Here are a few stories that have happened over the past few days.

Aramis Ramirez returns to the diamond

Ramirez has missed some time this spring because of a sore right tricep, but he returned on Tuesday against the Royals as a DH and went 2-3 with an RBI. He hasn’t played since March 13th, but he looked like he hadn’t missed any time in his three at bats.

Lou Piniella wanted to get Ramirez 30 at bats before the season started, but Ramirez doesn’t think that’s necessary.

“I don’t need 30 at-bats,” Ramirez said. “Five more and I’ll be ready to go. I haven’t played in 11 days, 10 days, and I felt pretty good today. I don’t need that many at-bats.”

Although Ramirez missed significant time last season, this injury doesn’t appear to be linked to that one, and there shouldn’t be any cause to worry about Ramirez having injury trouble this season too.

Ted Lilly far ahead of schedule

Piniella expected Lilly to be back by May 1st when he originally hurt himself, but with the way that he has been progressing, he is expected to be back well before then. This would be big for the Cubs starting rotation, as Lilly has had some of the best years of his career with the Cubs.

Although he isn’t going to be making a Cactus League start like originally planned, he will be pitching in the minors this weekend. He is expected to return about halfway through April now.

Tim Kurkjian gives the Cubs a legit chance for the playoffs

Although all of the talk in the NL Central has gone to the St. Louis Cardinals and Albert Pujols, the Cubs aren’t looking to just roll over and concede the division, and Kurkjian says that they do have a shot.

He cites Carlos Zambrano’s new health, stability at closer with Carlos Marmol, Ted Lilly returning early, Rudy Jaramillo’s impact on the offense and Kosuke Fukudome making the switch to right field as reasons whey the Cubs should be optimistic for the season.

These are all great reasons why the Cubs, despite making very few changes to to their lineup, should be feeling a lot better this season than they did last season.

Greg Maddux gets rave reviews from Jim Hendry

Although Jaramillo will be helping the offense, Maddux will be working with the pitchers in some capacity, as he works with different people throughout the Cubs organization working on finding a job that he would be able to do in the future.

According to ESPN, Maddux has worked with Carlos Zambrano, Carlos Silva, Tom Gorzelanny and Sean Marshall this spring, which could have a big impact this season, as these are four of the pitchers that the Cubs need to step up this season, along with Carlos Marmol.

If Maddux’s impact on the team is as big as Hendry thinks it is, then the Cubs could see big improvements from their pitching staff.

I’m Joe W.

Part one is going to be break down the Chicago Cubs’ pitching, after this article I will be taking on the infield, outfield and bullpen.

The Cubs have been known for having solid starting pitching, and this season should be no different. Here is the expected rotation:

1. Carlos Zambrano
2. Ted Lilly
3. Ryan Dempster
4. Randy Wells
5. Tom Gorzelanny
Others who could start games: Sean Marshall, Jeff Samardzija, Carlos Silva.

Who Needs to Step Up: Carlos Zambrano

Who Could be the Biggest Surprise: Randy Wells

Looking at what each of these pitchers did last season, the Cubs are seemingly set at the top of their rotation. None of the top four pitchers had an ERA above 4.

However, the Cubs supposed ace of the staff, Carlos Zambrano, was, if anything, the fourth best starting pitcher for the Cubs last season.

His ERA was fourth highest among the five expected starters, and he was just one strikeout away from being third in strikeouts, instead he was second with 152. He also finished fourth in WHIP.

But although the Cubs don’t have a legit ace, they also don’t give opposing teams a break, as none of their pitchers are exactly bad either.

After facing Carlos Zambrano, they face Ted Lilly, who had a 3.10 ERA last season, struck out 152 batters, and had a WHIP of just 1.06.

However, Lilly will likely won’t be back until some time in early May. He is trying to be able to be back in April, but the Cubs aren’t going to risk anything, and if he has to miss an extra two starts to make sure he doesn’t miss serious time, nobody will complain.

This opens up an opportunity for a few Cubs pitchers to try to jump in and take his place. Chances are that Carlos Silva, Jeff Samardzija or Sean Marshall will be the fifth starter for the first month or so.

The Cubs don’t have an especially difficult schedule at the beginning of the season, so although Lilly coming back should be a priority, his health should be a bigger one.

Until Lilly comes back, Dempster will be directly following Carlos Zambrano in the rotation.

Last season, Demster’s stats dropped from his magical 2008, but he was still very impressive holding an ERA of 3.65 and a 1.31 WHIP while striking out 172 batters, leading all Cubs and finishing 15th in the NL.

Randy Wells was a big surprise last season, as he came out of nowhere to tie for the most wins on the Cubs with 12. He also lead all starters with an ERA of 3.05.

If Wells is even close to as good as he was last season, the Cubs will be greatly benefited during the absence of Lilly. However, last season was just his first full season pitching in the majors, but in about 10 major league innings before last season he didn’t allow a single hit.

The favorite for the fifth Cubs position when the rotation is healthy will likely be won by Tom Gorzelanny, who came to Chicago from the Pirates last season.

Despite his ERA being 5.55, he was able to find ways to win, going 7-3. If you look at Gorzelanny’s season last year, you will see amazing inconsistency.

However, when he was able to establish himself, he was outstanding. In every game that he was able to pitch more than five innings, he never allowed more than two runs and went 4-0.

If he can channel what he did in those starts where he pitched a high amount of innings, then the Cubs will be very pleased in the former Pirate.

When looking at the other players who could start games for the Cubs, there isn’t much talent to chose from. There is amazingly over-paid Carlos Silva who is consistently beyond horrible.

Silva belongs in Double-A at best, but his highly inflated contract could keep him floating between Triple-A and the majors.

Jeff Samardzija is another option, and the Notre Dame product has shown some good pitching chops, and although I prefer to see him in the bullpen, he could give some short-term relief as the fifth starter.

Sean Marshall has been good in flashes as a starter through a few seasons, but he has never really gone met his potential despite never really being bad. He hasn’t had an ERA over 4.50 in the last three seasons, and like Samardzija, could be a good short-term option.

Overall, the Cubs don’t have anybody that really stands out in their starting rotation, but they also have very few people who fall into the background.

Although they aren’t anything special, the starting rotation shouldn’t lose the Cubs too many games.

I’m Joe W.

Before the All-Star Break, the Cubs split a four-game series with the Cards. Since the break, however, the Cubs are 8-2. The Cardinals are 4-6 since the break, including losing two of three against the Phillies in their most recent series.

The Cards now go from facing the defending champions to facing this season’s best team, the L.A Dodgers, in a four-game series. The Cubs face the Astros, and have a chance to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the division.

But what has caused the Cubs recent resurgence?

It starts with the starting pitching staff. Kevin Hart has been Randy Wells II, starting three games and not allowing more than two runs in any start.

With Ted Lilly on the DL, the Cubs will need him to continue playing at a high level, and if he does, then the Cubs may not even need to trade for a starting pitcher. But more on trades later.

Rich Harden has been struggling all season, but in his last three starts, he hasn’t allowed multiple runs to cross the plate. He has dropped his ERA from 5.47 to 4.55 in that span.

However, the pitching staff is not the only reason for the Cubs making waves in the second half.

Before the break, the Cubs scored an average of 4.1 runs a game, since the break, that number has been 5.6.

The reason for the sudden increase in runs has been the revival of Kosuke Fukudome, Milton Bradley, Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez.

Fukudome was batting .255 before the break, in the ten games since, he has been batting .382 with an OBP of .477 and an OPS of 1.006.

Bradley was looked at as the disappointment of the century when he came to the Cubs and was essentially awful. However, since the break, he has been better in every facet of the game.

Bradley’s average, OBP, slugging, and OPS have all been at or above league average. However, you can’t look at this as just ten games for him, as these have come after he spent a few days out of the lineup and working with manager Lou Piniella on his swing.

Ramirez wasn’t exactly playing bad before the break, he just was out of the lineup. However, Ramirez has been having a career year in every offensive category that goes by an average.

His return has been a big part in the Cubs recent run, as they are 11-6 since he made his return to the lineup.

Soriano has been streakier than he has ever been this season, and he knows it. But his .444 average since the All-Star Break has been a big part of the Cubs coming back.

“I remember with the Yankees and Texas, I was also [streaky],” he said. “But what’s happened this season never happened to me before. I’ve cooled off for two to three weeks before, but never for a month and a half. That’s the first time in my life.”

But while all these players have been coming from virtually nowhere to make big contributions, the Cubs still will likely need to make a deadline to have a legitimate chance at taking their NL Central lead and turning it into a World Series.

They still have inconsistent bullpen play from most everybody besides Kevin Gregg, and could use another lefty bullpen arm. Despite Sean Marshall’s current 8.2 inning scoreless streak, the bullpen still lacks depth.

Bullpen depth could come with Baltimore Orioles reliever George Sherrill, whom the Cubs have been rumored to be interested in.

Sherrill has a sub-2.5 ERA and has 20 saves this season. A new arm in the bullpen is needed with the Harden, Wells and Hart in the starting rotation, who usually won’t give the bullpen a night off.

However, they are also said to be eying Orlando Cabrera, who can play both second or short stop. Cabrera, currently on the Oakland A’s, also has the Twins interested in him.

Cabrera would make a lot of sense for the Cubs, who could use some middle-infield depth, as Aaron Miles has been struggling in the minors and might not make it back to the majors this season.

Cabrera brings a consistent bat, solid defense, and some speed when he gets on base. He would solidify the infield and give Mike Fontenot a chance to play from the bench, where he thrived from last season.

However, the biggest potential move might not even involve a trade. With the recent signing of B.J Ryan, the Cubs are hoping that he can return to his dominant ways.

He has been working his way through the minors, and has been moved up to the AAA Iowa Cubs roster. Reports are that he has pitched well at every level so far.

“The guy has a good history and has pitched in the ninth inning in huge games,” general manager Jim Hendry said. “We wouldn’t ask him to do that. If it works, he can maybe add to the pen with ( Sean) Marshall.”

Whatever the Cubs do this season, they will need to continue their strong play, as the Cardinals just got Matt Holliday, and they won’t be playing the Phils and Dodgers every game.

-Joe Willett

“Oh gosh, we were just talking about getting [ Ryan] Dempster back,” manager Lou Piniella said. “We were happy about that, and all of a sudden, the Lilly situation [comes up]. It seems like every time we get a player, we lose one. But let’s see what the MRI says on Theodore, and we can go from there.”

Lilly has been the most consistent Cubs starter this season, going 9-7 with a 3.59 ERA.

However, the timing of the injury couldn’t be better, as Dempster is getting ready to make his first start back from a freak injury this Tuesday against the Astros.

The Cubs are also hoping that released reliever BJ Ryan can make a return to the form he had years ago before he had Tommy John Surgery.

“[Ryan] feels good about himself, and feels he still has something left in the tank,” Hendry said. “The first week has been real encouraging.”

Ryan used to be one of the best closers in the game, and consistently had save numbers in the upper 30’s along with low ERA’s in his time with the Blue Jays and Orioles.

However, this season, he has blown two saves in four opportunities and has an ERA just under seven, he is currently rehabbing in the Cubs farm system.

-Joe Willett

Note: I have another trip to Michigan this weekend, expect no new posts until Monday, I will put up a recap of the Cubs weekend as well as any news on the Cubs then.

With Carlos Zambrano coming off of the DL, it had been expected that David Patton would be offered back to his original club, since the seldom used relief pitcher was a Rule-5 draft pick and must remain on the Cubs’ 25-man roster.

The move of Harden to the DL is retroactive to May 18. Randy Wells will start in his place Saturday night.

The site will post further details when they become available.

Look, I’m no Oliver Stone wannabe.

But the conspiracy theorist in me says that Milton Bradley’s contract plays a role in all this.

What other plausible explanation is there as to why the Chicago Cubs haven’t disabled the gimpy Milton Bradley?

The man can’t run, he can’t play the outfield and the weather in Chicago is awful right now.

Ah, but there’s a clause in The Game’s contract that guarantees the third year of his deal if he plays in so many games.

75 games, to be precise.

And even a pinch-hit appearance counts as a game played.

Apparently Jim Hendry and Bradley’s agent had so little faith in Milton’s ability to stay healthy that they decided 75 games was a worthy barometer for him to strive for.

Let me ask you a question: is 75 games worth $10 million? Apparently the Cubs think so.

By setting the bar so low, the Cubs have effectively let it be known that they fully expect Bradley to miss a lot of time. Which is understandable, I guess, given his injury-riddled history.

But this is exactly why I hate clauses like this in a contract. They put a manager in a tough position.

Don’t you think Lou could use an extra man on the roster right now instead of Mr. Hop-a-long?

Even when he pinch hits, you have to burn another player because you have to pinch-run for Bradley.

Uh, that is, if he makes it to first base. That is something Milton hasn’t been doing much of this year so far.

The Cubs had previously announced that MB would make his starting debut at home in tonight’s game against Dusty Baker’s Reds. If there is a game, however.

But even if the Cubs defy the elements and play tonight, no way does Bradley play. Not in these horrible conditions. The weathermen are calling for upper 30s and a snow/rain mix tonight.

Still we see ol’ Milt sitting on the bench, biding his time. It makes little sense to me.

Bradley is certainly not the only player affected by contract status.

Matt Wieters and Gordon Beckham are in the minors in order to delay their arbitration clocks. The same thing happened to Evan Longoria last year, until he coincidentally agreed to a long-term deal.

Money drives these kinds of decisions; they are not baseball decisions. And count me among those who do not agree with those decisions.

Then again, maybe there’s a reason I’m not running a team, come to think of it.

-Bob Warja

So when Soto removed himself from Tuesday’s night’s game against the Astros due to what has been termed as “shoulder soreness,” the red flags and alarms shot up like fireworks on the Fourth of July.

To recap, Soto felt discomfort in his right shoulder while attempting to throw out Astros second baseman Kaz Matsui, who was trying to steal second base. After that, Cubs backup catcher Koyie Hill came on to replace him, temporarily befuddling Cubs announcers Len Kasper and Bob Brenly.

For his part, Soto said all the right things, using nebulous terms like “fatigue” instead of saying that it felt like someone was carving their initials into his shoulder.

“I kind of over-exposed my shoulder a little bit,” Soto said. “There was a little discomfort in my shoulder. I felt some weakness in it, and I felt I didn’t have a shot if somebody else [tried to steal].”

Look, “over-exposed” and “weakness” sound like terms used when agents, GMs, and other people advise players on how not to create panic. It’s a lot like when pitchers say they have “tightness in their forearm,” which really means their elbow hurts like hell.

I’m not trying to be an alarmist, perhaps this isn’t such a big deal. But one thing that Soto mentioned made me give pause: he said he needs to keep up on his “exercises”.

“I just have to stay on top of my exercises, and I’ll be all right in a couple days. As long as I stay in good shape and do my exercises, it won’t happen again all year.”

Was he talking about normal exercises they teach catchers to do to prevent injury?

Or, was he given exercises as a result of some previous injury?

After all, Soto did say he experienced the same problem during spring training. A casualty of the WBC perhaps?

Koyie Hill did a nice job replacing Soto and will start tonight in Houston. But let’s face it, we need Geo if we’re going to win the division again this year. He’s a force offensively and behind the plate. He’s no Johnny Bench or Pudge, but pitchers like throwing to him and he blocks balls in the dirt well.

Well, one thing is for certain—we sure can’t afford to have anything happen to Hill tonight.

Consider this: When asked who the emergency third catcher is, Lou Piniella said: “Me.”

I don’t believe that the 65-year old manager would have a lot of mobility, come to think of it.

-Bob Warja