8/27/08 @ Pittsburgh; W 2-0; (83-50)

Mark DeRosa extended his hitting streak to nine games. After his first hit, he advanced to third on a single by Marquis, but he was stranded there. Later in the game, he followed a bunt single by Reed Johnson with a double to put runners at second and third with no one out. Johnson scored on a groundout by Ronny Cedeno. DeRosa scored on a squeeze bunt by Henry Blanco.

Read that closely. Chicago scored two runs in an inning when only one ball left the infield. Two runs by Reed Johnson and Mark DeRosa driven in by Ronny Cedeno and Henry Blanco. Are we missing something? Isn't this the team with Soriano, Lee and Ramirez? Don't forget Soto. I've said it before, this is a team that is deep. They can win with a variety of players and in a variety of ways. Today was small ball.

Who pitched today for Chicago? Couldn't have really been Jason Marquis in that #21 jersey. Seven innings, no runs, no walks and only five hits. That isn't the second half Jason Marquis I have railed against more than once.

Credit these guys when coming up big when the team needs them. It isn't like Johnson and DeRosa are bench guys....no, they play most every day. And they come up with big hits frequently. But Cedeno and Blanco....and Marquis! If this isn't the year.......

Speaking of the year...it was 1945. The last time Chicago played in a World Series. Also the last time Chicago was 33 games above .500, until today!

It gets harder from here on out. Other than a weekend series against the Reds, all of the remaining opponents are .500 or better. So we won't start talking magic number yet. I want to, but I won't. The Brewers aren't going anywhere and we have them six times in the last two weeks. Chicago is 18-6 in August and the Brewers have a chance to match that record with a win tonight against St. Louis. They won't go away!

One win in the series against Philadelphia secures Chicago's best month of 2008. They'll get at least two, probably three. That would put them at 35 games over .500. It would also set the stage for a 100 win season.

8/14/08 @ Atlanta; W 11-7;(74-47)

Chicago narrowly avoided a skirmish in the sixth when Ted Lilly drillled Yunel Escobar. The game itself wasn't as close.

The Cubs continued their recent trend of scoring early and often. In sweeping the Braves, they managed 29 runs. They also managed to win their fifth series in a row and extend their lead to 4.5 games.

Other than trying to pick a fight, Lilly piced up his twelfth win while racking up eight strikeouts.

Aramis Ramirez had three runs batted inn to lead the way for Chicago. Fukudome, hitting second picked up two hits for the second consecutive game. Derek Lee had a pair, making our 3,4,5 hitters 6 of 12 on the night.

The Cubs head to Florida with their longest road win streak since 1945. They have five more to go to beat that mark.

7/31/08 @ Milwaukee; W 11-4; (65-44)

Rich Harden finally earned a win as a Cub. He worked six scoreless innings before surrendering a home run to Prince Fielder. Chicago's offense finally supported him too, spotting him five runs by the fourth inning.

Coincidentally, did you notice that the only run he gave up was on a solo home run. The only three runs he has given up as a Cub are on solo home runs. One in each of his last three starts. To say the other teams can't get a rally going against him is putting it mildly.

He only struck out nine today, but he didn't walk a single Brewer. He left after the seventh having thrown 105 pitches.

Most of the scoring came late in the game. In the last three innings the teams combined for ten runs, after only posting five through the first six. Actually, Jim Edmonds scored five through the first six. He had a solo home run and a grand slam in his first two plate appearances. Everyone else took longer to get warmed up.

Soriano and Fukudome both homered in the eighth. Ramirez had an rbi double in the eighth and Fontenot drove it two runs with a ninth inning double. That was after Eric Gagne was ejected for throwing his 3-0 pitch BEHIND Jim Edmonds to lead off the inning.

This series to me said the Chicago Cubs have the rotation that can carry them in the playoffs. Most of the talk prior to this four game set was how Chicago's offense would fare against Sabathia and Sheets. The offense did just fine, as they have most of the season.

The Cubs four starters for this series only gave up five total runs. Three were from Lilly. Zambrano didn't allow a run and Dempster and Harden only gave up one apiece. Shutdown pitching combined with this offensive firepower.....UNBELIEVABLE!

With a St. Louis loss, the Cubs now own a five game cushion in the NL Central. This on Thursday night after they were in a dead heat on Sunday. Impressive play from these Chicago Cubs when the chips were down.

6/12/08 vs Braves; W 3-2; (43-24)

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (from a Cub perspective)

The Good

• After Zambrano allowed a leadoff walk in the eighth, Scott Eyre allowed a double to Brian McCann. An intentional walk loaded the bases with no out. Eyre worked two strikeouts and then gave way to Carlos Marmol. Marmol picked up one more strikeout to leave the Braves scoreless and keep it a one run game.
• Jim Edmonds hit a game tying home run in the ninth inning. He had driven in the only other Cubs run of the day with a sac fly earlier.
• Kerry Wood struck out four in two innings keeping the Cubs in the game during extra innings. His reward...his third win of the year.
• The Cubs patiently worked the Braves pitching in the eleventh. Ramirez walked on five pitches, and advanced to second on a passed ball. Fukudome was intentionally walked. Geovony Soto worked 3-2 count before his single loaded the bases. Reed Johnson didn't have to be so patient; the first pitch he saw hit him to bring home the winning run. That is the sixth extra inning win for the Cubs this year and their eleventh one run victory.

The Bad

• Lou leaves Zambrano in to hit with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. The Cubs had scored one to pull within a run of the Braves. They had runners at first and second. Zambrano is a good hitter, batting .364 on the season, but you had the whole bench available. Hoffpauir and Fontenot as lefties since Campillo was pitching. The result is a popup on the infield to end the inning. Going from bad to worse....Zambrano walks the leadoff batter in the eighth and gets pulled.
• Ryan Theriot managed no hits in five at bats.

The Ugly

• The 1948 Cub blue stirrup socks with red stripes.
• Andy Pafko, a member of the 1945 World Series team, needing a cheat sheet to sing the seventh inning stretch.

5/28/08 vs Dodgers; W 2-1; (32-21)

It took an extra frame, but the Cubs defeated the Dodgers 2-1 for their first series sweep since the Diamondbacks were at Wrigley two weeks ago.

Mike Fontenot doubled off of Chan Ho Park with one out in the tenth. Alfonso Soriano then singled to score Fontenot and give the Cubs the win.

We never get to that point if the Cubs didn’t work Takashi Saito for the tying run in the ninth. He came in to pitch the ninth with the Dodgers leading 1-0. Jonathan Broxton pitched the eighth in dominant fashion, striking out the side. Joe Torre still decided to bring in Saito.

I know Broxton is typically a one inning guy. He hasn’t pitched more than one inning since August of last year. He was coming off a blown save against the Cubs on Tuesday night so maybe Joe didn’t want to press his luck, but this dude was untouchable in the eighth. Hindsight is 20/20 but I would have run him back out there again.

Saito walked the leadoff hitter, Theriot. Then Lee almost ended the game with a home run, but it pulled foul down the left field line. After Lee flew out, Saito walked Ramirez. He fell behind Fukudome and allowed an infield single when he failed to touch first base while covering on a ball hit to James Loney. Geovony Soto hit a sac fly to right to tie the game. After Kosuke advanced to second on defensive indifference, DeRosa flew out to end the inning.

The Dodgers only run against Zambrano was a lot his fault too. With two outs in the fourth, he gave up back to back base hits. Zambrano then hit Matt Kemp to load ‘em up, and proceeded to walk in the Dodgers only run. That inning was his only real rough spot as he kept his winning streak…thanks to the Soto sac fly…intact. He threw 130 pitches over eight innings, seemingly getting stronger as he picked up two of his three strikeouts in the eighth. He scattered six hits and four walks on a night when the Cubs offense just couldn’t get things going.

Cubs pitching was dominant this entire series keeping LA to a run per game three days in a row. The Dodgers aren’t one of the more dominant run scoring offenses in baseball…currently ranked 20th …but they are top ten in batting average and on base percentage. Let’s still give some credit to the Cubs hurlers for a nice series. Especially considering our potent offense only put up a total of eight runs in three games. Dempster, Gallagher, and Zambrano shouldn’t have to pay for dinner any time soon if they are dining with the hitters.

So that puts the Chicago Cubs at 32-21. Eleven games above .500 for the second time this season. That is good for the best overall record in the National League. The only competitors are in the American League where Tampa Bay has an identical record and the Red Sox and Angels have each notched 32 wins, albeit with more losses.

The Cubs will open up another home series today, as the Colorado Rockies come to town for four games. The Rockies aren’t playing good baseball, having lost three in row to Philadelphia, and are scoring at a clip lower than the Dodgers. Fourteen games above .500 is a good position to start that long June road trip.

5/11/08 vs Arizona; W 6-4; (22-15)

Rain rain go away...Big Z can pitch another day.

Due to the messy conditions surrounding today's game, both Big Z and Randy Johnson were scratched from their starts. Instead Sean Gallagher squared off against Edgar Gonzalez. Not exactly a marquee pitching match up.

For Gallagher, this was his first career MLB start. He did an admirable job for 4 1/3 innings. He ended up being charged with all four earned runs, but the last two of those came on bases loaded walks by Chad Fox in relief.

That fifth inning took away a Cubs lead provided by a Derek Lee home run in the third inning. The game stayed at 4-2 until the Cubs half of the seventh. With one out, Fontenot got a free pass and Reed Johnson followed that up with a game tying two run homer, his first as a Chicago Cub.

With the game tied, Carlos Marmol was brought it to pitch the eighth. Three up three down with two strikeouts. Let's go hit again.

In the Cub half of the eighth, Aramis led off the inning with a single and stole second base. Kosuke Fukudome laid down a perfect bunt that came to rest inches from the foul line to put runners at first and third with no one out.

Geovany Soto came to bat with Daryle Ward on deck ready to pinch hit. Soto only managed to squib the ball in front of the plate. That advanced Fukudome to second, but Soto was out at first. With a base open, Lou pulled Ward back before he was announced. Soriano was brought in to pitch hit for Marmol instead of Ward. As expected, he was intentionally walked to load the bases. Now Ward pinch hit, this time for Pie, and he delivered for the second day in a row. This time it was a two run double to give the Cubs the lead for good.

Kerry Wood came in to pitch the ninth. As bad as things have gone for Kerry when he hits the lead off batter, hitting the second batter proved to be no problem. Theriot made a nice play up the middle flipping to Fontenot who turned the double play to end the game.

The sweep of the Diamondbacks, combined with the Brewers taking two of three from the Cardinals, puts the Cubs back into first place for the first time since April 30th. It's hard to understand, much less explain, the Jekyll and Hyde nature of this team. When they took the two games from the Mets, they were looking like they would join the 1985 Bears as one of Chicago's greatest teams. Then they went on the road and started a streak that reminded you more of the Bad News Bears. I am sure if Lou finds out the secret, he'll have it bottled and included in the pre game meal.

Now the struggling Padres come to town for a four game set. They are 3-7 in their last ten games, though they ....like the Cubs....have turned around as of late taking the last two from the Rockies. The last game of the series will be especially interesting as Greg Maddux is scheduled to start for the Padres in an afternoon start at Wrigley. The Cub faithful still like Greg, but on that day they'll be rooting against him.

4/22/08 vs Mets; W 8-1; (14-6)

This post will be quasi live as I have just been able to get the game on and will update during the time I can keep watching. I am going to have to leave around 4:15 EST, so the game will be in the sixth inning most likely. I’ll listen on the radio and update this post tonight.

Lilly is off to a good start getting us to the fourth inning with no runs allowed. I just turned on the game in time to see Ronny Cedeno double to right to plate Kosuke Fukudome. Angel Pagan, thanks for kicking it around by the wall.

After an intentional walk to Blanco, Lilly hustled out a grounder to second while Delgado and Figueroa made dinner plans. That loaded the bases for Reed Johnson who took advantage by dropping a curve ball into left field for a two run single.

Len Casper just updated us on the fact that the 13-6 start I mentioned in an earlier post was last achieved in 1985. Should we win today, it will be the first time since 1975 since we won 14 of our first 20. Should we do that, it also gives us a 7-1 home stand. I know, I know, it’s just April.

After allowing two base runners, Lilly got out of the jam. End of five, no runs allowed, and only two hits. This is easily his best outing for the season so far.

Our half of the fifth gave us a couple base runners, but no runs. Len did mention the Cubs are only two wins away from 10,000 all time. I’ll have to research some other major league clubs and see where that stands.

Lilly allowed the bases loaded with only one out. DeRosa just took a chance on a weird looking low liner by Brady Clark. He made a diving attempt to catch it in the air and prevent a run from scoring. He ended up getting the force at second and Raul Cassanova grounded to shortstop to end the inning.

If you missed Doug Glanville singing the seventh inning stretch you missed a gem. He did his best Harry Caray impersonation for both the intro and the song. It was hilarious.

As I leave my appointment, and turn on the radio, I am just in time to hear Ronny Cedeno hit a grand slam. Maybe I should be notified every time he is about to hit in a key situation so that I can turn on the TV or radio and ensure he comes through. Early in today’s game Ronny hit with the bases loaded and made an out. That was the first time this year. He is now 4 for 5 this season with the bases loaded.

That shot allowed Kerry Wood to sit down and Kevin Hart wrapped up the ninth inning for us. With this series being only two games, that goes down as our third series sweep of the season.

4/20/08 vs. Pirates; W 13-6; (13-6)

I have never been so happy to be wrong. Braden Looper didn't pick up his fourth win today. The Giants beat the Cardinals and the Reds took care of the Brewers. That moves YOUR CHICAGO CUBS into first place in the NL Central for the first time this year. Mark your calendar, write down the date.... April 20th. The first date of the 2008 season that the Cubs sit atop the NL Central standings. Here's to Sep 29th being the last time during the season they are in first.

As for this game, where should I start?

• For the second game in a row the Cubs scored 13 runs. The run total also marks the third time this season, all in the last five games, that they have scored 12 or more runs in a game.
• Aramis Ramirez had his first great game of the year, going four for five, with four RBIs. Ryan Theriot also had four hits extending his hitting streak to seven games. During that streak he has raised his average 109 points. The Cubs now have six everyday players hitting over .300, whereas after the first week of the season they only had two hitting over .200.
• Matt Murton got the start I was looking for him to get. He did drive in two runs and get a base knock, but he left eight of his teammates on base. Considering the slow start most of the team had, I am willing to cut him some slack for his first eight at bats. Driving in more of those runners today though might have earned more time in the starting lineup.
• The Cubs tallied 18 hits today, all by the eight starting position players. For the season the team has the second most hits in the NL. Second only by one hit to the St. Louis Cardinals.
• Ryan Dempster picked up his third win of the season, claiming the team lead from Zambrano.

With the record sitting at 12-6, we are at a critical point....as far as superstitious history is concerned. A loss tomorrow and we are 12-7, the same record as the ill fated 2003 team after 19 games. A win tomorrow and we are 13-6, the same record as the 1908 Cubs at the same point in their season. I won't give up on the season should we fall to the Mets. I will keep my eye out for black cats, billy goats, and Steve Bartman at the game tomorrow night.

4/10/08 @ Pirates; W 7-3; (6-3)

Five game win streak....Cincinnati and San Francisco did their job....Cubs are second place in the division only half game out of first.

I had a discussion earlier this year with fellow Cub fan Matt Snyder about second base. He really likes DeRosa and I am a big Fontenot fan. I paid a little more attention to DeRosa after that, and as previous entries have shown, he has played exceptional. Mike Fontenot has been a great hitter off the bench, and last night he got his first start. He didn't let me down. Two for five with a two run homer in his first start. Just like when Reed Johnson had a chance to play and excelled, it will be interesting to see what Lou does as a starting lineup tonight.

Another guy I have to mention is Geovany Soto. He keeps playing like this and he will give the Cubs two legitimate rookie of the year candidates, Fukudome being the other. He hit his second home run of the season last night on his way to four for five, raising his average to .333, all while catching 36 innings in three games! Maybe I don't pay enough attention to the whole roster during spring training, but I didn't see this coming. If Soriano can get untracked, we have a first six in the lineup that is pretty impressive.

Thanks to CBS Sportsline for these notes. This is our longest winning streak since we got to seven in a row last June. We have as many extra inning wins as we did all last year! We hadn't won two extra inning road games in a row since 1927. I hope that isn't the only once in a lifetime accomplishment of this year!