Cubs enjoy a good brew

AP Photo/Morry Gash

Three of the Cubs' seven victories in 2010 have come over the Brewers. But there's no need to feel bad about that; after all, Milwaukee is a divisional foe and you have to win games in your division in order to have a good season.

Ryan Dempster had his fourth strong start of the season (out of four), going 7.2 innings for the second straight start. He has left all of his starts with the lead, though he only has two wins to show for his efforts. (Hopefully Carlos Zambrano was able to get a good view of Dempster's efficient outing from his new perch in the bullpen. Speaking of Zambrano, Cubs fans saw a very unfamiliar sight when he warmed up in the bullpen in the eighth inning. No doubt it was a stimulating sight for some fans but a rather agitating one for others.)

The Cubs brought a balanced offensive attack to Miller Park--they've now scored at least six runs in all four of their games against the Brewers this season; they've only scored that many in two others games this year! Every starter had at least one hit, and Dempster joined the party with two sacrifice bunts. Chad Tracy was just barely able to make his first start of the season before Ted Lilly did, and he had a single and played very well defensively at third. Also, Tyler Colvin hit a ball 10,000 feet.

This is the second time the Cubs have roughed up Jeff Suppan in less than two weeks, and they'll have the chance to do the same to lefty Doug Davis tomorrow (he was touched up for six runs in just 3.1 innings in the Cubs' home opener). Soriano, Soto and Ramirez should all be fresh after having a day off on Friday.

Perhaps the Cubs benefited from the favorable road crowd--Brian Brennan attended Friday's game and said it was at least a 50/50 split in terms of Cubs/Brewers fans in attendance, and he said it felt like 75/25 in Chicago's favor as the Cubs fans were able to cheer unabated given that the team scored early and dominated throughout. Hopefully Miller Park will be transformed into Wrigley North over the weekend as well.

Around the majors

Milton Bradley watch
Though he homered last night, Bradley has just three hits in 26 at-bats and an OBP of .281 with the Mariners. Ha.

Oh, and he flicked off Rangers fans on Friday. He's insane.

Trouble brewing for Milwaukee's closer?
Is 42-year-old Trevor Hoffman finally out of juice? He's allowed at least one run in three of his four appearances this season, and he blew consecutive save opportunities on Friday and Sunday against the Cardinals. On Friday, he gave up a two-out, two-run home run to Nick Stavinoha, and on Sunday he allowed back-to-back jacks to Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday. Granted, those last two guys are no slouches, but Hoffman allowed two home runs all of last season and allowed two in a five-pitch span on Sunday.

Halladay off to a quick start
Is there any chance Roy Halladay won't win the Cy Young now that he's in the National League (he won one in the AL, in 2003)? He gave up just one run in seven innings on Opening Day and benefited from a powerful Phillies offense to go 1-0, and then logged his first NL complete game (zero earned runs, zero walks, eight strikeouts) in a win over the Astros on Sunday. He's now 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA.

MLB odds and ends

Ryan Braun is calling out GM Doug Melvin to improve the pitching staff.

Ryan Freel was traded to the Royals for a player to be named later. The Cubs also sent cash to KC. When Freel was designated for assignment last week, the Cubs had 10 days to trade or release him. Fortunately, someone was interested, and the Cubs will at least get something back.

Highly touted pitching prospect Aroldis Chapman defected from Cuba last week, and could be in the big leagues soon. The lefty throws 100 mph and defected by simply leaving his hotel and not returning during a tournament in the Netherlands. (hat tip: Krista Cardona)

Albert Pujols leads the NL in HR and RBI, and is just 10 points behind Hanley Ramirez for the league lead in batting average.

Red, White and Brew; Milwaukee gets one back

Saturday: Brewers 11, Cubs 2

Well, clearly I'm bad luck when it comes to attending Cubs games. They're now 0-3 when I'm in the stands, with Harden having taken two of the losses. The Brewers quickly turned this one into a laugher, taking a 5-0 lead in the top of the first.

The Cubs could have made a game of it, loading the bases against Braden Looper in each of the first two innings. But when Soriano (batting sixth) grounded out and Theriot hit into a double play in the 1st and 2nd innings, respectively, the game was all but over (by the way, has anyone else noticed that Soriano grounds out to third pretty much every time he makes contact with the ball? He's as predictable as Derrek Lee was last year when he consistently grounded out to short.). The only real offense the Cubs could muster was a two-run homer by Bradley in the 3rd, but when the Cubs' bullpen gave those runs right back in the 4th, it was clear that the Cubs were taking a holiday on this 4th of July.

On the bright side, Micah Owings took down the Cardinals to keep the Cubs within 2 1/2 games of first. The entire NL Central is within six games of first place, with the Brewers and Cardinals tied at just five games over .500. Mediocrity, meet the NL Central; NL Central, meet mediocrity.

Harden's poor outing (2 IP, 7 ER) was the shortest of his career, and raised his ERA to 5.35. His highest ERA prior to this season was 4.24, in 2006. With Zambrano pitching pretty well, Dempster doing okay, Lilly pitching solidly and Wells our best starter, Harden is the one who really needs to step it up to help the Cubs get over the hump.

It's worth noting that the player who did the most damage Saturday was Cub castoff Casey McGehee. McGehee was 4-for-5 with a triple, a HR and 5 RBI. He's now batting .331 on the season.

With a win today, the Cubs will have picked up two games on the Brewers and will be within 2 1/2 games of first, if not less. Ted Lilly has been lights out at home (4-1, 1.85) this season, and if he keeps that up, The Homestand will be off to a great start.

McNair found dead


Steve McNair, the third overall draft pick in 1995, was found shot to death Saturday. McNair was co-MVP in 2003, passed for 30,000 yards, and ran for 3,500 yards in his career. He played for 13 years, the last two with the Ravens, and retired in 2007.

What I'll always remember about McNair is that he was part of the Titans team that pulled off the Music City Miracle and then went on to play in one of the best Super Bowls ever played. Who could forget the finish to Super Bowl XXXIV:



McNair was a titan of the game, and my thoughts go out to his family.

Cubs are 10 over .500 at home; lineup changes forthcoming

Friday: Cubs 2, Brewers 1 (10 inn.)

The Cubs finally have something brewing after taking down the Brewers in their patented extra-inning, one-run fashion. If you ask me, that last pitch was a strike, but we deserve a few breaks after seemingly getting none in the first few months of the season.

Though Zambrano walked a bit of a tightrope, he got the job done on the mound as well as at the plate. With seven innings of one-run ball, Z lowered his ERA to 3.50. With a 1-for-2 day at the plate, he raised his average to .229 and, more importantly, drove in the only run the Cubs would score until extra innings. It was the 6-7-8-9 hitters who chipped away at Jeff Suppan, as Fox, Fontenot, Hill and Zambrano combined to go 5-for-13 with a run scored and both RBI.

Hats off (and I wish the Cubs would have taken those terrible red hats off) to the bullpen as Heilman and Gregg teamed up to toss three scoreless innings. Gregg got his third win, and the Cubs pulled to within 1 1/2 games of the Brew Crew. The Cardinals trailed 3-0 but brought Pujols to the plate with the bases loaded in the late innings, and lo and behold, the predictable happened--a grand slam. The Cardinals take over sole possession of first place, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Cubs.

The biggest blemish on the face of this victory? Soriano returned to the leadoff spot and put up a meek 0-for-5. Piniella suggested there would be changes to the lineup today, and according to the Trib, Fuld will leadoff and Soriano will move down in the order. I wouldn't mind seeing Fuld in center with Fukudome in right--Milton Bradley did walk twice and single, but he also grounded into a double play and lost another ball in the sun.


I'll be at Saturday's game with Trevor Sierra, Khair Sadrud-Din (who supplied the tickets--thanks, Khair) and Ziggy Blackwell (who will be attending his first baseball game at Wrigley). All of a sudden there's rain in the forecast, but I'm holding out hope for a dry day.

Cubs sale

The progress continues.

Did you know ...

Hanley Ramirez leads the NL in batting (.344).

Cue the NHL strike and passage of CAFTA--Derrek Lee's playing like it's 2005

Thursday: Cubs 9, Brewers 5



How about that D. Lee? His 21-game hitting streak came to an end recently, but he has now hit in 27 of his last 29 games. His two hits Thursday were loud and proud: a three-run shot on the first pitch he saw followed by a grand slam in his next at-bat to satiate the fans who were already on their feet. I have to toot my own horn here: When Theriot had a 3-0 count, I said: "We're about to see a grand slam." Six pitches later, the ballhawks on Waveland had a souvenir.

Thanks to Seth McClung, a should-be reliever, for throwing a McClunker of a game. McClung's career ERA is over a run higher as a starter, and the Cubs showed why as they banged him around for 3.1 innings. After having the highest ERA in the NL during June, and now having to look to Seth McClung after Manny Parra struggled and was sent to the minors, the Brewers will no doubt be looking to add pitching before the deadline.

Dempster pitched well enough, and should have made it through seven innings except for an error by Fontenot that extended the inning. Demp was burned by the long ball for the 12th and 13th times this season. For all the success Cubs starters have had this year, the home run has been their kryptonite--they've allowed the 5th most home runs in the National League.

Nevertheless, Dempster was able to even up his record at 5-5. Though it's not as extreme, his home/road splits look a lot like last year: 4-1 at home, 1-4 on the road.

Sam Fuld led off again, and once again he looked like a leadoff man: 2-for-4, 1 BB, 2 R. Soriano will be back at leadoff today, according to Piniella, but I'd like to see Fuld get some time at all the outfield positions, spelling Fukudome and Bradley at times as well.

Since I haven't yet gotten around to telling you about the former Cubs who reside in the NL Central, I want to talk here about Casey McGehee. You may remember the name, as he was drafted by the Cubs in 2003 and played nine games last year as a September call-up. He was placed on waivers at the end of the season and was later claimed by the Brewers.

The 26-year-old utility man has seen action in 43 games, including all but four of the Brewers' games in June. He's batting a robust .322 with 5 HR and 21 RBI, and might be in the lineup to stay with Rickie Weeks out for the year.

But most important of all: according to Wikipedia, Casey is the grandson of Scuffy McGehee. What, you don't know who Scuffy McGehee is? Fine, I'll tell you. He was a major league pitcher, and the last one to consistently use the "floater pitch," also known as an Eephus pitch, also known as the pitch that Henry Rowengartner used to strike out Alejandro "Butch" Heddo at the end of the movie Rookie of the Year. I can't believe you didn't know who he was.

Did you know ...

-The best run differential in the NL Central is +11 (Cardinals).

-The best run differential in the NL East is +9 (Phillies).

-Jimmy Rollins is batting just .209.

Rain, rain, go away, because I'm going to the game today

I'll be at Wednesday's game with Trevor Sierra and Brian Brennan. Tuesday's rainout was the first time a Cubs-Sox game had ever been rained out, and let's hope Game 2 doesn't suffer the same fate.

After two off days in a row for the Cubs (which is completely unacceptable), let's take a look around the rest of the majors:

-I hate to do this, but did you know that Mark DeRosa's "big three" statistics (BA, HR, RBI) are better than those of nearly every single Cubs player?

Average
DeRosa: .280
Highest Cub: .283

Homers
DeRosa: 13
Highest Cub: 14

RBI
DeRosa: 48
Highest Cub: 27

-The Cubs now sit 3.5 games out of first after the Brewers took the first two games of their set with Cleveland.

-Colorado's 11-game winning streak was finally snapped with a 12-4 loss to the Rays, who are now on a six-game winning streak of their own.

Did you know ...

-Ichiro is leading the AL in hitting (.360).

-Chad Billingsley and Matt Cain are tied for the NL lead in wins (9).

-The Royals lead the majors in complete games (7).

Going streaking: Cubs lose 7th in a row to finish road trip from hell

Sunday: Padres 7, Cubs 2


I'm not sure if any of the Cubs hitters are musically inclined, but I'm pretty sure they'd have a better chance of producing this kind of score rather than the kind normally seen in a baseball game. After another pathetic performance Sunday, the Cubs have now been swept in back-to-back series for the first time since August of 2006 (an 0-6 road trip to St. Louis and Pittsburgh). Pitching was the problem in that stretch, as the Cubs allowed 42 runs in those six games.

It's sad to say, but the Cubs are now a .500 ball club and don't at all resemble the solid contender we all thought they'd be. They're 22nd in the majors in runs scored, 25th in batting average and 22nd in on-base percentage. And while pitching wasn't the problem on their 0-6 road trip, the Cubs are 14th in the majors in ERA, and their relievers' 5.06 ERA is good for 24th.

The Cubs' 21-21 record is worse than that of the Royals, Braves and Reds, and even the Padres are now .500 after their sweep of the Cubs. Earlier, I wrote how it was too early to get too worked up, that there was too much baseball left to panic. Well, it is still relatively early (the Cubs just passed the one-quarter mark), but it ain't that early anymore. One week from today, the calendar will flip to June, and the Cubs are going to have to rev it up soon if they want to stay in the thick of the race.

Here's some good news: on May 25, 2007 (the first year of the Cubs' back-to-back division titles), the Cubs were 21-25, six games back of the Brewers. Today, they stand at 21-21, four games back of the Brewers (thanks to the Brewers getting broomed by the Twins) and Cardinals. The bad news: in 2007, the Cubs were finding ways to lose despite clearly having potential--they had a +26 run differential on May 25, whereas the Cubs' 7-2 loss Sunday means they've now allowed more runs than they've scored this year.

If you'd like, you can take solace in that 2007 season for a while longer--the Cubs didn't climb back to .500 until they were 39-39 on June 29. But the Cubs were chasing only the Brewers that year; it doesn't look like the NL Central will be quite as forgiving this year. While it does seem like the Cubs' starting staff is going to keep them in an awful lot of games this season, the offense has to end their lumber slumber if a third straight title is going to be in the cards.

One thing the Cubs can do now is bring up Jake Fox. For Pete's sake, just get rid of David Patton if he's never going to pitch. He hasn't pitched since May 9--May 9!--and Piniella clearly has no intention of using him, ever. The Cubs are operating with a 24-man roster. Jake Fox apparently can't play defense, but given what the Cubs offense has accomplished--or rather, not accomplished--the last week, it's worth a try. Fox is batting a ridiculous .425 with 17 HR and 50 RBI in 39 games at Iowa.

Bleed Cubbie Blue would like to see Mark DeRosa brought back. Well, so would I, but that seems like a complete pipe dream (side note: DeRosa's 30 RBI would be leading the team right now). Jim Hendry would clearly be working from a position of weakness, meaning he'd probably give Cleveland more than we got for DeRo in the first place, and I'm not sure if there's a GM in any sport willing to have that much egg on his face, i.e. trading for someone just months after trading him away. But if there are any utility men being shopped by teams like the Orioles, Rockies or A's, Hendry should give them a ring ASAP.

Cubs notes

-Cubs pitchers have dropped to second in the league in strikeouts, behind Florida.

-The Cubs have just nine saves despite their 21 victories.

MLB notes

-Sunday may have been the first time I've ever seen a manager win an argument. Okay, maybe I've seen a couple times where the manager argues, the umpires get together, and a call is changed. But when Twins manager Ron Gardenhire got into the home plate umpire's face after the ump said Joe Mauer fouled a pitch as opposed to having been hit by it, I was absolutely shocked when the umpire eventually agreed with him and sent Mauer to first. It was a classic umpire-manager heated feud, and those never, ever, ever--repeat, EVER--result in a call being changed. Brewers manager Ken Macha was livid, and no doubt he was even more upset when Justin Morneau launched the very next pitch for a grand slam.

-Three players hit home runs in Sunday's Pirates-White Sox game, and it was the first home run of the season for all three of them.

-Jason Bartlett of the Rays leads the majors in batting with a .373 average.

-Both the Tigers and the Reds have recorded six shutouts already this season.

Sweep in the heart of Texas

After taking two of two from the Astros, the Cubs are now 6-1 in May and have moved back to their high-water mark of the season, four games over .500. A big reason for their recent success? Quality starts from the Cubs rotation.

A quality start is defined as six innings or more while allowing three or fewer earned runs. With Harden pitching into the 8th on Wednesday and allowing three runs, followed by Lilly's strong six inning, two run performance on Thursday, the Cubs are now tied for the major league lead with 17 quality starts. Somewhat surprisingly, the team they're tied with is the Brewers, whom the Cubs will face this weekend.

The resurgence of the Cubs offense hasn't hurt either. In their last seven, the Cubs are averaging 6.3 runs/game (strangely, they've scored either four, six, or eight runs in every game). They've now scored the sixth most runs in the league and are in the middle of the pack (ninth) in on-base percentage. And another stat I really like: the Cubs are fifth in stolen bases with 18, just three fewer than the league leaders who have 21 (Theriot leads the team with six). Going back to 2000, the highest the Cubs have finished was sixth in 2006.

One more good sign: after recording just one save in the first 21 games, Kevin Gregg has recorded four in the last seven games.

So for the second time this season, the Cubs will fly from Houston to Milwaukee. Randy Wells will make his season debut tonight against Dave Bush, and will do his best in the next couple weeks to minimize the damage of Zambrano's trip to the DL. If Zambrano is ready to return around May 19 against the Cardinals, Wells will most likely make two starts--one tonight and one against either San Diego or Houston next week.

Tonight's matchup will be followed by Dempster/Gallardo and then Marshall/Suppan on Sunday as the Cubs try to improve upon their 10-7 record against the NL Central.

Cubs trade Gathright
Joey Gathright is really fast. "How fast is he?" Joey Gathright is so fast, he's been run out of town after just 28 days.

Worthless acquisition (worthless in part because he did nothing at the plate or on the bases and in part because Piniella seemed to have no interest in finding out if he had the potential to contribute) Joey Gathright was traded to the Orioles today for Ryan Freel. The Orioles will pay part of Freel's $3.3 million salary.

The 33-year-old utility man was traded from the Reds to the O's in December. He has a lifetime .271 average and stole over 35 bases in three consecutive years from 2004-2006. Freel has played just nine games this season after landing on the DL April 21 due to a head injury sustained after being hit with an errant pickoff attempt.

For now, this trade appears to be a wash. Gathright had contributed nothing to the roster, and Freel seems unlikely to make a significant impact either, as he hasn't done much in the majors since '06. But, I always liked Freel with the Reds--he plays the game hard and could provide some speed off the bench. He is also just 5'9, which means we now have a full Lollipop Guild with Miles, Theriot, Fontenot and Freel, all of whom are 5'11 or shorter (not that 5'11 is that short, but in professional sports other than horseback riding, it is!).

Life's a pitch

Some phenomenal pitching performances Sunday, including:

-Aaron Harang, a (very) early candidate for Comeback Player of the Year. After a 16-6 season in 2007, Harang completely fell apart last year, putting up another "6," but in the wrong column--he was 6-17 with a 4.78 ERA, his highest ERA since 2004. Sunday's line for Harang vs. the Pirates: 9 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K. He's now 1-1 with a .64 ERA.

-Kyle Lohse, that dirty bastard. I was confident that Lohse was only good last year because he was playing for a contract. After signing a 4-year, $41 million contract in September, I figured the real Kyle Lohse would once again stand up. In 2005-2007, he won 9, 5 and 9 games, respectively. Last year, after being picked up off the scrapheap by Dave Duncan and the Cardinals, he went 15-6 with a 3.78 ERA.

Well, Lohse absolutely mowed down the Astros Sunday, retiring 24 in a row at one point and finishing with a 3-hit shutout. He's now 2-0 with a .56 ERA. Perhaps Todd Wellemeyer will be the one to fall off the table this season?

-Erik Bedard couldn't quite post a complete game, but that's partly due to the fact that his team tallied just three hits and one run. But Bedard was still able to eke out a 1-0 win with 8.1 innings of 3-hit, shutout baseball over the A's.

-Randy Wolf beat the D'Backs with a strong 7-inning outing, allowing just two hits and one run.

-Oh, and if that's not enough for you: Johan Santana gave up no earned runs over seven innings (three hits, 13 K) but lost on account of Josh Johnson's complete game five-hitter (one run).

If we combine these six outings, here's what it looks like: 49.1 IP, 19 hits, 2 ER.

One more time: that's 49.1 IP, 2 ER. That's an ERA of .36. Good day to be on a mound.

Cubs notes

• Soriano's four home runs are more than he had in the month of April combined in 2007 and 2008.

• Game six of the season, Bradley leaves with injury. We'll wait before we panic, but groin pain never sounds good.

• The Brewers became the second team this season to walk in four runs in one inning (Atlanta did the same favor for the Phillies earlier this week).

• Did you see Prince Fielder tip his hat to Reed Johnson after he robbed him of a grand slam? That's good sportsmanship and just plain good fun.
  

• The last two games of the Cubs/Brewers series ended with Prince Fielder striking out with a chance to tie it or take the lead.

• The Cubs drew 10 walks on Sunday.

"Zero" watch
-The Nationals continued their love of futility, losing 8-5 to the Braves. The 0-6 start is their worst since 1998, when they lost their first seven contests.
-The Indians, on the other hand, finally found the win column with an 8-4 victory over Toronto.