The Cubs entered their game against the Philadelphia Phillies with four straight wins and hoping to sweep a second straight two-game series after taking the first game last night in convincing fashion.

This game was much closer, and was included multi-hit games by both historically-underwhelming Mike Fontenot and rookie Starlin Castro.

In the ninth inning, the Cubs were down just one run and going up against former crosstown rival Jose Contreras and started off the inning with a bang.

Alfonso Soriano took somewhere near 500 pitches and broke two bats before getting hit by a pitch. With some good timing, Soriano was able to make it to third thanks to a hit-and-run, the hit coming via blooper to center from Fontenot.

So the Cubs have had back-to-back solid at bats, Contreras has already thrown more pitches than he was expecting to throw and he has yet to record an out with the tying run on third and the go-ahead run on first.

After Starlin Castro strikes out, Aramis Ramirez comes up, only needing to put the ball in the outfield for the at-bat to be considered a success, and he strikes out while swinging at a ball that he couldn’t have connected with if he were standing on home plate.

Ramirez is just two nights removed from a game winning home run in the 11th against the Colorado Rockies, an event that had some Chicagoans proclaiming that his slump was over and he was ready to start performing again.

Little did those Chicagoans know that he would go 0-8 over the next three games, striking out three times and drawing one walk.

Ramirez has the second-worst batting average among hitters with at least 120 plate appearances, something that no player just a two seasons removed from an All Star game appearance should have.

Having one player who is having a season this bad is something that a team can overcome, but when you throw in the fact that Derek Lee, star first baseman, is 28th on that list with a batting average of .226.

The combo of Lee and Ramirez, usually the meat of the Cubs lineup, have 61 hits this season with 70 strikeouts.

Meanwhile, six Chicago Cubs have batting averages over .300. They have also struggled to knock in runs, Lee and Ramirez are fourth and fifth on the Cubs in RBI, a statistic where they generally fight it out for first place.

They wouldn’t even be that high if it weren’t for their position in the lineup for most of the season.

Lee and Ramirez have always been player with great power and production who only needed consistent production before them. This season, they are getting just that with Kosuke Fukudome and Ryan Theriot batting 1-2 and each having batting averages of .310.

Theriot has even done a good job of becoming a decent base-running threat, stealing seven bases thus far, putting him at a tie for 22nd in the majors.

With the starting rotation, bullpen, and everybody around them getting their act together, Lee and Ramirez are the only two keeping the Cubs from taking charge of the mediocre NL Central.

At only five games out of the lead, a break out by these two players would catapult the Cubs into the drivers seat for a playoff spot.

I’m Joe W.

All was well in Wrigleyville.

Fast-forward to present day and the Cubs are 14-20 and coming off of being swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates (14-19) and about to suffer the same fate against the Florida Marlins (16-17) pending tomorrow’s matinee as the Cubs try to stop their four game slide.

So one big question continues to pop up in my mind, as I always love to play the blame game. That question is…

Who is at fault for this horrible excuse for a team that takes the field in Chicago Cub uniforms?

It certainly isn’t Marlon Byrd, who I didn’t expect to repeat his numbers last season, but who is surprising me by playing well game in and game out. He is batting .339 with six home runs and 23 RBI.

It surprisingly isn’t Carlos Silva, who could have destroyed the Cubs every five games. He is 3-0 with a 3.50 ERA and a WHIP of just 1.17.

It isn’t Kosuke Fukudome, who is batting .330 with five home runs and 18 RBI.

Alfonso Soriano? Batting .311 with seven home runs and 18 RBI.

It’s not Tom Gorzelanny. Despite being 1-3 his ERA is just 2.83 and he is striking out 9.86 batters every nine innings.

You can’t blame Carlos Marmol, the up and down pitcher has yet to allow a home run, saved four games in five attempts, and has an ERA of just 0.61 in 14 appearances. He would just love to close out more games for the Cubs but he doesn’t get the chance.

So who are the people that are most deserving of the blame if it isn’t all of these guys who could have easily laid a goose egg this season instead of being the only people playing well?

It’s Ted Lilly. He’s 1-3 with a 4.88 ERA, his second highest since his third season in the pros.

It’s Carlos Zambrano, the “ace” who has pitched so bad this season that he has earned himself a spot in the bullpen. He would be known as the other Carlos if it weren’t for his nearly $19 million salary. If you aren’t happy about your new bullpen spot, try getting your ERA below six.

It’s Aramis Ramirez who is batting just .156 with three home runs and said today that he was his own hitting coach. He may want to fire his hitting coach.

It’s Derek Lee, who must have hired Ramirez as his hitting coach. He’s batting just .220 this season with four home runs.

Although Lee and Ramirez have decent RBI numbers this season, it’s hard not to when you have Byrd, Fukudome and Ryan Theriot in front of them. Those three have no problem getting on base, and would have less trouble scoring if it weren’t for the production behind them.

It’s the defense, which has 28 errors already this season, tying for second with the Detroit Tigers in the entire MLB. This also puts them alone in second in fielding percentage this season thus far.

With every person who needed to play at their best doing just that, you would expect the Cubs to be above .500 and surprising every analyst who expected the Cubs to be a flop this season, instead, every player who was actually expected to play well decided to take the season off.

Sorry Silva, Soriano, Fukudome, Marmol, Gorzelanny and Byrd. You did everything you could to prove your haters wrong. If you keep doing this, maybe those who were expected to play well will use you as an example instead of the other way around.

I’m Joe W.

Although getting rid of Milton Bradley was a great move and took money off the payroll, the Cubs still have a lot of money tied up in two out of the three outfield spots, and they need to start seeing some production from those corner outfielders.

They did make a move to bring in a centerfielder coming off of a career year, and they will need him to produce if they want to be competitive. But he isn’t the only guy that they have their hopes high on, with another free agent outfielder who will back up two out of the three outfield spots and battle for playing time.

Here is a look at the outfield:

LF: Alfonso Soriano
CF: Marlon Byrd
RF: Kosuke Fukudome

Alfonso Soriano comes at the highest price tag, and he has had his moments. He’s hit at least 20 home runs every year he has been with the Cubs, but his total has decreased every year as has his batting average. This season, however, he should be batting sixth all season, which is where he thrived last season.

However, he will need to turn it around a lot this season, after having career lows in average, runs, and RBI in seasons where he played at least 50 games. However, the lows in hitting come slightly surprising as he has done a better job of making contact when he swings this season—the ball just made it’s way to a defensive player’s glove more often than not.

At the other corner outfield position, Kosuke Fukudome has been a big disappointment, especially after he started off so well in his rookie season with the Cubs. Fukudome did a good job of being a more patient hitter while making this hits he did get count.

Although his batting average was nearly identical both seasons, Fukudome took more walks, increased his BB/K ratio, and decreased the amount of times that he swung at pitches outside the zone.

Fukudome also played well in the field when he played right field, and playing there all season should give him stability defensively. The confidence from improved defensive play could give him more confidence at the plate as well.

Marlon Byrd had a career year last season, and he was rewarded with a sizeable contract. But that could work against him in the eyes of the Cubbie faithful. Although he hit 20 home runs and 89 RBI last season, he has never come close to those numbers in any other season of his career.

To expect stats like that would be foolish, and he needs to hope that fans aren’t expecting him to repeat those numbers. Byrd is a good centerfielder and he should give the Cubs some stability at that position.

The Cubs also signed utility outfielder Xavier Nady over the winter, and he should see playing time at both right and left field. Expect him to even battle for a starting spot at right field against Fukudome, as Nady has been better throughout his career than Fukudome has been in his time in the MLB.

Expect Tyler Colvin to also see some time at centerfield. Colvin has had a great spring so far; he robbed Ryan Braun of a home run, he has been batting over .500, and he also has six RBI.

The Cubs have a lot of money tied up in the outfield, and they haven’t had too much production. If they don’t get any improvements this season, it could be another season where tens of millions of dollars were spent for below average play, offensively and defensively.

But maybe Soriano, Fukudome, and Byrd can put together a great season, and we can see some bang for our bucks.

I’m Joe W.

I was asked by Bleacher Report to do an article on Michael Jordan, and I got the first six bottles of Jordan Gatorade produced, check it out if you can here.

I am also going to be part of the new and exciting Fan Huddle. It is launching September 10th of this season. Everything looks outstanding and there are a ton of dedicated writers who can fill you in on any team you want. If you want to check out my writing I will be doing fantasy basketball analysis for the NBA Central Division. To read any of my work there, go to FanHuddle.com any date after September 10th.

Now on to Cubs analysis. I will start by giving my thoughts on the team in two words.

They suck.

Now on to why the suck.

Most recently, they suck because they couldn’t even do what they prided themselves on directly after the All-Star Break. You will recall that they beat up on the lowly Nationals and Reds, then lost two of three to the strong Phillies.

Last night, they got strait up run by the Nats, losing by a final of 15-6. Really? The Nationals beat a team 15-6? In fact, it was the most runs the Nationals have scored all season, and they did so against our “ace” Carlos Zambrano.

Come on Big Z, your ERA rose from 3.35 to 3.80 in one game, just 4.1 innings, and in August. That number should never jump that high this late in the season. But that’s what happens when you allow eight runs in just over four innings.

But it wasn’t just last night, since their magical 14-5 start to the second half that saw them even take the lead in the division, they have been just plain awful, going 5-13 and dropping to nine games out of the lead in the division and 8.5 games out of the Wild Card.

They lost two of three to the horrible Padres, and three of four to the struggling Dodgers. So there has to be a reason for all of this horrible play right? Lets take a look at the people who are to blame for this.

Kevin Gregg is the biggest reason for the recent downfall in my opinion. Unlike a starting pitcher, a loss means that he did something wrong and screwed up the game. He has three losses this month compared to just two saves. No closer should ever, ever, ever have more losses than saves for an entire month.

Even his one win this month came after he blew a save, which, in my opinion, should not be counted for a win, so excluding that win, lets take a look at his stats for the month of August. 0-3, 9.00 ERA, 2 saves, 3 blown saves, 9 K, 5 home runs against. That’s our closer, but at least he is only ruining us for $4,200,000.

But our closing pitcher isn’t the only one to blame here, let’s start playing the blame game with some other players who, well, deserve it.

Let’s pick on Milton Bradley A.K.A The Lefty Bat to Put the Cubs Over the Top. Sure, he went 4-4 last night with a home run, but that home run made the game 12-5, hardly an important knock. We also can’t overlook the goose-egg he laid in the hit column against the Dodgers. Four games not a single hit.

Last night was also his last multi-hit game since August 11th when he went 2-6 against the Phillies. One multi-hit game every two weeks doesn’t cut it in the majors, especially when we are paying you $7,000,000 (I type out the zeroes so you can see just how much this man is draining from the Cubs).

However, just because Bradley is new doesn’t mean that he is the biggest drain on the Cub’s wallet. Just look at Alfonso Soriano, the $17,000,000 mistake (see the recurring theme).

Soriano hasn’t had a multi-hit game since August 7th, and he is still on that streak. But the more important streak for Soriano is his hitless streak. He hasn’t gotten a hit since August 20th, although he has been injured for two of those games, he is still on a three game hitless streak.

Now he is officially day-to-day and it seems like he has tendinitis. However, his absence may help the team more than it hurts it. He is batting .157 this month without a single home run (a streak that goes back to July 29th) and just four RBI’s.

John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny, you have been great since you came to the Cubs. Grabow, you still haven’t allowed a run since putting on a Cubs uniform. Gorzelanny, you have had two bad starts, but add in your three good ones, and you’re doing better than most wearing Cubbie blue.

Sorry you couldn’t get to play for a contender like you thought you would.

Randy Wells, Micah Hoffpauir, Jake Fox, Jeff Baker, Aramis Ramirez, Koyie Hill, Derek Lee and Ted Lilly, you did all you could to keep this broken ship from sinking. Sorry you had to be here for such a disappointing season.

-Joe Willett

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

His batting average over the past five games has been a measly .095, and he hasn’t gotten a hit in his last 15 at bats.

However, today, he went 2-5 with one gigantic RBI.

The Cubs started the day locked in an outstanding pitching duel between ace Carlos Zambrano going up against White Sox stud Gavin Floyd.

Neither team scored a run until the sixth inning, as a clinic was put on by both pitchers. However, the White Sox were able to work on a home run by Alexie Ramirez, who homered in each game of this series, and were up 5-1 by the eighth inning.

The Cubs were down to two outs in the eighth when Derek Lee sparked the comeback with a 3-run homer to pull the game to 5-4, a manageable score.

Then, Geovany Soto, who has been batting .188 over the past five games, belted another home run to tie the game with two outs in the eighth inning.

All four runs that were scored in the eighth were unearned runs, thanks to an error, and all were scored against White Sox pitcher Scott Linebrink.

“I didn’t make pitches. You’ve got to make pitches against guys like that — Derrek Lee, Geovany Soto — those guys can hurt you,” Linebrink said. “And the last thing I want to do is go out there and put them in a situation where they can get back into the game.”

The Cubs used their momentum and came into the ninth still tied, and after a Reed Johnson single and Andres Blanco sacrifice, the aforementioned Soriano knocked a two out bloop single to give the Cubs the game with a score of 6-5.

“Truthfully, he’s too talented to have a valley as big as he’s been in. You can have some peaks and valleys, but he’s been in a gorge,” Lou Piniella said. “Look, for us to be a good offensive team, we need Soriano to hit. Let’s be perfectly clear about that.”

The walk-off tied the season series between the Cubs and Sox at 1-1 after the first game of the series was postponed.

The Cubs needed this win desperately after they dropped the first game of the series.

However, all of the Cubs’ problems weren’t fixed with this game, they were just 2-8 with runners in scoring position, an aspect of the game that they have been struggling with as of late.

The Cubs also needed this game to avoid falling further under .500, and with the win, they were able to get back to even at 31-31.

They also avoid falling further behind Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers, as they are 0.5 games behind the Reds and four game behind the Brewers for the division lead.

Kosuke Fukudome went 0-3 on the day, bringing his hit-less streak up to 21 at bats.

The win was given to Kevin Gregg, who is 1-1 on the season. The loss was charged to Matt Thornton, who is 4-2.

The Cubs travel to Cincinnati over the next three games for a crucial series that could move them up in the NL Central Division rankings.

-Joe Willett

Sorry, Windy City press, but you play no role in determining what actually happens on the field.

And this larger, so-called “locker room split” is just the media’s way of stirring things up. Chemistry is something that’s developed throughout the season.

The Cubs have played a total of sixteen games; we won’t know what kind of chemistry this team has until June or July. It’s those long 10-12 day road trips that allow players to bond together. That’s when chemistry is developed.

Now, to the Cubs’ problems.

Walks, walks, walks.

The bullpen can’t find the strike zone, and this is a recipe for disaster. Gregg has walked five in nine innings, Cotts has walked five in four, and Patton has walked six in six.

As a whole, the ‘pen has walked 28 batters in 46 innings. Ironically, the only relief pitcher without a walk is Luis Vizcaino, who is no longer on the roster.

Offensively, the Cubs have been dreadful as of late, scoring four earned runs in the past 36 innings. It’s not as if they haven’t had chances; it’s just a matter of poor at bat after poor at bat with guys in scoring position.

It all starts with plate discipline. The Cubs have drawn a total of six walks in the past four games. That won’t get the job done. The offense has also abandoned the opposite field, becoming very pull-happy.

One of the most telling (and worst) at-bats came from Ryan Theriot last night. Down 3-2 with the bases loaded and nobody out, the typically very patient Theriot did not wait back on the Wainwright breaking ball and hit into the tailor-made 6-4-3 double play.

I don’t mean to pick on Theriot, who is off to a solid start, but he’s too smart to not understand the situation. Wainwright was trying to work the outer part of the plate and Theriot tried to pull the ball. I know it’s easier said than done to lay off, but it all starts with plate discipline.

And on to management. Lou Piniella has done a very poor job during the early going this season.

First, the Cubs decided not to disable Geovany Soto. Have they not noticed Soto isn’t healthy? We are in April, not October. It’s nonsensical to keep him active.

The case is the same for Bradley, who was injured two weeks ago; he’s started just one game since his injury. The 15-day DL made sense back when he got hurt, and it makes even more sense today. But by choosing not to disable Bradley, the Cubs have found themselves very short handed.

And besides that, the on-field decisions by Lou have really left me shaking my head.

Who is the closer?

Lou says Gregg, but he also goes to Marmol. Sounds like a “Bullpen by Committee.” Way to keep both guys guessing, Lou.

And along with his poor handling of the ‘pen, Piniella’s shuffling of the lineup is plain silly.  Soriano, who has thrived in the one-hole this year, now finds himself batting third. It’s way too early for a shakeup, especially when your top two spots in the order have been your strength.

I’ve always been one to compliment Lou for making solid decisions, but I will also call him out for making poor ones. During Saturday’s game, Piniella decided to pitch to Brian Barden with one out and first base open with the pitcher on-deck.

Lou must not have seen enough of Barden last week, when he went 5-for-9 with two homers against the Cubs. He proceeded to burn Chicago again with a two-run single on Saturday.

It’s early, and the Cubs will eventually take control of this division. But they must play better. They’ve struggled defensively, offensively, and their bullpen can’t find the plate.

Lou Piniella must do a better job. There’s a reason he is one of the highest-paid managers in the game, and he must get more out of his players. This type of baseball won’t be tolerated.

-Pat De Marco

However, to move forward, you have to look backwards as well. The Cubs have had yet another busy offseason as they try to finally avoid a first round sweep (last year by the hand of the Dodgers, you gotta hate Manny being Manny).

First lets start with some of the moves that I disagree with. Just to get this out in the open and out of the way, I have to disagree with Jim Hendry on these few moves.

Letting Kerry Wood go was a big mistake in my opinion. The move hurts the Cubs bullpen which was finally getting strong. They could have kept the shutdown rotation of Jeff Samardzija, Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood, along with another reliever who will be talked about in a better section.

I just hate losing Mark DeRosa this offseason. He was a great player who everybody loved. The middle of DeRosa and Ryan Theriot just made every Cubs fan warm and fuzzy inside, although I don’t hate his replacement, I still love the player.

Now that we got that out of the way, time to look at some of the better moves to help pump up the 2009 Chicago Cubs.

Re-signing Ryan Dempster was ginormous (the only word I can use to describe his impact) in keeping the Cubs a World Series-caliber team. He creates a triple threat almost unrivaled, and he gave them a great third starter without having to give up everything but the kitchen sink (sorry Jake Peavy…I know you’re reading this).

Another pitching move to help the team is the addition of Kevin Gregg. He is going to allow the Cubs to move Carlos Marmol into the closer spot while keeping a good reliever to help as a set-up man. This still allows the Cubs to be set by the seventh inning.

Making up for the loss of Mark DeRosa, Aaron Miles will be a pivotal part in helping the Cubs offensively this season. He is a guy that can get on base consistently, as shown by his .317 batting average last season, higher than any player last season for the Cubs.

Now it’s time to get to the big signing of the offseason. Two years ago it was Alfonso Soriano. Last year it was Kosuke Fukudome. This year it’s Milton Bradley.

Bradley is going to have to keep his temper in check, which is the same for a lot of major parts of the Cubs team this season (I’m looking at you Carlos Zambrano and Lou Piniella). With all of these moving parts, the Cubs could implode at any point in time this season.

However, we could just as easily make it all work and have a dream season. Who knows, if the Red Sox can do it, so can the Cubs…right?

But anyway, the 2009 Chicago Cubs are looking to become the first team to pull it all together. Nobody likes waiting 101 years for a championship, but these new parts could be ready to pull it all together.

At least, lets hope so, I don’t want to jinx anything this early.

Be ready for the new Daily Cub, and hopefully, be ready for the new Chicago Cubs.

Pitchers and catchers report Friday, and I know that we are all excited, are you ready for some baseball?

-Joe Willett

The Cubs then broke open the game in the sixth inning when they scored five runs. Kosuke Fukudome got the scoring started when he hit a two-run triple that scored both Derrek Lee and Ramirez. Ramirez ended the day going 4-5 with three doubles, an RBI, and two runs scored.

Shorly after Mark Derosa drove in his second RBI of the game on a single that scored Fukudome. Zambrano also got into the action from the plate as he hit a single which drove in Derosa.

The final run of the inning came in on a Alfonso Soriano sac fly that drove in Mike Fontenot giving the Cubs a big 6-0 lead. The Cubs then added another run in the ninth on a Aramis Ramirez single that drove in Ryan Theriot to make the score 7-0.

The Brewers lone run came in the bottom of the ninth when Mike Cameron doubled off of Jeff Samardzija which drove in Russell Branyan.

Carlos Zambrano was awesome as he pitched eight solid innings allowing no earned runs while giving up just five hits and striking out nine. Zambrano improved to 12-4 with the victory.

As for the Brewers Ben Sheets he put in 5 1/3 innings allowing six earned runs on eleven hits while striking out four. With the loss Sheets fell to 10-4 on the season.
The Cubs are now 63-44 and they hold a three game lead on the Brewers.

The Cubs have assured that they will leave Milwaukee leading the NL Central with Tuesday’s Victory.

Tomorrow the Cubs will send Ryan Dempster to the mound who is 11-4 with a 2.99 era as Manny Parra who is 9-3 with a 3.72 era will go for the Brewers. Game time is set for 7:05 pm.

-Kevin Graczyk

It says, “failed expectations,” year 100 version.

This was supposed to be our year. Just like 1969 was supposed to be. And 1984. And 2003. Get the picture?

Well, it still can be our year, but things have got to start changing immediately and I just don’t know how that is going to happen, given the trends.

First of all, the bullpen needs to improve and quickly. Yes, I know Kerry Wood is hurt, but a lot of the situations we’re getting burned by are earlier in the game, before Woody would even be in the game.

Let’s face it, Cub fans, this bullpen would try and use a wad of gum to stop a leak in the Titanic, for crying out loud.

It seems every time Bob Howry comes in, he gives up a run. Carlos Marmol got out of a jam yesterday but the old Marmol wouldn’t have even gotten into that jam in the first place.

And yes, let’s bring in the kid for his first ever major league appearance in a game situation, late and tied. Fit to be tied is how I’m feeling. Seems we’ve seen this plot before.

Lee and Ramirez, Ramirez and Lee. No matter how you slice it, those guys are not clutch hitters and both are prone to slumps that come in bunches. That’s what we saw in last year’s playoffs. And even when he’s not slumping, Lee couldn’t get a meaningful hit if you placed the ball on a tee for him.

Fukudome is starting to become a bust. OK, I said it, I went there. But hey, popularity isn’t why I write. And the truth is simply that we have three more, very expensive years of a powerless corner outfielder who can’t go anywhere.

Arghh.

What we do know is…

…that the Cubs can’t win on the road. Check.

…they are only 3-3 in their last six home games. Check.

…the bullpen is a mess. Check.

…Soriano is back. Check. (Hey I may be a realist, but I’m not a fatalist)

…After two more home games, they travel to Milwaukee for a four game series against the second place (but perhaps soon to be first place) Brewers.

The Brewers want to win as badly as the Cubs. Which isn’t fair, this is our year, dammit, so why can’t all the other clubs just lay down and let us win this thing? Let them wait their turn. The poor Brewers haven’t sniffed the playoffs since 1982? Well, boo f’ing hoo. You won’t get any sympathy from a Cubs fan.

Oh well, at least Rich Harden goes for the Cubs on Saturday. Hopefully, he’ll get his first win as a Cub. He’ll be opposed by tall righthander Chris Volstad, who has pitched well in the first three starts of his career.

Strap it on, Cubs fans, it’s a long season. Come to think of it, you might want to bring some newspaper to wrap the fish.

-Bob Warja