Cubs Diaries

As any baseball fan that even casually perused the newspaper today will tell you, in the midst of a stellar pitching performance last night, Carlos Zambrano went berserk and verbally assaulted the home umpire. Zambrano, showcasing excellent command and control over the ball, demonstrated that his control extended no further than the trajectory of the ball when he completely lost it over a call at the plate. After throwing a semi-wild pitch (it's been scored as a wild pitch, but I was in attendance and that ball should have been snapped up by our ace catcher and reigning rookie of the year Geovany Soto) Nyjer Morgan made a break for home. Zambrano scuttled over to the plate and applied the tag just a nano-second after Morgan's outstretched fingers graced the corner of home. Carlson, the home plate ump, correctly called Morgan safe, sending Z into a tirade the likes of which we haven't seen since that fateful day in 07' when he punched out Michael Barrett in the dugout. For a better review of Big Z's explosions over the years check out Paul Sullivan's article from this morning in the tribune.

The result of the tantrum? Z has been handed a six game suspension and as such will miss just one start, all things considered, it could have been a lot worse. With Dempster punching the gatorade dispenser, Bradley bumping umps and Zambrano throwing equipment this Cubs team is fired up and that's exactly what we need right?

I've been perusing blog posts about this stuff all day and there seems to be a strong contingent that believe that emotional flare is exactly what this team needs to pull itself out of the mediocrity we seem to already be reacquainting ourselves with. Zambrano's theatrics, although often quite pricey, considering not only his current suspension but also the fact that when his emotions run high it frequently negatively impacts his pitching, are undoubtedly quite useful in smaller doses. Consider if Zambrano harnessed this energy and shared it with the team. Think back to days of high school or even junior high when you played for a team. Weren't there a few individuals that always provided that spark right before game time? Teammates with that glint in their eyes, the ones that spoke up at halftime when the chips were down.

I think that players with an excess of emotion, like the three I mentioned earlier need to view their intensity as a tool to be wielded for the good of the team. I wrote a few weeks ago about the danger of nonchalance on the diamond; harnessing this energy and transforming it into focus will all but erase lackluster play.

That's all well and good but this isn't going to solve the problem of what happens when a extremely close play drives a Cub over the edge, right? Well, no, but think about it like this. Generally when one of our guys gets really upset about something it's because we absolutely need the call to go our way, yesterday Morgan's run tied the game at 2 a piece in the 7th. It is simple. Winning teams, like the Cubs last year, and the Cubs in a few months this year are much less likely to be in these situations. If, for example the Cubs were pounding the Pirates, 8-1, as should have been the case considering the potential strength of our lineup and rotation, I guarantee Zambrano would have stopped himself pre-blow up and realized "meh, they can have that one."

Anywho, whatever it is the Cubs need, I hope they find it and soon. Maybe Jake Fox will be the catalyst we need ...

--- Charlie

The Chicago Cubs were extremely hyped this year, picked to take the National League (Sports Ilustrated). A few ESPN writers even picked them to win the World Series.

One month into the season, are the Cubs living up to these high expectations?

Well, sitting right around .500 does not seem to be a World Series type pace, and the word "inconsistent" best describes the Cubs’ season thus far.

Starting Pitching: Our starting pitching has been decent, and a few outstanding performances come to mind. First, Ted Lilly’s lights-out performance on May 2 against the Marlins, where he struck out 10 over eight innings. Or how about Harden’s strong six innings against the Cardinals on April 26? And of course, in arguably the most memorable pitching outing thus far, Big Z pitched seven gorgeous innings and was one hit shy of becoming the first ever pitcher to hit for the cycle against the Astros on April 28. Now, these are the positive outings. The list of negative outings is equally as long, but not as fun to write about, and not as memorable, as I have tried extremely hard to repress them all.

Bottom Line: Our starting lineup has been dazzling at points and horrendous at others. Big Z, Lilly, Harden and Dempster have all shown promise, if they can stay healthy I feel pretty good about our starting rotation.

Offense: Our offense has had some spectacular nights and it really feels like it is possible for us to score 10 runs every single night. Injuries have stifled us a little recently, but it seems that as one big time hitter sits, another source of power emerges. Theriot, Fukudome, Soriano and Hoffpauir have been especially great thus far. Hopefully, Kosuke won’t have a second-half meltdown like last season. Hoffpauir is emerging nicely and seems like a wonderful replacement for the slowly decaying D-Lee.

Bottom Line: We have the offensive firepower to challenge the best in the National League, and it has been one of this season’s high points. Keep in mind, however, that it is still extremely early, and who knows what will happen as the season progresses.

Bullpen: Every time someone from the bullpen is called up, I literally break out in a cold sweat (attractive, right?). When the seventh inning comes around I am expecting the worst, ready to go home furious, dejected, and usually a little bitter. Watching the Cubs’ bullpen blow a save is a bit like watching a horribly awkward scene in a movie—you know it’s going to turn out badly, but you watch anyway. In the movie however, the awkwardness is usually resolved, unfortunately the bullpen blowing a save does not generally have a sugar coated ending.

Gregg, who was touted as a future Hall of Fame closer by some, has been shaky at best. Marmol has also been decent, but consistent bullpen pitching has been harder to find than a dentist at candy store thus far. A strong bullpen, or at the very least a great closer, is necessary if we want to make a run deep into October.

Bottom Line: Gregg has the Gagne glasses and looks the part of the intimidating closer, but just doesn’t seem to be getting the job done.

A month in, while at times shaky, the Cubs seem to be showing a passion that was definitely missing last season. Call me crazy, but I am going to give some credit to Milton Bradley for playing with an intensity and ferocity that seems to be contagious. To be fair, playing with passion and purpose is easy at the beginning of a season, and extremely difficult at the end. Hopefully, the Cubs will keep hitting well, improve their bullpen, and play with a fire that reflects the passion of their fan base. --- Daniel.

So, Ted Lilly is facing off against Russ Ortiz and the Astros right now, but it's hard to pay attention to the game when Manny's positive drug test has overshadowed every other baseball story today.

Good things about Manny's suspension (if you're a Cubs fan):

1. Slightly alleviates the sting from last year's playoff thrashing at the hands of the Dodgers. We now have a something else to blame, besides our own poor play!

2. Relativism: As injury prone as many of our big time players are (I'm looking at you Milton Bradley), the 15-day DL is nowhere near as bad as 50 games.

3. When it comes out that Manny tested positive for weed and not HGH (you heard it here first), drunks everywhere (Wrigleyville included) will have another excuse to judge a lazy stoner.

In any case, as I write this, the Cubs are down one in the top of the 3rd inning. So, let's try and focus on the game and not think about "Manny being Manny." If you would like to however, here is a great Manny moment, where he plays translator; dude could work at the UN:



--- Daniel.

Zambrano is a work horse but do we need him to be more careful?

In an earlier post i commented: "I cannot stand when I see my beloved cubbies not sprinting into first base on every single ground ball. I don't care if 95% of the time it's going to be an out, there is no excuse for not hoofing it." Upon further pontification, mostly spurred by yesterday's unfortunate incident, I've found myself wrestling with a difficult question: Is there ever a situation in which it is better for a club if a player does not push himself too hard when running to 1st base?

In regards to yesterday's game, I'm not sure I'm happy with the idea of Carlos bunting in the first place. Big Z is one of the those players that will always change the landscape of a game, not only as one of the best pitchers in the league but also as, one of, if not the best, hitting pitchers. I mean for crying out loud, we've got a 2 time silver slugger award winning with a '08 BA of .337, that's just nasty, he shouldn't be bunting. Something tells me it wasn't Lou or Sinatro who signaled for Z to bunt. Doesn't really seem like an appropriate play call for a man of his...oh let's say carriage.

Anyway, he did it, and it was beautiful. Had he not put that extra hamstring-yanking oomph into his gait there is a good chance we wouldn't have had men on for the D-lee crank that followed. Or maybe we would have had less than bases loaded, which would have resulted in a hr of lesser magnitude. With the sloppiness of the bullpen we might have lost that game. So...was it worth it?

It pains me to say this but stepping into Lou's stinky shoes, I'm leaning towards no. Sure, as soon as the bunt was down and there was an off chance of him being safe he better be doing all he can to make it happen, but I'd hope that the ace of my staff, a man that I cannot go without would know better than to put himself in a situation where he is in danger of injuring himself. Additionally, while for some pitchers it would be ok to leg out it out at breakneck speed to 1st, Zambrano's build doesn't seem like it is designed for this sort of exertion and sure enough his hammie disagreed.

Anyway, I'll have to rethink my policy on sprinting to 1st base with pitchers and other potentially non-athletic ball players. What do you think cubs nation?

On a side note: remember the days when all your favorite sluggers were fatsos: Tony Gwyn, Cecil Fielder, Albert Belle, John Kruk, Kirby Pucket, Mo Vaughn, etc.

--- Charlie

Here's a quick little breakdown of the fantasy value I feel the Cubs' starting lineup has at this point in the season:

Aramis Ramirez: A-

Aramis might be the Cubs' best fantasy player. .352/.386/.574? Yeah, I'll take him on my team. He's played in less games than other players in the lineup, but expect those HR numbers to jump up and the average to dip. Still, one of the premiere hitting 3B in the league.

Alfonso Soriano: B+

He's come back down to Earth recently, but Fons is still a great hitter and provides a fantasy lineup with a great blend of speed and power, which is invaluable when trying to account for SBs and HRs.

Kosuke Fukudome: A

Whether he can keep up his ridiculous .329/.462/.575 remains to be seen (probably not), but at this point, he should be in every single person's starting lineup who owns him in their league.

Derek Lee: C-

Abfus had a post about D-Lee a week ago, but he's in trouble. Maybe he'll pick things up, but without the power numbers and a terrible BA, Lee is going to be hurting lineups. He's definitely hurting the Cubs' right now.

Ryan Theriot: B

I have some reservations about his ability to maintain his fantasy value throughout the entire season, but at this point, he should be getting plenty of PT in the fantasy realm. And Grand Slams definitely don't hurt his cause.

Mike Fontenot: C+

Not a bad guy to plug in for favorable match-ups if your league can be changed day-to-day. The average isn't great, but 4 HRs and an OBP over .350 makes Font a guy worth having on your bench.

Geovany Soto: C-

Injury problems make Soto tough to grade, but when he's been in, he hasn't done much at the plate to make him a good option. I do expect that to pick up though, so nobody should get too carried away and drop him right now.

Milton Bradley: F

Milton has been a non-factor for the Cubs so far. I heard a Cubs fan say this week that if they don't win the World Series this year, they'll blame it on Milton. Somewhere, a goat is smiling.

Aaron Miles: D-

Not worth your trouble.

Next week: Cubs' pitchers. Stay tuned. -Gotty

At least we're not losing every game by 10 runs. On the contrary, it seems that every other night we're in the zone, cranking out some major base knocks and throwing fire. Seriously, let's take a look at this phenomenon.

It all began on Saturday, when the Cubbies stunk it up against the hated Cards, allowing eight and failing to muster more than two runs ... L

Then, as if the day before had never happened the Cubs' bats came alive, clobbering everything in sight and putting the Cards away 10 to 3 ... W

Monday, the Cubs looked just awful. Dan Haren pitched a complete game leaving the Cubs reeling and wondering where power from the day before had gone ... L

Tuesday, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the men in blue played one of the their best games this season marshaled by a masterful performance from Zambrano from the rubber and the plate ... W

Wednesday, yikes, truly a low point. There are few things worse than being shut out. If a guy like Lincecum shuts you out, tip your hat and get ready for tomorrow. But when an aging Doug Davis does it, you shouldn't be able to look at your own reflection ... L

Considering the pattern here, the Cubs should not only win tonight they should absolutely dominate. On the odd day when the Cubs are dealing, just plain watch out, because we aren't just winning, we are destroying teams.

--- Charlie

I was all ready to write an entry on the Cubs' recent lack of offensive power. They routed the Cardinals on Sunday and had a solid win last Tuesday against the Reds. But in their past five losses, the Cubs managed a total of eight runs. Night after night, the Cubs didn’t come out swinging or play their smartest game. I was worried that their injuries were finally catching up to them.

Then came tonight's eruption. They dominated the Arizona Diamondbacks 11-3 behind Zambrano's strong pitching and hitting. He picked up his first win since the season opener, showing the same first-class skills he did that night three weeks ago in Houston. In addition to doing a fantastic job on the mound, Zambrano also proved he could be an offensive threat, singling in the third, doubling in the fifth and homering in the seventh.

The only thing I’m worried about now is the Cubs’ consistency. While they have been able to dominate some games by double-digit margins, they have also managed to lose the tight ones due to their lack of run production. But once Lee, Marmol, Ramirez and Bradley heal from their injuries, the Cubs should have enough thump in the lineup to prove why they should be NL Central champs once again. --- Katie Tang

It's easy for anxious fans to reassure themselves that the season is still young and that their favorite slugger who's amid a slow start will awaken and return to form. The truth is, we've already played 20 games and that window at the beginning of the year to work out the kinks is on its way to closing up. Pretty soon without some more production, players may be shipped off to the minors. Batting averages have already begun to solidify with 50-plus at-bats already in the books for the average starting player. Cubs fans will have noticed among the averages of the key players from last year, a few of them are seriously underperforming; namely, Soto and Lee. We've discussed Lee's situation quite thoroughly already in the live blog and in an earlier post so I'm going to take this opportunity to discuss our very own rookie of the year, Geovany Soto.

Soto's numbers for last year are as follows: BA .285, OBP .364, SLG .504 RBI 86. These numbers, along with stellar defense, were enough to secure Geo a basically uncontested (Joey Votto received the second-most points and was still 80 shy of Geo) rookie of the year award. It is important for Cubs fans to understand that Geo's surging 2008 numbers at the plate were an added and unexpected bonus.

In '08, Soto was an extremely reliable, defensively solid catcher with a 27 percent caught-stealing rate and only five passed balls. These numbers were among the best in the league and they are precisely what was predicted of him, his offensive production was a sweet little surprise.

BA .128, OBP, .292, SLG .154 RBI 2.

When looking at Soto's offensive numbers to start off the year, we must remind ourselves of two things:

1. Soto missed most of spring training for the World Baseball Classic and therefore many consider these first 20 or so games to be Soto's own personal Cactus League. But, if you ask me, this seems like an excuse for bad play more than a solid explanation of rustiness.

2. Although you'd love to have a guy that is consistent through seasons, many players do not function this way. For whatever reason Soto put up very strong offensive numbers last year; stronger than expected. For whatever reason Soto has been unable to hit even a duck snort into shallow right so far this year. Cubs fans should take these two points as the extremes of Soto's performance and expect a happy medium.

So Cubbie faithful, don't get too down on Soto, he'll pick it up. He's proven for a number of years in the minors and one amazing year in the pros that he can hit a heck of a lot better than he is now; it's only a matter of time. Furthermore, I haven't even discussed one of the aspects of his play that makes him invaluable to this club and that is his dynamic ability to manage Cubs pitching. A catcher's capacity to call pitches and work well with the pitching staff is arguably the most important qualifier to a great catcher, and Soto's got that in spades. So let's give him the benefit of the doubt. Harken back to his September heroics and remember why he's the right man for the job.



--- Charlie

The Cubs will break their four-game losing streak today when they face the Cardinals. Why? Because we're bringing the positive mojo of the Diaries Live Blog. As long as you bring the potato salad and join us, everything will be just fine.

Last week there was a discussion on this blog whether Soriano is a new leadoff hitter prototype. Turns out, Lou Pinella has been thinking about Soriano and the leadoff position. Yesterday, against the Cards Lou decided to move Soriano to thrid in the lineup, and moved Theriot up to the leadoff spot.

The Cardinals won the game for a few reasons:

1) Pitching. Dempster pitched a decent game, but had a rough inning where he gave up 3 runs. Marmol essentially gave the game away in the 8th, and got injured in the process.

2) The Cardinal offense. We have seen already this season that this Cardinals team has significant offensive fire power. It is obvious that they are from the city with the highest murder rate in the USA (in all fairness, this is partly due to the disputed unicorporation line that divides the county from the city), because they are deadly with a wooden bat. Last night, Pujols also showed that he can do it with his legs in the pivotal eighth inning where he hit a single, stole second, and then scored on Ryan Ludwick's single. Pujols is really a once in a lifetime kind of player and its unfortunate that he plays in the same division as the Cubs.

3) The lineup change. Now, I know there are many who might disagree with me, but I love Soriano at the top of the order. OBP aside, there is something magical about a leadoff hitter who has the power to hit a dinger every time he is at the plate. Now, I know he chases wild pitches sometimes, I know he strikes out too much to be a leadoff hitter,etc. Just bear with me. I really feel that the success of many great hitters is in part due to psychology-- getting in the opposing pitcher's head, outguessing and manipulating a pitcher to throw the pitch you want, when you want it.

Soriano is extremely intimidating to pitchers at any spot in the lineup, but I would argue that he is most intimidating at the leadoff position. Soriano at leadoff also gives the whole cubs lineup a little extra bite, it is as if we are saying, "we are so fresh that our leadoff hitter can hit homeruns like your guy who hits third, that's how much better we are than you". Once we place a prototypical leadoff hitter in the lineup, our edge dissipates and we end up with non-intimidating Theroit up at the plate in the 9th inning with one out and the tying run on first. Admit that you would have rather seen Soriano. I'd put money on the fact that Lou was thinking the same thing, or he could have been distracted by the thought of a Doughnut.

We'll be live blogging the game tomorrow, be sure to join us. Nowhere else can you get this diehard humor and analysis. Also, A-Ram got a little hurt last night, it's unclear how long he will be out for. Enjoy your Saturday!



--- Daniel.

I've been noticing this Reds team for a few years now. Whenever they come to town I get the distinct feeling that most Cubs fans take them pretty lightly. Frankly, I don't really blame them because you have to look past their dismal record (74-88 in '08 and 72-90 in 07) and peer into what could be a very bright future to see anything other than mediocrity. Players like Joey Votto and Jay Bruce have been brewing in the Reds' farm system for a couple years and not only are they ready for the bigs, their stellar performance is turning some heads. They've also been developing a powerful rotation of young arms that, even with the pronounced lack of consistency that we see now, with some guidance, has potential to be a powerhouse pitching staff. Anyway, enough about the Reds, they may have played well, but we lost this series with mistakes, not by being over-powered by a better squad.

I'm only going to point out two things that really irked me during this series.

1. Lackadaisical play: We are less than 15 games into a very long season. There is absolutely no room for laziness on the diamond this year, or for that matter any year. I cannot stand when I see my beloved cubbies not sprinting into first base on every single ground ball. I don't care if 95% of the time it's going to be an out, there is no excuse for not hoofing it. This is just one example of the languid play this club needs to avoid. Playing against the Reds this week I couldn't help but notice some of this behavior creeping in. I can only hope that Piniella noticed as well and has a plan for biting this little problem in the butt.

2. Sleeping bats: The amount of fire-power we've got in this lineup is practically unrivaled in the league. Let's see, last year we had the most run production in the league by far, our team OBP was through the roof, even our pitchers were solid hitters (Zambrano and Lilly). In the off season we added a guy that has hit .300 the past 2 seasons with 22 hrs last year (Bradley) as well as a number of other solid bats and yet we get blanked one day and then can only manage 1 run the next. I know that things will come around, and everybody will wake up but it's just hard to watch when you've got all the pieces and for whatever reason it just doesn't come together.

Also, Hoffpauir is officially not an outfielder so don't pull that crap again Piniella, it's disastrous. Here's to hoping the men in blue pick up the slack and do a better job against the red birds this weekend.

--- Charlie

The last time I went to Wrigley Field for a Cubs game was during the summer of 2007. We were playing the San Francisco Giants, and Barry Bonds hit career home runs 752 and 753. All of us Cubs fans were happy to see two moments in history, but I think we were all happier to go home with a 9-8 win.

Tonight, I’ll finally return to Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs face off against the Cincinnati Reds. Sure, there are questions surrounding tonight's game. Will Harden finally show up and pitch more than three innings? Will Bradley's suspension be a distraction tonight? But that's not what I'm thinking about. I’m thinking about the game-day buzz in Wrigleyville. I’m thinking about taking the “El” and see all the Cubs fan slowly fill up the train into the city. I’m thinking about peanuts and popcorn.

But mostly, I’m thinking about watching the Cubs up close for the first time in so long. It’s just that much better to watch sports live than at home on your couch. You get to boo with everyone when an ump inevitably makes a bad call and cheer together when he finally gets it right. You get to feel every high and low of the game with 40,000 fans just as dedicated as you. Cheering on the Cubs with everyone around makes you feel like you’re a part of something bigger. There’s magic at Wrigley Field and I can’t wait to feel it tonight.

Catch you guys after the game! --- Katie Tang.

Not to say that the Cubs haven't been playing some excellent ball in the past few days, but I contend that the postponing of yesterday's game was by no means a terrible thing. The way opposing hitters have been cutting through our pitching staff, a postponed game is a welcome chance event.

The Cubs have allowed these numbers so far this season: 2,3,6,4,5,5,0,5,7,7,and 5 runs. Clearly, opposing hitters are not exactly overwhelmed with either our starting or bullpen pitching thus far. In the past four games we've let up 24 runs. A powerful rotation like ours, that in the preseason was receiving nods for best pitching staff in the National League has got to be stronger than it has been. Sure, we've come to expect a lot from these guys. After last season anything less than 14-3 at home for Dempster will surely be noticed and criticized by the Cubs Nation. Zambrano's 14-6 record last year doesn't truly illustrate the magnitude of his performance. He was truly a workhorse, moving extremely quickly, retiring batter after batter. This year he has yet to find last year's form. Granted it is early, but Carlos needs to find a way to keep his mistakes from happening at such inopportune times.

Overall, the boys just need to settle down and throw some more ground ball strikes. Strikeouts are nice but the bread and butter for most pitchers is the almighty grounder. With a solid defensive infield like the Cubs have, there is no reason why our rotation shouldn't be pitching for more grounders. When one of our guys goes for the strikeout, there is a considerably higher chance of a longer at-bat because he's got to try to paint the corners or miss all together to induce a wave. I'd like to see more jammed batters, more down-and-away pitches. These are the ones that cause the standard 6-3 groundout. There are 151 more games in the regular season and at this rate our pitchers are going to be gassed by mid-season. It's time to lower the pitch counts, get some more easy outs and focus on the big picture.

--- Charlie.

While I was watching the Cubs take on the Cards on Friday at my place of work, the Cubs fan sitting next to me said the following:

"Alfonso Soriano is the new prototype for leadoff hitters in the league." I shook my head in disagreement. What an IDIOT, I said to myself.

Soriano then proceeded to strike out swinging, chasing pitches nowhere near the strike zone. I felt vindicated.

Of course, Soriano then went on to hit the game-winning homerun in the 8th inning later on in the game, and my co-workers felt that he was vindicated. But was he?

The idea of a leadoff hitter being an on-base guy makes sense because chances are, your #1 guy is going to get more at-bats than anyone else in the lineup. You want him to take pitches and work deep into counts, so that everyone else in the lineup can get a chance to see what the starting pitcher is working with that day.

Of course, this is only true for the first inning. The leadoff hitter's chances of being the first man to hit against a relief pitcher, or the hitter to lead off an inning after the first, are pretty much equal to that of anyone else in the lineup. So then, in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter? And is Soriano a good leadoff hitter?

Let's compare Soriano's numbers to those of two solid leadoff hitters around the league in Brian Roberts and Ichiro. In the last three seasons:

Soriano has averaged .285/.344/.551

Roberts: .291/.367/.431

Ichiro: .328/.376/.411

So Soriano is well below both Roberts and Ichiro in OBP, but towers over them in slugging. Soriano's power numbers destroy those of Roberts and Ichiro, and Alfonso has started off hitting five homeruns in the first two weeks of the season while slugging .646. His on-base numbers have also improved, as he has walked 3 more times than Roberts (Ichiro just entered the lineup this week and has yet to walk).

Perhaps Lou Piniella can have the best of both worlds with Soriano if he can keep that OBP high, continue to walk while at the same time knocking pitches over the Wrigley Ivy. History says that OBP will come down, and from the at-bats that I have watched of Soriano thus far, it doesn't seem like his eye has improved a whole lot. Time will tell.

Thus, I think both arguments from my co-worker and I had some credence. The Soriano that has started the season off red-hot for the Cubs COULD be the new leadoff hitter prototype: a hitter with a ton of pop who also can take pitches and has speed. That sounds like a dream come true, actually.

I just don't think Soriano can keep the OBP that high, and thus I don't think a hitter with power and speed but an inability to get on-base consistently is a viable option at the top of the lineup.

Time will tell. If my co-worker wins this argument, the Cubs will do very well in '09.- Gotty

After losing the series opener to the Cardinals, the Cubs have rebounded with back-to-back victories. Both wins this weekend came in extra innings on walk-off homers by Soriano and Aramis Ramirez. These past two games illustrated the beauty of baseball --- a walk-off home run in extra innings rivals the excitement generated by dramatic endings in any other sport. We all have had those moments where we pretended to hit the walk off homer to win the game (or world series) for the Cubs, presumably when we were little kids-- but in reality this fantasy extends well into adulthood, we're just less likely to admit it. These last two games have been amazing to watch, but a little stressful on some fronts. Big Z did not look so great on Friday, and the Cardinals have illustrated that they are a formidable foe, and should be challenging the Cubs all season long.

On another note, Milton Bradley has been suspended for two games for his outburst on Thursday. We should wait and see how this story develops, but hopefully this does not mean that Milton will have a disciplinary bulls-eye on his back for the rest of the season. The Cubs need Milton's passion, but he is little help to the team when he is unable to play. On the other hand, getting suspended and fighting with the league may inspire the team to play with a new found sense of purpose --- sticking it to Bud Selig. Maybe this is the extra bit of drive that will fuel the Cubs long into the post season.



--- Daniel.