On a night when we learned that Carlos Zambrano will be returning to the starting rotation shortly, a different Carlos was able to steal the show by pitching six scoreless innings before allowing a two-run home run without recording an out in the seventh and being taken out.

After going 2-9 in an 11 game stretch, the Cubs have been able to pull off three strait wins after taking the finale against the division rival Pittsburgh Pirates and sweeping a two game series against the Colorado Rockies.

The Cubs were helped offensively by young shortstop Starlin Castro who put the Cubs up 2-0 on a fielders choice in the fourth to help give the Cubs some early insurance on the Rockies.

Then, in the eighth, he knocked in Tyler Colvin, who scored twice and stole his first career base, on an infield single to put the Cubs up 4-2. Later in the inning, the Castro scored on a Ryan Theriot single along with Geovany Soto to give the Cubs the final score of 6-2.

The bullpen, which has been an issue for the Cubs this season, pitched very well last night, allowing just one hit and one walk over the last three innings.

After Silva was pulled, Esmailin Caridad came in and walked Miguel Olivo. Caridad was immediately replaced by James Russell, who struck out two and finished the inning.

Sean Marshall pitched a scoreless eighth and Carlos Zambrano pitched a perfect ninth while striking out two and finally having a good outing in the bullpen.

Zambrano received more good news when he found out later that night that he would be returning to the rotation after a few long relief appearances.

With diminished velocity and poor performances, the bullpen experiment has been a complete failure. The only problem is, who will Zambrano replace?

The starting rotation has been the only positive for the Cubs and the only reasonable suggestion for the Cubs may be to move to a six man rotation. Although there is no definitive ace on the staff, there is also no weak spot in the rotation either.

Adding Zambrano, will likely give the Cubs one of those two things.

Zambrano’s velocity has been his mark in the past, but over the past two seasons his fastball has dropped from the mid 90’s to the high 80’s, reaching the around 90-91 on occasion. Without his fastball, he has lost his edge and hitters are taking advantage.

This season, Zambrano came in laid an egg in the season opener against the Atlanta Braves, getting pulled after just 1.1 innings and allowing eight runs.

That one start, however, was seemingly his only bad start. Over his next three starts before getting put in the bullpen he pitched 18 innings and allowed eight runs. That isn’t ace material, but it’s an ERA of 4.00 through three starts, which isn’t worthy of being put into the bullpen.

Since going to the bullpen, Zambrano has allowed six runs in 9.2 innings, but five of those runs came in two appearances while he has six scoreless appearances.

Zambrano was moved to the bullpen in hopes that he could find his velocity and give the Cubs a legitimate set-up man for Carlos Marmol. It appears that Marshall will be moving into that spot for the remainder of the season.

Although Zambrano is no ace, he will get a chance to prove that he should be a starter when he gets back into the rotation.

It was a great night for Cubs named Carlos, now it’s time to see if guys named Carlos can make a great season for the Cubs.

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.

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.

The Cubs’ bullpen has always been an issue of concern, and they have been going from closer to closer pretty much every season.

Most recently, Kerry Wood and Kevin Gregg held down the closer position, but neither of them were closer for more than one season. So what will the bullpen look like this season?

Closer: Carlos Marmol
Rest of bullpen: Complete Mess

I know that doesn’t offer up too much when it comes to telling you who will pitch what innings this season, but at this point, you’re guess is as good as mine.

The Cubs lost Kevin Gregg and Aaron Heilman during the off-season, and with Angel Guzman missing a lot of time at best, the Cubs are in desperate need of somebody to get the ball into Marmol’s hands.

Jeff Samardzija had a great season two years ago, but had an above-7.00 ERA last season in about 35 season. He is still young and raw and he could return to 2008 form.

John Grabow is the most experienced option and the fact that he is a lefty helps out too. However, he has never been exactly overwhelming, and with a career ERA of 4.03 he isn’t a prime option.

Esmailin Caridad is a possible option, he had a low ERA, struck out a good amount of batters, and had two holds in 19.1 innings last season. But for him to come out of nowhere and be consistent all season is a stretch.

The best chance that the Cubs have to fix their bullpen this season would be by some sort of trade, but Spring Training deals are rare.

Of course the Cubbie faithful could take up a different strategy in trying to fix the bullpen. Pray…a lot. Pray for Guzman’s injury to just go away, pray for Samardzija and Caridad to have magical seasons, and I can’t stress this enough, pray a lot.

Either option is viable, and with Jim Hendry’s past, I feel the second option is more likely to work than the first.

I’m Joe W.

That’s the life of one Kevin Gregg, who led major league baseball in blown saves last year.

After a nice stretch of uncharacteristic reliability from Gregg, he has returned to Florida, where he pitched in 2007 and 2008, and has blown the lead in two consecutive games.

On Saturday, the Cubs came back and won, so all is forgiven.

But on Sunday, Gregg coughed up the lead once again, and then served up the game winning, walk off homer in the bottom of the ninth.

It was Dan Uggla. It was damn ugly.

It also served as a poignant reminder to the Florida Marlins as to why they got rid of Gregg.

Most guys return to the team that traded them with a chip on their shoulder. They often do well because they have extra motivation to show their former team that they made a mistake.

Well, in this case the only mistake that was made was when Jim Hendry acquired this poor excuse for a closer.

Though Kerry Wood is having a rough season in Cleveland, one would think that $140 million could buy a decent closer. But I guess money just doesn’t go as far as it used to, eh?

As Bob Brenly said after the game, it was a “horrible” loss, not just because they blew the lead, but because it will once again raise the debate of who should be the Cubs closer.

Carlos Marmol misses bats, and opponents are only hitting .159 off of him. But his command is lacking. He has walked 48 in 51 innings.

Still, I would release Gregg and go with Marmol. At least he has upside, and has a true strike out pitch when that devastating slider is working.

If you recall, back in Spring, Lou Piniella had decided that Gregg had beaten out Marmol for the closer role. And, judging by the pure numbers, he was right.

Marmol had pitched in the Dominican playoffs and the World Baseball Classic. Still, Gregg technically out pitched him in Cubs camp.

But enough is enough. We know what Gregg can do, or, more accurately, what he cannot do.

It’s time to see what Marmol can do as the Cubs closer. Unless BJ Ryan has suddenly returned to form, promoting Marmol is the only logical decision at this point.

We all expect Marmol to be a closer someday. Come to think of it, why not now?

-Bob Warja

Without Kerry Wood, the bullpen has struggled mightily as Carlos Marmol has been much worse than last season.

The Cubs failed to back up another stellar start by Randy Wells, who took a no-hitter into the seventh and a shutout into the eighth inning, but was pulled in the eight after 83 pitches.

Despite the strong performance by Wells, the Cubs still lost the game 6-5 in extra innings, mostly thanks to yet another bullpen collapse.

Wells has started off his career with a bang, although he has yet to win a game.  Through the first five career starts, Wells still has a 1.69 ERA with a WHIP under 1.

Also, despite the low ERA, the Cubs are just 1-4 in Wells’ five starts, scoring a combined 13 runs through five games.  Wells hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any one game.

This game seemed different from the start, however, as Alfonso Soriano led the game off with a home run in the first.

Wells also helped his cause in the second inning when he knocked in Geovany Soto to get his first career RBI.

The game stayed at 2-0 until the sixth, when Derek Lee doubled in Kosuke Fukudome.  Later in the inning, Mike Fontenot hit a sac-fly to drive in Lee.

Another home run in the eighth, this one by Lee, brought the Cubs to a  comfortable five run lead, however, the game turned from there.

Wells allowed his first run of the game via a Garret Anderson home run in the bottom of the eighth.  Soon after, the game was given to the bullpen.

Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg allowed a combined three runs in two innings of work, two of which came in the ninth inning as Jeff Francoeur hit a two-out, two-run home run to tie the game in the ninth.

Neither team was able to jump ahead until the 12th inning when Yunel Escobar singled in Chipper Jones against Aaron Heilman to take the win.

The loss drops the Cubs to an even 25-25 through their first 50 games, a mark that they likely felt that they would be much better than at the start of the season.

Joe Willett

Photos from AP

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

But for a team that is supposedly the best team in the NL Central, Cubs GM Jim Hendry has built a club that is flawed in one very critical area, the pen.

Yes, the Cubs allowed Kerry Wood to leave because they figured Carlos Marmol was ready to assume the closer role, but just to make sure, Hendry acquired Kevin Gregg; who blew the most saves of anyone last year.

Gregg has not instilled much confidence thus far. Neither has many of his mates.

Cubs manager Lou Piniella has no confidence in left-hander Neal Cotts, or right-handers Luis Vizcaino or Angel Guzman.

David Patton, who pitched so well in the spring, has never pitched above Class A.

Several lefties were available this spring, rather cheaply in fact, yet Hendry did not even bat an eye.

It’s no coincidence that the teams who played for the National League pennant last October, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, had the top two bullpens in the league.

So, is there a secret to how a bullpen can get better?

”You just have to pitch better,” Aaron Heilman said. ”There’s no magic formula.”

There isn’t a whole lot missing on this team, to be honest. The lineup is solid, and the starting staff should be good enough to win the division, unless injuries come up and bite us.

The bench is good, with the always-ready Reed Johnson, versatile Aaron Miles and speedy Joey Gathright (though Gathright could have saved the dramatics and won the game himself on Saturday if he had a better AB).

Backup catcher Koyie Hill did a nice job while Geo Soto was nursing his sore shoulder.

Micah Hoffpauir hits the ball hard most of the time, and is a clear upgrade over what we had from the left side last season, save for Mike Fontenot, who is now starting.

So that leaves the bullpen as the remaining piece of the championship puzzle. Perhaps Hendry will be able to find some help around the trade deadline. In the meantime, two pitchers are throwing well at Iowa.

I almost hate to mention the name, but Chad Fox seems healthy, though for how long is anybody’s guess. And Jason Waddell is throwing the ball very well right now for Iowa.

By the way, though this isn’t a bullpen note, Jeff Samardzija had a solid start for Iowa on Saturday. He allowed two runs on only one hit over six innings, though the bullpen blew the game for Iowa.

Jeff Stevens, acquired in the Mark DeRosa salary dump, struck out three of the four batters he faced. If Stevens were left-handed, he’d be pitching in Wrigley right now.

One of the concerns I have is the use, or should I say over use of Carlos Marmol. He has appeared in seven of the Cubs first 11 games.

Kudos to Angel Guzman, who finally was useful for the Cubs on Saturday. We need more of that, come to think of it. Meanwhile, let’s savor two wins against a tough Cardinals ballclub.

-Bob Warja

Today is “Earth Hour”, where people are encouraged to shut off their lights for one hour in a symbolic act to conserve energy. But in Arizona, there is nothing symbolic about the decisions Lou Piniella, Larry Rothschild and the gang have to make.

In the bullpen, only four spots are set. The closer will either be Carlos Marmol or Kevin Gregg, with the slight edge going to Marmol at this point. However, Gregg has pitched very well this spring. Either way, one will pitch in the eighth and one in the ninth.

So, with two spots belonging to Marmol and Gregg, that leaves Aaron Heilman as the sixth and seventh inning man. Next, there is the lone lefty in the pen, Neal Cotts. That makes a total of four.

If they go with 11 pitchers, that leaves two remaining spots. Although it hasn’t been officially announced, Bruce Levine of ESPN.com said this morning that the Cubs have decided to send Jeff Samardzija to Iowa, where he can be stretched out in case another starter is needed.

Samardzija has an excellent fastball and a splitter that he doesn’t always command well. He needs to work on his command and another pitch if he wants to be a starter. He would be better in the bullpen, where two pitches are all you need.

I would have groomed him to be a closer from the start. He has the heater and the makeup, as a former Notre Dame football player, to do that job. Alas, no one from the Cubs asked me for my opinion.

Among other bullpen candidates, a couple are out of options and one, David Patton, is a rule 5 draft pick so he would have to be offered back to Colorado for $25,000 if he doesn’t make the 25-man roster.

And Patton has looked good this spring. Rothschild is impressed by his poise and has said he has the best curve ball he has seen all year. Since he has never pitched above Class A, however, it would be quite a story if he did go north with the team.

The two veterans who are out of options, Luis Vizcaino and Chad Gaudin, would likely be lost if they fail to make the team. Both have guaranteed major league contracts, too.

Vizcaino is set to make $3.5 million and Gaudin was signed for $2 million. You can expect Jim Hendry to be trying to trade one or both of these pitchers. Gaudin has looked better since struggling mightily early on, while Vizcaino’s control has improved somewhat.

Other candidates include Angel Guzman, who has the fastball pumping in at 95 MPH, but continues to struggle with his command.

41-year-old lefty Mike Stanton is in camp, but he’s certainly a dark horse candidate to make the team. Another old veteran, Chad Fox, is back in camp once again, and has pitched well. But with his history of injuries, it’s likely they could sneak him through waivers if they wanted to hang on to him.

Guys like Jeff Stevens and Kevin Hart haven’t pitched well this spring, but they still have minor league options remaining. I haven’t heard much regarding the chances of Jose Ascanio, though he also has options remaining.

On the position battle front, in an ideal world, center field would be split between Reed Johnson and the speedy Joey Gathright. But economics dictate that Kosuke Fukudome will likely get the lion’s share of the at-bats early on, since he will start against right-handed pitchers.

The backup catcher will likely be Paul Bako, though Koyie Hill has looked good, making a remarkable recovery from a gruesome injury. Former White Sox catcher Mark Johnson is also in camp.

April 6 can’t happen soon enough, come to think of it.

-Bob Warja

When the Cubs are on, they are one of the better teams in the majors, and that has been shown throughout the spring, even though the players aren’t playing full games.

They have won two of their last three games by over 10 runs (13-2 over the White Sox and 20-5 over the Athletics) which is quite a staggering number, and with players playing longer and longer each game, each of these games become more and more of a prediction of how the season will go.

Carlos Zambrano pitched just two games ago for six innings, striking out six and not allowing a walk in a 5-3 win over the Mariners.

The Cubs are, at the time of this article, 13 days and 20 hours away from their first game in Houston against the Astros, and they are starting to get their players accustomed to playing full games, which is exactly what they are doing.

Cubs players, however, are ready to get to Houston and start playing games that count.  Derek Lee has said that he wants to shorten the current Spring Training schedule, which consists of 39 games.

“I don’t think anybody needs that long to get ready. So it’s nice that soon there’s some games that are going to count,” said Lee of the current Spring Training system.

Sweet Lou Piniella has said that he is getting ready to start shortening his roster, as he plans to have the team down to 30 players by Tuesday, which is when he will start playing his starters with much more frequency.

Piniella has also said that he wants Ted Lilly back to the team as soon as the World Baseball Classic is over, and has him slated to pitch a simulated game the day after the WBC finale.

The Cubs fear that he is falling behind on his workouts and would be better off with the team, Lilly hasn’t pitched since March 17th.

The closer position, which seemed to be suited better for Carlos Marmol, is now looking more wide open, as former Marlin Kevin Gregg hasn’t allowed a run this spring, but the fact that he led the majors in blown saves last year leaves the Cubs weary of handing him the reigns.

A much more slept-upon position battle is for the second catcher spot on the team.  Paul Bako, a former Cub, is back with the team and has plenty of experience, but Koyie Hill is batting over .400 this spring and has looked fantastic.

Piniella has said that he doesn’t feel that the decision on that spot needs to be made anytime soon, however, and he might wait a while before choosing who gets to stay in the majors.

The Cubs are playing well, and they look like they could have a great season.  Are they World Series ready?  We’ll just have to wait and see.

-Joe Willett