6/29/08 @ White Sox; L 1-5; (49-33)

White Sox 5….Cubs 1. A four game losing streak…longest of the season. Aramis finished the series 0-13…..now heads off to deal with family issues for three days. Sean Marshall lost for the second time in two starts for Carlos Zambrano….at least Z is coming back Friday. Lou got run in the second inning…that may be a good thing. Last time Lou had a tantrum, we turned things around and went on a hot streak. Now we head off on a long road trip….at least we start with San Francisco.

I didn’t watch any of the game, so I’ll keep it brief. Each team put together seven hits. Problem for the Cubs, three of the White Sox’ were home runs…garnering them five runs. Buehrle seemed to work his way out of the funk he has been in and kept the Cubs at bay.

I am more concerned with how the team will respond when they head out for a real road trip. If we can bounce back, and get on a hot streak, then we will forget this weekend.

6/28/08 @ White Sox; 5-6; (49-32)

The Cubs lost again today, marking their second three game losing streak. The White Sox squeaked out a one run game, 6-5 today.

Derek Lee went big today, going 5 for 5. Mark DeRosa had a couple base knocks and so did Daryle Ward. What was up with Ward hitting fourth and Ramirez fifth. If Lee and Ramirez are in the lineup, they have been third and fourth every time. I don’t know why Lou chose this lineup.

6/27/08 @ White Sox; L 3-10; (49-31)

Ryan Dempster did his best Jason Marquis impersonation today. Eight earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. Not good at all. The only good news from today is Kosuke was back in the lineup.

He banged out two hits in his return to the top of the lineup. Geovony Soto got three base knocks in four trips to the plate.

Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez went hitless today. That's the second day in a row they both went hitless and the team got spanked. We need them hitting. This year when the Cubs play a game and neither of those two get a hit, their record is 4-9. Not the most surprising statistic, but in this season where we have guys picking each other up regularly, we need these two to pick each other up.

Luckily St. Louis was handed defeat by Gil Meche and the Royals. The Brewers fell to the Twins, winners of ten straight. The silver lining is not losing ground in the central division.

6/22/08 vs. White Sox; W 7-1; (48-28)

Eric Patterson, Derek Lee, Aramis Ramirez
Two, three, and four in the order on Sunday night against the Sox. Six for eleven at the plate, five runs and six rbis. Oh yeah, and two home runs. The only run they didn't knock in was a technicality. On Lee's first inning single, an error allowed the second run to score.


Ryan Dempster
Two starts ago he threw a complete game. He was about to do the same tonight. He led off the Cub eighth as a hitter, letting you know Lou had confidence in his starter. However, two singles to start the ChiSox ninth got him yanked.


He ended the night scattering ten hits and one walk, allowing only one run. Three double plays by the Cubs helped wipe away some of those baserunners. While Z is on the DL, you have to consider Dempster the Ace of this staff, and today he pitched like it.


Back to those hitters. Aramis hit his fourth home run of the series. That is more than anyone else has hit against the White Sox all year. He is hitting .291 during June, but exemplifies the Cubs this season. At Wrigley in June he is 13 for 25, a .520 clip! On the road, 10 for 54. I hope the National League wins the All Star game so the Cubs get four home games in the World Series.

Patterson just got called back up, but went 5 for 8 in the two games he played. He notched his first career home run, just a day after his big brother Corey hit is 100th career long ball. With Johnson and Edmonds ailing a bit, I like the way he is playing. I'll admit, earlier this year I wasn't high on him, I wanted to see Murton. A .625 series makes me like him more.

D Lee leads the team in hits, runs, triples, and home runs. He went 5 for 12 over the weekend along with some sparkling defensive play. If you didn't see the game, in the fourth inning Ramirez made a nice sliding stop but the throw short hopped. D Lee made a great pick to get the out. Great play on both ends.


The Cubs are twenty games over .500 for the second time this season. Tomorrow they will try to get to 21 for the first time. If they do, that will extend their home winning streak to 15 games, the longest since 1935...A World Series Year for the Cubs. They will do so against the Orioles, with Sean Marshall taking Zambrano's turn in the order. This will be the first trip to Wrigley for the Orioles.

6/21/08 vs White Sox; W 11-7; (47-28)

Offense Offense Offense. It is about time. Nothing else to talk about this game except offense. Other than Marquis showed us that it is more likely I am right than Gene Wojciechowski, but more on that later.

In their last nine games, the Cubs haven't exceed seven runs in a single game. Today they got nine...in one inning! Again they set the Sox up, baiting them into a 4-1 lead and making them feel all comfortable and happy. Then BAM, fourth inning.

Jim Edmonds leads off with a home run to start the scoring. Nine batters later, Edmonds goes yard to end the scoring. Nice bookends to an innings' worth of scoring. In between those, the Cubs scored seven other runs, and only recorded one out. The final two outs came after Edmonds SECOND blast.

Mike Fontenot hit after Edmonds today and hit a home run to make back to back jacks for two days in a row. Get this, when his spot came up again in the inning they hit for him! What does a guy have to do to stay in this lineup. A home run isn't enough!

After a Soto groundout, Theriot walked and Marquis got in on the offensive action with a single of his own to put runners on the corners. Then the merry go round started. Fukudome singled in a run, runners on the corners. Patterson singled in a run, runners on the corners. Lee singled in a run, runners on the corners.

Finally, to stop the merry go round, Aramis went deep for the third time in two games driving in three runs. Edmonds second homer actually made for two sets of back to back jacks in the inning. Nice show Cubbies.

Let me go back to Eric Patterson for a minute. This guy just got called up from Iowa, after being sent down not that long ago, and went 3 for 5. Nice job rook.

The end of the game got a little interesting as the ChiSox chipped away at the lead. They got it close enough that Woody was able to come in and get one out and earn a save. His 19th, tying him for the national league lead.

Back to Marquis. If you read yesterday's post in response to Wojciechowski, I contend Marquis will do nothing but go downhill the rest of the year. Today he went seven innings and earned the win. Point to Wojciechowski, right? Thanks to a nine run fourth inning. He gave up five earned runs over seven innings. He only walked one, but gave up eight hits including two home runs. At least he helped his cause with two hits of his own. I won't go overboard and say I dislike him, but I still don't think he is one of the keys to 2008.

Go Cubs Go has now played thirteen straight times at Wrigley Field. Even better, we have already won the series against the Sox and have a chance to sweep tomorrow. Dempster will take the mound for the Cubbies (and my fantasy squad) and try to make it fourteen straight at home.

6/20/08 vs White Sox; W 4-3; (46-28)

Aramis Ramirez is a hero in Chicago today. Well, half of Chicago. He led off the ninth inning with a solo home run, his second in as many at bats, to defeat the White Sox 4-3. The comeback win preserved the home winning streak, now at twelve games, as well as the Windy City bragging rights.

On a day where the game was delayed by rain, and the wind was a paltry 5 mph, home runs were the order of the day. The Cubs scored first, but on ground out double play. The White Sox were the first to go deep. In the second Jermaine Dye hit a solo shot to tie the game. Then in the third, A.J. Pierzynski hit a two run shot to put the Sox in front.

It stayed that way until the seventh. Kenny Chesney must have brought some luck because WGN had their first back to back jacks winner in over ten years. Derek Lee went first and Aramis followed suit to tie the game.

Bob Howry had relieved Lilly in the seventh to get the final out. He pitched the eighth, inducing a double play after a lead off single. I didn't think we would see Carlos Marmol today, and Howry did a fine job.

Kerry Wood took the mound in the ninth. After a lead off double, he worked his way out of the inning. The biggest roar came when he struck out Pierzynski to end the inning. I am sure it was for the Cubs getting out of the inning, not because everyone hates A.J.

That led to Aramis' heroics. Go Cubs Go. Hey Chicago what do you say, the Cubs are going to win today.

Ted Lilly deserves mention. He pitched 6 2/3 innings, striking out eight. Aside from the two home runs, he held the Sox scoreless. He put the Cubs in position to win, and with offensive support a little earlier, he would have earned it himself. Instead, Woody was the beneficiary and earned the W.

Speaking of offense, the Cubs put together ten hits, but didn't capitalize. Three double plays took the life out of three innings. Besides Ramirez, Fukudome, Theriot, and Matt Murton got two hits apiece. Murton has to be happy about a 2 for 3 performance after going 1 for his first five. Now they were both singles, but we'll take some consistency at this point.

Regardless of the analysis, I am still pleased to fly the W flag today. After the last road trip, I am taking any win I can get.