."two out of three ain't bad?"

That's exactly what the Cubs end up with against the Reds in this series. It is also what they are averaging in their last twelve games.

Ted Lilly started out better with just one walk and one hit through the first three innings. However, in the fourth inning a walk and a base hit, followed by another walk loaded the bases for Joey Votto. He didn't leave them loaded. He hit a bases clearing double. He followed that up in the sixth with a two run homer. Those five runs batted in were the only runs given up by Lilly. Granted, they were five total runs, but on only two hits. The margin between success and failure is so small in the major leagues.

Besides Votto, Ken Griffey drove in three runs for the Reds. He must love hitting in Wrigley with the wind. Since 2004 he has only hit more than two home runs at an opposing park twice...IN A SEASON! He hit two in this series!

There were some positives for the Cubs in this game...at least individual Cubs.

• Michael Wuertz pitched three whole outs without giving up a walk or a hit, much less a run.
• Reed Johnson, after struggling on Wednesday, went four for four.
• Derek Lee extended his hitting streak to six games...just barely. With two outs in the ninth he hit a slow grounder to Encarnacion at third. As he fielded the ball, his feet came out from under him and Derek just beat out the throw he made while seated on the field.

Low points for the Cubs, besides the loss itself:

• Aramis Ramirez committed another error
• Kosuke didn't get a hit, and actually ended the game on a strikeout looking
• Mike Fontenot got another chance to lead off but didn't get a hit in five at bats. See more on this on bleedcubbieblue

There is also a great argument regarding the Cubs bringing up Eric Patterson instead of Matt Murton. I tend to side with the Matt Murton apologists. I think he should have been on the major league roster from day one.

4/16/08 vs Reds; W 12-3; (9-5)

I got my wish. Mike Fontenot and Reed Johnson were both in the starting lineup. Unfortunately, they didn't have stellar performances. Fontenot went one for five and Reed Johnson didn't get a hit in three tries. Other than that, I can't complain about this game.

The Cubs jumped on the Reds early with four runs in the first, which proved to be enough. They added six in the third inning and were on cruise control the rest of the game. Big Z had a nice outing going seven strong, giving our bullpen some needed rest. For the first time this year our starting rotation notched two wins in a row!

With this game all but over, Adam Dunn hit a meaningless home run in the eighth, apparently his specialty. My friends who are Reds fans believe he never comes through in the clutch, and tonight was no exception. The highlight of this event was the bleacher fans response. Apparently they threw in excess of 15 home run balls back onto the field. I would like to have seen that.

Combined with the Brewers loss to the Cardinals, the club is alone in second place in the division. Now tomorrow afternoon, we can go for our second season sweep and maybe our third consecutive win by a starting pitcher. We are counting on you Ted Lilly.

Alfonso Soriano was placed on the 15 day DL today. Maybe the rest will make him stronger and let him have a new season when he returns.

4/15/08 vs. Reds; W 9-5; (8-5)

Homecoming!


Often times it is bittersweet. We return to the site of our former glory only to realize we are merely a memory, if that, to the current team and fans. Maybe for Dusty Baker and Corey Patterson it was a little better, since some of their team mates are still here. The result was entirely one sided, and for them it wasn't good.


The Cubs started early with Mark DeRosa hitting a two run homer in the second. That shot regained the lead after Encarnacion plated Brandon Phillips in the top of the inning. Ken Griffey hit number 595 in the third inning putting the Reds up by two.


Then, in the fifth inning, the Cubs took and held the lead. After Dempster lead off the inning with an out, Fontenot doubled and Theriot walked. That brought Derek Lee to the plate, who promptly cleared the bases with a shot to center, his fifth home run of the season.


DeRosa and Lee both had multi hit games, as did Theriot and Fukudome on the way to fourteen hits for the Cubs.


Dempster finally surrendered, after a thirteen inning streak of no earned runs. Still, only giving up three runs on a night with the wind blowing out like it was is a solid effort. Michael Wuertz on the other hand has a separate streak going. For his second straight appearance, he didn't record an out, and oh yeah, gave up a home run.


Carlos Marmol was amazing again picking up his fourth hold of the season. Side note...if we can track "holds" why can't we go back to tracking GWRBI? He struck out the side in the eighth after coming in during the seventh to help Dempster out of a two on and no out jam. He has given up only five hits and two walks in over ten innings while striking out twelve. This guy is solid. Plus he is proving he can go a couple innings each day which is probably better use of him than in the closing spot.


The only down side is that we lost Alfonso to an injury. He strained his calf in the top of the first and didn't even record an at bat. Fontenot hit for him and DeRosa moved to left. Not a bad lineup in my opinion as I have been pining for Fontenot to get a few more at bats. Let's see what he does now that he probably gets a chance to play every day. I wish I had seen the play that he made defensively. See The Bullpen for an idea of how important it was.

When you are there, look at his position on center field. I disagree. I'll take Reed Johnson over Pie for now. I am looking forward to tonight's lineup to see what Lou thinks.