Jake Fox finds a new home

About one week after I posted about Jake Fox being DFA'd by the A's, the Orioles acquired the former Cub in a trade. He has played in eight games with the Orioles, mostly as DH, and has struggled for the most part. He did, however, hit his second home run as an Oriole and fifth overall today against Detroit.

Jake Fox designated for assignment by Oakland

Former Cub Jake Fox wasn't doing much of anything with the A's, and his struggles led to his release on Sunday. He is now available to other teams via waivers if anyone has interest.

Fox put up a poor slash line of .214/.264/.327 in 39 games. You'll recall that the Cubs traded him for Jeff Gray and two minor leaguers in December. I really thought the guy could hit, and I'm shocked to see him without a team just six months after he was traded.

Cubs trade Jake Fox and Aaron Miles to A's

Per ESPNChicago, Fox and Miles head to Oakland in exchange for righty Jeff Gray and two minor leaguers.

I'm thrilled to see Miles go (it says something about last year's offseason that two of Hendry's first moves this offseason were to happily get rid of terrible acquisitions from last year, Heilman and Miles), but disappointed to see Fox go. I realize Fox really has nowhere to play on the Cubs' roster--or any NL roster for that matter--but I enjoyed watching him hit and hoped to get a bit more for him down the road if he couldn't crack the regular lineup.

But to be fair to Hendry, 1) he may have actually maxed out on his trade value--Fox impressed with his bat in '09 and it's possible that if he would have languished on the bench next year and put up poor numbers, he would have lost all his value, and 2) analyzing trades at the time they're made, especially when it comes to young players, is a fool's game. Gray, 28, had a 3.76 ERA in 24 games last year, and according to ESPNChicago he throws hard and throws strikes. Who knows, Gray could become the Cubs' primary set-up man. I'm not suggesting that's likely, just saying that it's impossible to be sure exactly what a 28-year-old with 24 innings of experience is going to become.

In addition, 23-year-old Matt Spencer is a versatile player who may make an impact down the road.

I am happy that Fox might get a chance to prove himself with the A's. Best of luck, Jake.

And Aaron ... I hate you.

Unbe-Lee-vable

♪ And while I know, based on my track record,
I might not seem like the safest bet
All I'm asking you is don't write me off, just yet ♪

So sang Hugh Grant in the movie "Music and Lyrics," a movie which I've never seen and one that I would almost assuredly hate since Drew Barrymore is in it. But nevertheless, these lyrics seem fitting when discussing Derrek Lee's season.

With a home run and a run-scoring double in Tuesday's 7-2 win over the Brewers, Derrek Lee set a new career high with 109 RBI. He ranks fourth in the National League in RBI, seventh in HR, 10th in batting average, 13th in OBP, second in slugging, and third in OPS. The only guys having hands down better seasons than Lee are some guy named Albert Pujols and half man/half beast Prince Fielder. Lee will probably get very few votes for MVP because the Cubs are 10 games out of first, but based on statistics alone, he deserves to be about third or fourth in the voting.

What has made this season even more impressive is that on May 16, Lee was batting .194 with three home runs and 15 RBI. I, and many others, pretty much wrote him off at that point. But then Lee went off, putting up a .333/32/94 line since mid-May. That's a good season, and Lee has compiled those numbers in just four months. Very good news for the Cubs as they look forward to 2010.

Moving from a veteran to a rookie, congratulations to Tyler Colvin, who drove in a run in his first ever major league plate appearance with a sacrifice fly on Monday. After a year of absolutely awful fundamentals by the Cubs, a sac fly is even more impressive than a base hit! But since he wasn't sure I would feel that way, he got himself his first big league hit in his next plate appearance. He added his first major league run last night, and robbed a home run for good measure.

I don't know how many times I've asked this, but it's enough that I can now be reasonably sure Lou Piniella doesn't read my blog:

CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHY JAKE FOX ISN'T PLAYING MORE?

"Maybe he's slumping?"

Nope, he's had at least one hit in four of his last six games.

"Maybe there's a veteran standing in his way?"

Nope, Bobby Scales has gotten the lion's share of the playing time in left field recently.

"His power numbers must be down."

No sir. His 11 HR and 41 RBI translate to 26 and 98 over 450 at-bats.

"His defense must really be hurting the team."

Eh, not really. His .953 fielding percentage is below average, but after three years of Alfonso Soriano, it's hard to complain. And Bobby Scales is a career infielder (he played 93 games in the infield at Triple-A this year) who had a ball bounce off his glove for a home run in Saturday's game.

If the Cubs are worried about Fox's potential to play defense every day in 2010, isn't this the time to figure out exactly how bad he is with the glove?

And even if they don't think he's a legitimate everyday option, shouldn't he at least be auditioning for a potential trade to an AL team where he could DH? This roster has been mismanaged worse than a certain office in Scranton, Penn.

Fox did play last night, but even that was a last-second lineup change.

A second-best season, a statistic, and a surgery

Monday: Cubs 2, Brewers 0


Derrek Lee now has seven home runs in his last 10 games, and has essentially guaranteed himself the second best season of his career. His 33 home runs rank second behind the 46 he smashed in '05, and his 98 RBI are tied for second, also behind '05 when he knocked in 107. His .303 average, by the way, ranks third behind '05 and the .317 average he had in '07.

Kudos to Ryan Dempster, who reached double digits in wins for the fifth time in his career, and has now allowed zero earned runs in three of his last five starts. Dempster is the third Cubs starter to get his 10th win, and both Harden (9 wins) and Zambrano (8) are within striking distance.

***ALERT*** The following statistic took me FOREVER to find, so please read it. Thank you for your cooperation.

The Cubs have not had five pitchers with double-digit wins since 1972. Their rotation when they accomplished the feat?

Fergie Jenkins
Burt Hooton
Milt Pappas
Bill Hands
Rick Reuschel

Think about that. The Cubs very well could accomplish a rather impressive pitching feat, one that requires both talent and depth. Going into the season, no one would have compared this year's rotation to the one listed above (and in fairness, that rotation combined for 69 wins, whereas this year's has 50 right now), but it might become the first group with five double-digit winners in nearly 40 years. And yet the team is just six games over .500 and has had quite a disappointing season.

See you in 2010

Alfonso Soriano will have knee surgery today and is out for the season. First Urlacher, and now this?

Okay, so maybe this news won't make quite as many waves in the Chicago sports world as did Urlacher's dislocated wrist. In fact, one could argue that this is good news:

1) Piniella has coddled Soriano for the last three years, and no doubt he'd be playing if he were medically cleared to do so. But the surgery means Piniella can't possibly put him in the lineup any more. That will give guys like Fuld, Scales and Fox the opportunity to get some audition time down the stretch.
2) Maybe, just maybe Soriano's struggles at the plate and pathetic defensive performance this year were related to his knee problems. The fact that he needs surgery reinforces this possibility.
3) This goes back to the silver lining to the season that I mentioned earlier--several players, including Soriano and Zambrano, will have played fewer than normal innings this year, perhaps resulting in a healthy and reinvigorated 2010.

Meet the mets, meet the Mets, step right up and BEAT the Mets

Saturday: Cubs 11, Mets 4


Overall, the news was good on Saturday. The Cubs came back from two early deficits and pounded the Mets 11-4, winning back-to-back games for the first time since two weeks ago against the Pirates. Let's take a look at some other good news from Saturday, along with some corresponding bad news:

Good news: Ryan Dempster has now won back-to-back starts, and every Cubs starter is now over .500.

Bad news: It's the first time all season that Dempster has won consecutive starts, and how are the Cubs just three games over .500 despite every starter having more wins than losses?

Good news: Jake Fox hit his first career grand slam and had five total RBI.

Bad news: He was only playing because Soriano was at the hospital getting an MRI. The exam revealed only inflammation, and Piniella said Soriano will most likely play today. Why does Piniella continue to choose MRIs over RBIs? While Fonzie is batting .185 with just one home run and seven RBI in August, Fox is batting .327 with three home runs and 13 RBI in 16 starts this month. And after Soriano's Little League-esque defensive performance on Friday, we can officially put the "But Fox can't play defense" reasoning to rest. Fox has made just two errors in left field all year, and no one can tell me that Fox is a defensive liability compared to Sori-oh-no.

Good news: Fontenot went 1-for-2 with two RBI.

Bad news: He was playing because Jeff Baker took a ball off his pinky in batting practice, and was taken to the hospital. But wait, more good news! He's okay, and could be back as early as today. The rare good news, bad news, good news. Didn't see that comin', did ya?

Good news: Koyie Hill went 1-for-2 with an RBI.

That's bad news for Geovany Soto, who is quickly fading into the backstop background, at least when it comes to the remainder of the 2009 season.

Good news: The Rockies--with Jason Marquis on the mound--lost to the Giants, allowing the Cubs to pull within 5.5 games in the Wild Card race.

Bad news: The Cardinals beat the hapless (except when they play the Cubs) Nationals, so the Cubs remain nine back in the Central.

Cubs get "Mock"ed, humiliated

Tuesday: Nationals 15, Cubs 6


The Cubs are now 5-13 since Justin Lehr and the Reds shut them out on August 5. The swoon has dropped them nine games behind the Cardinals, and the fat lady is humming if not singing.

Even the return of Carlos Zambrano and a return to Wrigley couldn't turn the Cubs' fortunes around--Zambrano couldn't make it through the fifth, and five relievers combined to allow seven runs. The Cubs are now just one game over .500, and are in danger of dropping back to the break-even point for the first time since the All-Star break.

Alfonso Soriano was scratched from the starting lineup with a sore left knee, but he would have played had he not been hurt, given that Piniella said he'll play his veterans down the stretch. Really? Even casual Cubs fans realize that young'uns like Jake Fox and Sam Fuld have been the defibrillators who have kept the Cubs' collective heart from stopping completely. What's next, replacing Randy Wells with Aaron Heilman? How about this for a managerial approach: don't commit to playing veterans or newbies, just play the guys who produce.

On the 2010 front, both Piniella and chariman Crane Kenney will likely be back next year. Jim Hendry remains the biggest question mark.

And finally, Jason Marquis is at it again. No, he didn't pitch last night (though he got a win with eight innings of one-run ball on Monday), but the man who has made the playoffs every year of his nine-year career (despite playing with three different teams) has helped lead the Rockies to a four-game lead in the NL Wild Card race. The Rockies weren't given much of a chance heading into the season, but the analysts clearly didn't account for Jason Marquis' magical ability to will his team to the postseason.

Grand slammed

Thursday: Dodgers 7, Cubs 2


The play that broke the back of the Cubs' 2008 season was a grand slam by the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLDS. It might be another Dodgers grand slam that broke the back of the 2009 season.

I hope Russell Martin's slam off Guzman wasn't the death knell for the Cubs, but with the Cubs now seven games out in the division and six games out of the Wild Card race (and trailing four teams), things ain't lookin' so good.

Gorzelanny had a decent outing, allowing two runs in five innings. With Zambrano coming back on Tuesday, Gorzelanny was likely making his last start and may have been auditioning for a spot in the bullpen.

Koyie Hill (who was batting .400 in his previous three starts, but went 0-for-2 last night) started again in place of Geovany Soto, and I would like to suggest that Soriano be forced to share his position as well, with Jake Fox. Things are ugly enough for the Cubs that salaries be damned, it's time to play the guys who are producing, and Jake Fox deserves a chance to show what he's got given that Soriano is now batting .162 this month.

I've made fun of Lou before for having guys on his roster whom he doesn't use (like David Patton early in the season), but on the other side of the coin, why does he insist on using Aaron Miles? Miles was the first option off the bench last night, and every now and then he gets a spot start despite having done absolutely nothing at all to warrant one iota of playing time. Leave him on the bench so Hendry will consider sending him down and bringing up Andres Blanco. Come to think of it: Hey Hendry, consider it!

Things I think I know after one of the season's worst losses

Sunday: Marlins 3, Cubs 2

• Kevin Gregg will be okay. Until his last two games, in which he imploded for two blown saves against the team that traded him a few months ago, Gregg had a two-month period in which he converted 13/15 saves, posted a 2.33 ERA, and walked just eight men in 27 innings.
• Jake Fox should play damn near every day.
• Ryan Dempster should have had a rehab start. He looked terrible against the Astros last week, but perhaps he just needed time to get settled. Sunday's start was his best since early June.
• It'll feel better if we just focus on the fact that the Cardinals lost to Roy Oswalt's rookie replacement, keeping the Cubs within 1/2 game of first.
  

News flash

Matt Holliday went 0-for-4 on Sunday. His average as a Cardinals plummeted to .541.

Did you know ...

In the last two seasons, the Pirates have traded Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, Adam LaRoche, Nyjer Morgan, Nate McLouth, Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez, John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny.

Fishing for a road win

Friday: Marlins 5, Cubs 2

Chris Volstad has made fish food out of the Cubs this year. In two starts, he's pitched 7 and 6.2 innings, respectively, and allowed just two runs in each. Perhaps most importantly, he's walked nary a batter. Much of the success the Cubs enjoyed on the homestand was due to their renewed interest in taking pitches and bases on balls, but Friday they drew just one free pass.

And that's the question this road trip will answer: can the Cubs have success away from Wrigley? They're 33-19 at home, but just 21-28 on the road. They've scored 44 runs in their last 12 road games. The Cubs have turned on the jets at home, but they really need to start holding their own on the road. This 10-game road trip should reveal a lot.

I'll tell you one thing, though: Jake Fox doesn't care where he is, as long as there are bats and balls there. People have wondered what his best position is, and I think it's clear--the batter's box. But seriously, he has played five defensive positions for Lou and hasn't been a sore spot in any of them. I truly believe his left field defense (other than his arm) is probably better than Soriano's, and he has been serviceable at 3B, 1B, catcher and right field as well. It's good to see him continue to get at-bats.

But the Cubs lost because Marmol's scoreless streak came to an end. His control escaped him again, as he issued two walks and hit a batter, resulting in three runs to all but put the game away in the 8th. I suppose we should let him slide this time, given that this is really his first slip-up since July 11.

Besides, it was a great month of July for the Cubs. They went 18-9 in the month, and climbed from fourth place and 4 1/2 games out, to second place and just 1/2 game out. The Cardinals got yet another 4-for-4 day from Matt Holliday and upended the Astros to take over first place. But the Astros (obviously) lost and so did the Brewers, despite the fact that they had a 7-1 lead in the 2nd inning. Both Milwaukee and Houston are doing their darndest to make themselves irrelevant as we head into the final two months of the season.

Gorzelanny

The Trib confirms that Tom Gorzelanny will start Tuesday for the Cubs. My guess is Jeff Stevens gets a ticket back to Iowa when Gorzelanny is called up. Also, Soto will start his rehab Monday and should be back with the team Friday in Colorado.

Remember him?

Steve Bartman just can't escape his place in Cubs lore. ESPN is planning an hour-long documentary on the famous fan as part of its "30 for 30" series.

***UPDATE***The Cubs aren't big fans of said documentary.

(hat tip: Sherry Christol)

We Hart-ly knew ye

Thursday: Cubs 12, Astros 3


Kevin Hart had a good start and a strange finish. His start (6 IP, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) netted him his third straight victory, but his Cubs career was finished shortly thereafter, as he was traded to the Pirates after the game. Hart, along with Jose Ascanio and Single-A third baseman Josh Harrison, were shipped to one of Hendry's favorite trading partners for lefty reliever John Grabow and lefty starter Tom Gorzelanny.

It was a good pick-up for the Cubs, who will now have two lefties in the pen once Lilly returns from the DL. Marshall will presumably return to the rotation for now given that Hart was involved in the trade.

Grabow had the third-lowest ERA among NL left-handed relievers last year, and was the Jewish Pitcher of the Year (seriously). 2008 and 2009 have been the best years of his career. He has control issues at times, as he's walked 28 men in 47.1 innings, and he's actually better against righties (.234 average against) than lefties (.275).

Gorzelanny, 27, was 14-10 with a 3.88 ERA in 2007, but has struggled since and finds himself in the minors this year.

The trade seems pretty fair on paper: Hart could turn into a back-end starter, Gorzelanny already proved he has the potential to contribute at the major league level, but hasn't harnessed his talent consistently; the Cubs get the lefty they need and give up a serviceable arm in Ascanio; and the Pirates get a Single-A OBP guy.

The trade makes the Cubs bullpen--which has been very strong of late--even stronger, improves the rotation slightly while Lilly is out, and gives them a lefty with the potential to be a mid-rotation starter in a year or two.

The Cubs' second consecutive pounding of the Astros puts them a season-high eight games over .500. The offense feasted on Houston pitching once again, putting up double-digit runs in back-to-back games for the first time since ... well, not that long ago, actually: August 25-26 of last year in Pittsburgh, when they won 12-3 and 14-9. The bats looked so good Thursday, they knocked Russ Ortiz right out of the Astros organization--he was released after the game.

The lineup seems to have a different hero every day, and Thursday it was Fukudome: a single, a double, a triple and two walks, along with four RBI and two runs. Theriot also drove in four runs, and Derrek Lee was the only starter (including Kevin Hart) who didn't record at least one hit. Fox and Bradley added long balls, and the Cubs are now up to 10th in the NL in runs scored (not great, but up from 15th).

A 6-1 homestand on the heels of a 5-2 road trip is just what the doctor ordered out of the break, and it's nice to have momentum heading into a nine-game road trip to Florida, Cincinnati and Colorado. The Cardinals used a 15-for-29 start from Matt Holliday to take three of four from the best team in the majors, but lost to the Dodgers in 10 innings Thursday, 5-3. So the Cubs regain possession of first place, 1/2 game up on the Cardinals, with the Astros and Brewers four games back at .500 exactly.

***UPDATE***I stand corrected. According to the Trib, Gorzelanny will take over the fifth starter role, and Marshall will remain in the bullpen. Gorzelanny has a 0.96 ERA in his last six minor league starts.

Another day, another injury, but Cubs put hurtin' on Astros

Wednesday: Cubs 12, Astros 0


Most of the Cubs' wins in 2009 have been nail-biters. Wednesday, they returned to 2008 form, putting the Astros away practically before the National Anthem was finished.

A six-run first was more than enough for Randy Wells, who went eight scoreless innings to lower his season ERA to 2.84. That ERA would place him ninth in the NL if he weren't just four innings shy of qualifying. He's now 7-1 in his last eight starts, and has become the Cubs' most reliable starter--he's allowed more than three earned runs just three times in 15 starts (cough Rookie of the Year cough).

The Cubs' offense made sure Wells had some breathing room by racking up 12 runs on 14 hits. They scored in five of the eight innings in which they batted, and seven different Cubs players had at least one RBI. Three players left the yard as Ramirez hit career HR # 258, Soriano blasted # 289, and Andres Blanco belted ... # 1. Ramirez is now batting .309 with 4 HR and 12 RBI since his return.

With six more walks Wednesday, the Cubs are now seventh in the NL in that category. Milton Bradley drew one of them, and only Jayson Werth has drawn more free passes in July. Bradley's OBP is up to .385.

Last offensive note: Jake Fox hits even when he doesn't start. Despite entering the game as a pinch-hitter in the 7th, Fox had a sacrifice fly and an RBI single in the game. That man can hit.

And not to ignore the defense, the infield turned four double plays, putting them on pace for 147. I love seeing those twin killings, since I predicted they'd have 149 of them.

Finally, props to Mitch Atkins, 23, on a scoreless inning in his major league debut. Atkins was called up because the bullpen has been so overworked of late, but Jeff Stevens will probably be back up soon, as he showed great stuff in his short time with the big club.

The bad news

Reed Johnson is out at least a month with a broken bone in his foot. Sam Fuld is expected to be recalled from Iowa.

The injuries are certainly getting tiresome, but with Johnson hitting .252 this season and the fact that Fuld hit .368 in his stint with the Cubs, this one shouldn't hurt too much.

Cubs join grand slam party, win fifth straight

Monday: Cubs 5, Astros 1 (13 inn.)


Apparently it was Grand Slam Day in Major League Baseball, as there were a total of four on Monday night. Josh Willingham of the Nationals hit grand slams in the 5th and 6th innings. He's the thirteenth player to hit two grand slams in one game (meaning it's a feat more rare than a perfect game), and the sixth to hit them in back-to-back innings. Fernando Tatis, by the way, is the only player ever to have hit two grand slams in one inning, and, interestingly, he hit a grand slam Monday as well.

And the fourth, of course, was hit by Alfonso Soriano. He was 0-for-5 through 12 innings, meaning his nine-game hitting streak was in serious jeopardy. But even though all he needed was a long fly ball in the 13th, he smashed one about 430 feet to straightaway center just for fun.

The win enabled the Cubs to match their high-water mark of the season: they were seven games over .500 at 21-14 after beating ... the Astros on May 16.

Speaking of home runs, it doesn't matter what jersey Carlos Lee is wearing, he always hits the Cubs. He wailed on them with the White Sox, bashed them as a Brewer, and now he annihilates them as an Astro. His tape measure shot in the 2nd was his 29th career home run against the Cubs, by far the most for him against any team (he has 19 off the Royals and Indians). As I mentioned yesterday, he's definitely a starter on the All-Cub Killer Team.

A different Lee--Derrek--became the first Cub to hit 20 HR, and he did it in style with a visit to Waveland Avenue. He also matched his home run total from last year. Back in April, he would have been about fifth on my list of Cubs Likely to Hit 20 HR.

And while I give Piniella huge props for calling a suicide squeeze, what was he doing letting Zambrano bat in the 7th even though no bench players had been used and he was coming out of the game anyways? No Jake Fox? I realize Lou is loathe to use him because he's the back-up catcher, but you have to put an actual hitter in the game with runners at first and second in the bottom of the 7th, especially when the pitcher is being taken down one way or the other. Plus, Fox ended up coming in to catch late in the game anyways.

On the bright side, Z did an excellent job on the mound. With 7 IP and 1 ER, he now has a 2.63 July ERA and a 3-1 record to go with it. He took a tough no-decision Monday as Wandy Rodriguez continued an even better month--a 0.75 ERA and a 4-0 record. Rodriguez, 30, has seen his ERA go down every year since 2006, and his next win will give him more wins (11) in 2009 than any year of his career. Let's hope we don't have to see him in our one remaining series with the Astros.

On a separate note, Carlos Marmol has really turned it on of late. He hasn't allowed any runs in his last eight appearances, and has allowed just one run in his last 14. With Gregg just four saves off the league leading pace, the 8th and 9th innings have become very comfortable for the Cubs (as comfortable as 8th and 9th innings can be, anyways).

Central Intelligence

The Cardinals beat the Dodgers with the assistance of yet another home run by Mark DeRosa (5 of his 11 hits as a Cardinal are home runs, though he's hitting just .244), while the Brewers lost in part because of those Josh Willingham grand slams mentioned earlier. So the Cubs remain 1/2 game up on the Cards, and extend their lead over the Astros and Brewers to three and four games, respectively.

Cubs on pace to go 76-0 in second half

Maybe I should stop watching Cubs games. I was out of town and away from the TV all weekend attending the magnificent wedding of two of my wonderful friends, Van Miller and Laine Twanow. The ceremony was short (but very sweet) and the reception was a blast. Congratulations to Van and Laine.


Honestly, I can't remember the last time I missed three consecutive Cubs games. But if that's the secret recipe for a Cubs sweep by a combined score of 26-11, perhaps I'll have to avoid the Cubs altogether!

The Cubs beat a bad, bad (and I mean bad) team, but

a) they did it on the road
b) the Nationals took two of three from the Yankees in Yankee Stadium earlier this season, and also took a series from the Blue Jays
c) they absolutely destroyed them--along with outscoring them by 15, they amassed 17 more base hits

Each Cubs starter (Harden, Zambrano, Wells and Hart) got a win in the series, though perhaps the worst aspect of the sweep was that only Harden managed to go more than five innings. Samardzija saved the bullpen Sunday with three innings of work, and will probably be unavailable tonight. The Cubs' overtaxed bullpen may not get much of a reprieve against the Phillies, who lead the league in runs scored and have won eight in a row.

On the offensive side, Aramis Ramirez got back in the swing of things with his first home run since May 6; Soriano got his groove back with home runs in back-to-back games after sitting out Friday's game with a swollen pinky finger; Micah Hoffpauir and Jake Fox combined to go 6-for-10 with a HR and 4 RBI on Sunday; Fukudome had six hits in the three games he played; well, you get the picture. The Cubs moved up two spots to 13th (yay!) in the NL in runs scored with their big weekend.

The Cubs were looking to build some confidence coming out of the break, and with that goal in mind, it doesn't get much better than winning the first four on the schedule. The Cardinals lost one to the Diamondbacks while the Brewers split four with the Reds, so the Cubs sit in 2nd place alone, just two games back. The Cubs have also won six of seven overall.

The last time we could feel this good about the team was after they swept the Indians in mid-June. But two of those wins were one-run, walk-off victories, whereas the Cubs abused the Nationals like Mary Murphy abuses my eardrums every Wednesday and Thursday on So You Think You Can Dance (I've been watching this season's shows because IWU student Evan Kasprzak is in it, and is now in the final eight). All the Cubs can do is win the games on their schedule, and they did that in style this weekend. It will be interesting to see how they stack up against one of the better teams in the majors this week. The Phils have taken control of an underperforming NL East, building a 6 1/2 game lead over the Braves and a 9 game lead over the fading Mets.

Quote of the Day

"Jake can swing the bat," Piniella said. "He had a new glove at third base today, and we checked it out a little bit. He said, 'I couldn't catch the ball with my old glove.' I said, 'So far, you're not doing much better with the new one.' The guy swings the bat. He likes to hit."

(hat tip: Mandy Christol)


Rocky Mountain High


Jason Marquis matched his highest win total as a Cub when he notched his ML-leading 12th victory yesterday (he won 12 in '07). He went eight innings against the hapless Padres and allowed just one run to lower his ERA to 3.49.

And in golf ...

On Sunday, the PGA proved it can have an exciting, nail-biting tournament without Tiger Woods even making the cut.

Tom Watson, 59, would have become the oldest golfer to win a major and would have tied for the most British Open wins, but he bogeyed the 18th hole to set up a playoff with Stewart Cink, who had never had even a share of the lead until then. Watson fell apart in the four-hole playoff and lost by six strokes.

Usually if Tiger's not near the top of the leaderboard at the end, many viewers aren't near that channel. But I was definitely not happy when I had to stop watching the re-broadcast with about three holes to go. It turned out to be a great finish, and the PGA has to be thrilled that Sunday's action reminded golf fans that there are indeed other compelling story lines out there--it's just that Tiger usually doesn't let us find them.

On a separate note ...

This is weird.

Cubs win; Bradley presumably listens to end of game on radio

Friday: Cubs 5, White Sox 4

With the Cubs and Sox both entering the second leg of their season series under .500, the Crosstown Classic doesn't carry quite the intrigue it did last year when it looked as though it might be a preview of October baseball. Nevertheless, both teams entered Friday within six games of first place, and there's no doubt that fans on both sides of town remain optimistic about playoff baseball.

With the Cubs having lost their last four games by a combined six runs, a confidence-producing win against the Sox was much needed. Randy Wells did his part by allowing just two runs (he's now allowed two runs or fewer in seven of his nine starts), and the offense turned the power on behind homers by Jake Fox and Geovany Soto. Fox has now had two consecutive games with a single, double and homer, while Soto has homered in four of his last eight games.

But the Cubs, who have now played 25 one-run games, just didn't feel comfortable with a big 5-2 8th-inning lead, so enter Carlos Marmol stage left. Marmol proved useless once again, walking two more batters and allowing a hit for good measure. Carlos is supposed to be the guy in Cubs' 'pen who can get out of jams, but Piniella's going to have to add a firefighter to the 25-man roster to put out all the fires created by Marmol's ineffective wildness. Fortunately, Marshall induced a 3-2-3 double play and Kevin Gregg (who also walked one) scored the save in the 9th to lock down Wells's second consecutive victory.

And if all these one-run games aren't enough drama for you, how about Milton Bradley having words with the water cooler and then his manager and being told to leave the park? Piniella said he was fed up with players' antics in the dugout (e.g. Dempster and Zambrano teaming up to put the fancy new Wrigley drink dispenser six feet under) and told him to leave. Bradley continues to make it difficult to determine what's worse, his average or his antics. But either way, this is just another stitch in the pattern that is his hotheaded career, and my guess it that it will blow over sooner rather than later.

That said, it's obvious that Bradley is not entirely happy with the Cubs, and also that he has some issues. Do we really have to deal with this for 2 1/2 more years?

Cubs sale

According to the Trib, the Ricketts deal is now gaining steam.

Comeback Cubs

Friday: Cubs 8, Indians 7 (10 inn.)


What do you call an additional cup of coffee?

Wait for it ...

Mojo.

And the Cubs are all about it.

Down 7-0 with reigning Cy Young winner Cliff Lee on the mound, the Cubs scratched and clawed their way back to tie it, scoring four in the 8th (for the second straight game) and another in the 9th. And when Theriot's 10th-inning game-winning single took a bounce that the laws of physics couldn't possibly explain, it seemed that maybe the tide had finally turned. I was definitely excited when Lee pounded his second home run of the game to tie off Kerry Wood, but I would prefer the Cubs win the next two in 8 1/2 innings--I don't particularly enjoy seeing Wood get knocked around.

The Cubs have climbed out of four- and seven-run deficits in consecutive games. Friday's comeback was the biggest for the Cubs since this game from last year in which the Cubs beat the Rockies after trailing 8-0. One of the heroes from that game was, ahem, Mark DeRosa. (Even the Cubs' own Web site couldn't believe what happened: the headline for the game recap--even after it was over--was "Cubs can't dig out of early hole vs. Tribe.")

Speaking of DeRosa, it was really nice to see him get a standing ovation when he came to bat in the first. Too often fans boo a former hero simply because they've left town. DeRosa obviously did not make the choice to leave, and he deserves applause for the contributions he made while he was in Chicago.

What a boost to get a win in a game pitched by Cliff Lee when you consider that the weekend pitching match-ups favor the Cubs with Ohka (0-1, 4.24) facing Lilly (7-4, 2.94) on Saturday, and lefty Sowers (1-4, 5.14) battling Wells (0-3, 2.55) on Sunday. Something tells me Wells is in line for his first career win.

On the negative side, it was a tough day at the office for Rich Harden as he continued to get burned by the long ball. The two home runs he allowed gave him 11 on the season, the same number he allowed all of last year.

Good to see Jake Fox get a start at third base. He did fine defensively and was robbed on a grounder up the middle that would have scored a run had it sneaked through.

One complaint: Why did Lou take down pinch-hitter Mike Fontenot when Indians manager Eric Wedge brought in lefty Rafael Perez? Perez has allowed a ridiculous .436 average against lefties this season, and in general, you'd prefer to see Fontenot at the plate rather than Koyie Hill. In the end, it worked out as Hill reached on an infield single.

Okay, two complaints: Marmol will not--repeat, will not--be an effective reliever if he continues to walk people at this pace. With two more walks Friday, he has now walked 34 batters in less than 33 innings. He has survived to the tune of a 3.69 ERA by allowing just 17 hits, but you can't give away that many free passes and succeed consistently in the big leagues.

But enough of that. The Cubs are over .500 and have their mojo back, baby.

What the sell?

It's one step forward and two steps back with the sale of the Cubs. Sam Zell (who may still lose control of the Tribune Co.) is now talking to bidders other than Ricketts.

MLB notes

-Brothers Jeff and Jered Weaver will start against each other on Saturday. It's the first time since 2002 that siblings have opposed each other on the mound. (hat tip: Baseball Musings)

-The Padres are now down two starters as Chris Young joins Jake Peavy on the DL.

A recipe for success

Clearly, the Cubs' current lineup is not getting the job done. Hendry shook things up a bit on Sunday by firing hitting coach Gerald Perry and replacing him with Triple-A hitting coach Von Joshua (Joshua was the White Sox hitting coach from 1998-2001). I can't recall offhand a team firing their hitting coach and then suddenly scoring runs in bunches, but I suppose shaking things up is worth a try. It's certainly not fair to lay all the Cubs' woes at Perry's feet; after all, he was the hitting coach last year when the Cubs consistently worked good at-bats and tore the cover off the ball. But perhaps a new personality and some fresh perspective will give the bats a lift.

What else can the Cubs do to help right the ship? Here are a few thoughts:

Get Miles out of the lineup. Why is he starting every day? He's batting .202 and slugging a pathetic .254. Bobby Scales, who was inexplicably sent down when Harden came off the DL, was hitting just .241 but was slugging .466. He's also a better defensive second baseman. The Cubs could have sent Waddell down or gotten rid of the useless (and seldom used) David Patton instead. Even Andres Blanco would be an improvement over Miles.

Start Reed Johnson, even against righties. I'm not saying Kosuke should never play again, but let's give Johnson a chance. Fukudome has done absolutely nothing at the plate in the last few weeks, and Johnson (.272/.333/.437) deserves a chance to prove himself after a great season in '08.


Bring up Jake Fox. Fox will come up and DH when the Cubs head to Detroit on June 23. If he continues to rake, give him a shot at starting every now and then and let's see how bad is defense really is. He may be able to make up for his glove with his bat.

Move Soriano down in the order. If Soriano's going to strikeout no matter where he bats, then I suppose it doesn't matter all that much. But you simply cannot have a player with a .300 OBP (.268 in June) at the top of the order.

Start Hoffpauir occasionally. I hate to compliment Tony La Russa, but I believe part of the reason the Cardinals get so much out of so little year after year is because every player knows he needs to prove himself in order to stay in the lineup. Start Hoffpauir in left and/or right field every now and then. If he produces, give him more playing time. If not, you may see the residual effect of Bradley and/or Soriano stepping up their game to prove themselves.


Well, there are my two cents. What do you think the Cubs need to do to turn their offensive fortunes around?

**UPDATE**They're listening to me! Okay, maybe not, but the Cubs recalled Jake Fox Tuesday and placed Jason Waddell on the DL.

Cubs pitchers continue to dodge LA's bats, Cubs win 2-1

Friday: Cubs 2, Dodgers 1

-The Cubs won a low-scoring game! The Cubs won a low-scoring game! For the first time since September 11 of last year, the Cubs won a game while scoring fewer than four runs; they're now 1-19 when doing so this season.

-Just like I said when the season started: Koyie Hill will have more home runs than Geovany Soto this year.

-It's still a very, very small sample size, but Jake Fox has thus far shown the ability to translate his minor league achievements into success at the major league level. Despite pinch-hitting in three of his four at-bats, he's 3-for-4 (in fact, the only time he failed to record a hit was when he wasn't pinch-hitting). Fox also scored the winning run on Friday.

-Lilly recorded his sixth win of the year with seven strong innings; only Johan Santana and Bronson Arroyo have more wins in the NL.

-After facing Randy Wolf and Chad Billingsley, the series is tied at one. Now the Cubs will see a couple more hittable pitchers in Eric Stults and Eric Milton. Wolf and Billingsley have batting averages against in the .220's, while Stults and Milton allow averages over .250.

Central intelligence

-Brewers GM Doug Melvin said his team is not currently going after Jake Peavy or anyone other trade targets.

-The Cardinals lost 4-2 to Matt Cain and the Giants, pulling the Cubs to within 3.5 games of first.

Cubs can't unload in the ninth, fall to 4.5 back

Thursday: Dodgers 2, Cubs 1

-First, I must say that I disagree with MLB's six-game suspension of Carlos Zambrano. Zambrano acted childish, no doubt, but Mark Carlson initiated the contact. Luckily, the Cubs have an off day Monday and Zambrano will simply start two days later (Thursday) than he would have were it not for the suspension.

-Can someone please tell me why the switch-hitting Andres Blanco keeps batting left-handed against left-handed pitchers? All four of his at-bats have been against lefties, yet he's batted lefty in his last three at-bats.

-While I've become more understanding of Soriano batting leadoff, it's a damn shame that he can't be asked to bunt. Trailing 2-1 with runners at first and second and nobody out in the eighth, he faked as if to bunt on the first pitch and then quickly struck out swinging on two breaking balls outside. With Theriot on deck, a bunt would have put the Cubs in a great position to at least tie the game.

-You've gotta tip your hat to Randy Wells: seven innings, two runs against the highest scoring team in the majors. He also struck out seven and walked just one. He's kept the Cubs in every game he's pitched, and his ERA is a sparkling 1.80. I still think Piniella will have to move him to the 'pen when Harden returns from the DL (which, by the way, could still be a couple weeks away, according to the Tribune), but hopefully Wells can translate his success into a relief role.

-Raise your hand if, when the season started, you predicted that on May 28, Bobby Scales and Jake Fox would come up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with a chance to win the game.

Cubs seize series from Bucs, prepare for best team in majors

Wednesday: Cubs 5, Pirates 2

Zambrano got a no decision after pitching 6.1 innings and allowing two runs, so his record remains 3-2 and his ERA drops slightly to 4.22. Last year at this time, he was 7-1 with a 2.47 ERA. Then again, this time in 2007 he was 5-4 with a 5.24 ERA. You never really know when Zambrano is going to have a good or a bad stretch, but he usually provides solid production when all is said and done: in each of the last six seasons, Z has started at least 30 games, won at least 13, and had an ERA under four. I get frustrated with his high pitch counts and short outings at times, but he has thrown over 200 innings in five of the last six seasons.

If there's anything to be frustrated about after Wednesday's start, though, it's that Zambrano might face a suspension after he bumped home plate umpire Mark Carlson while arguing a safe call at home. Though it did appear to me that Carlson bumped him, so hopefully Zambrano will only incur a fine. And it was pretty hilarious when Zambrano subsequently motioned as if he were throwing Carlson out of the game:



Milton Bradley went 1-for-3 to raise his average to .200 exactly. It's the first time Bradley has cracked the Mendoza line this year.

Ryan Freel left the game with a hamstring strain, which almost certainly means he's headed to the DL--welcome back, Bobby Scales! How was your day in Iowa? While Fontenot will presumably get the lion's share of time over at third, we may soon get to find out what Jake Fox is capable of in the field. It was great to see Fox start off with a bang by hitting a pinch-hit double in the ninth. Fox now has three career hits in the majors, all of them doubles.

Funny little ironic tidbit (courtesy of Bleed Cubbie Blue): Wednesday was Jake Fox Jersey Day at the Iowa Cubs game.

On deck

The Cubs will welcome the Dodgers to town for four games, which is scary because the Dodgers are 33-15, have not lost more than two games in a row this entire season, and have won 11 of their last 14. The Blue Crew has the second best starting staff in the NL (by ERA), the fifth best bullpen, and they've scored the most runs. Here's how good the Dodgers are:

-Manny Ramirez got suspended, and his replacement Juan Pierre is batting .404.

-Their closer, Jonathan Broxton, has 11 saves and five wins.

-They signed Eric Milton, who hadn't pitched in the majors since 2007, and he's 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA.

Pitching matchups:

Thursday: Randy Wolf (3-1, 1.02) vs. Randy Wells (0-1, 1.50)
Friday: Chad Billingsley (6-2, 2.82) vs. Ted Lilly (5-4, 3.77)
Saturday: Eric Stults (4-1, 4.29) vs. Ryan Dempster (3-3, 4.99)
Sunday: Eric Milton (1-0, 3.00) vs. Sean Marshall (3-3, 3.70)

Five of the eight starting pitchers in this series are left-handed, while two of them are named Randy and two are named Eric. Also, Ryan Dempster is the only pitcher without an "L" in his last name. Interesting stuff, huh? You only get that here, folks.

When Wolf pitched at Wrigley last September, he threw a complete game shutout. He was cuffed around earlier in the year, though, allowing seven runs in just four innings on May 12. Wells has impressed in all three of his starts, and Saturday in San Diego was the first time he'd allowed a run in the majors.

Billingsley is the "ace" of the staff with Derek Lowe gone, and he's pitched at least six innings in all 10 starts. He beat the Cubs in Game 2 of the NLDS last year, but was 0-1 in two regular season starts against them. Lilly has been the Cubs' best starter this season, and has held most of the Dodgers lineup in check throughout his career. He didn't pitch against LA last year, but was 1-0 against them in two starts in '07.

Stults missed some time after jamming his thumb, and lasted just 4.1 against the Rockies in his return on Monday. He's gone six innings only once this year, and the three Cubs who've faced him have all fared well (Soriano 1-for-3, Lee 1-for-2, Soto 2-for-2). Dempster has alternated wins and losses on his way to a 3-3 record, and since his most recent decision was a loss, the Cubs are looking good in this one! We can all recall that Dempster imploded against the Dodgers in Game 1 last October; he was 1-0 with a 2.92 ERA against them in two regular season starts.


And finally, Sunday Night Baseball. Milton was signed off the scrapheap to a minor league deal in February, and was called up in May. He's gone four and five innings, respectively, in two starts, and he beat the Rockies on Tuesday. Soriano is 6-for-12 against him in his career. Marshall threw a *cough* complete game in his last start, and has been a reliable fifth starter thus far. He has had success against every Dodger he's faced, with the slight exception of Russell Martin, who's 1-for-2.

Random story

Rick Reilly, on a minor league pitcher who pitches both left- and right-handed.

Did you know ...

-The Rangers are leading the AL West by three games.

-The Rockies are 14 games out of first, the biggest deficit faced by any team.

-The Reds' Joey Votto leads the majors in on-base percentage (.467).