Do they count as full wins when you're playing Pittsburgh?

Monday: Cubs 3, Pirates 1

Tap your heels three times together and repeat: There's no place like Pittsburgh.

After hammering the Buccos to the tune of 14-4 last year and 20 wins in their last 25 in Steel City, the Cubs won for the third time in four games against them this year as they licked their wounds against the listless Pirates. Rich Harden went seven innings for the second time this year (May 6 @ HOU the other), Milton Bradley drove in his first run since June 12, and newly promoted Sam Fuld saw a little action as well.

But the best was saved for last: Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg posting perfect back-to-back innings to close it out. So here's to the Cubs getting a win, Aaron Miles going on the DL, and the Cardinals getting two-hit by Tim Lincecum.


I have to rant about something: Monday's Cubs game was on WCIU, a channel which now airs eight games a year. WCIU is only broadcast in Chicagoland, and therefore none of the Cubs' WCIU games can be seen in Bloomington, Ill. Ruby Tuesday used to have some sort of strange/possibly illegal situation going and would show them, but even they've been busted by the WCIU police. Why is a channel that airs Tyler Perry's House of Payne, The Bernie Mac Show, and Frasier reruns during primetime getting the rights to any Cubs games? The channel shows five hours (repeat: five hours) of small courtroom shows (e.g. Judge Karen and Judge Hatchett) during their daytime lineup, plus an hour of Cheaters in a blatant attempt to force the editors of "The Guinness Book of World Records" to create a category for Worst. Channel. Ever. It's a shameful, vile channel and the Cubs should want no part of it.

Or we should at least have access to it in central Illinois. One of the two.

Quick note on Sam Fuld. You will recall he played with the Cubs in 2007, getting into 14 games, mostly for defensive pursposes. He was 0-for-6 at the plate, but roamed all three outfield positions in his time with the big club. At Triple-A Iowa this year, the 27-year-old was batting .285 with more walks than strikeouts and 20 stolen bases. He entered Monday's game as a pinch-runner but was promptly thrown out trying to swipe second.