Good morning everyone, sorry I wasn’t able to get a blog post up after the game last night but I sat down and watched a movie with my wife once the game was over. Anyways, it was a great day to be a Cubs fan. First we hear about the sale of the team, Wrigley Field and 25% of Comcast SportsNet has been sent to Major League Baseball for approval. Second of all the Cubs beat the Braves 4-2 as Aramis Ramirez returned to the team. And finally the team made some roster moves that most Cubs fans agreed with.

As for the game on Monday night things got started for the Cubs in the first inning once again as red hot Derrek Lee hit another two run home run which scored himself and Kosuke Fukudome. Lee has been swinging a great bat lately and making very good contact as he tries to carry this team.

The other two runs the team would get came in the second inning when Fukudome doubled to score Mike Fontenot and then pitcher Randy Wells scored on a infield single by Ryan Theriot. Every position player had a hit for the Cubs except for Milton Bradley and Ramirez. Ramirez went 0-4 in his return.

Wells was a beast on the mound as he picked up his fourth straight victory. Wells could easily have seven or so wins this year had the offense not let him down earlier in the season. He is throwing the ball great and surprising a lot of people. On Monday night he gave up seven hits and two runs over six innings as he improved to 4-3 on the year.

Sean Marshall, Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg all pitched an inning each with Gregg picking up the save. Great job by those three out of the bullpen.

Now a little bit about the sale between the Tribune Co. and the Ricketts Family:

It was reported Monday afternoon the two sides finalized a sale agreement over the weekend and have forwarded the contract to Major League Baseball. However, the deal must be approved by other baseball owners. With Tribune Co. operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the sale also will need court approval. The Tribune source said the sale price is “close” to the $900 million bid the Ricketts family offered earlier this year that won an auction for the baseball team, stadium and a 25 percent stake in Comcast SportsNet Chicago, a regional cable television sports network.

This deal won’t be done by the trade deadline so it will be interesting if the Cubs can go out and add a bat or bullpen help if they need too.

The roster moves that were made Monday as Aramis Ramirez, Reed Johnson and Angel Guzman returned to the team were pretty well liked through out Cub Nation. The team optioned Kevin Hart and Sam Fuld back to Triple-A Iowa and put David Patton on the disabled list with a right groin strain. Lol you gotta love the team coming up with a fake injurty for Patton. It’s not like he ever gets in a game anyways.

The team also sent Ryan Freel to the Kansas City Royals on Monday for a player to be named later. Freel was done in Chicago as he has been DFA’d late last week.

- Cliff

It was a pretty good four game series for the Cubs as they took three out of four games against the visiting Brewers. The guys got rocked on Saturday with Rich Harden only going two innings, but they bounced back nicely and clobbered the Brew Crew by the score of 8-2 for their third win in the series. I’ll take three out of four anytime.

It was crafty left hander Ted Lilly on the mound Sunday for the Cubs as he struck out nine batters in six and a third innings. Lilly had heard right before the game that he was the Cubs lone player chosen for the 2009 All Star game and he came out and threw the ball alright. He did give up nine hits but gave up just the two runs as he got out of jams when he needed. Great outing for Lilly and congrats on making the All Star game in St. Louis!

Derrek Lee continues to swing a hot bat has he went dep in the first inning to put the Cubs up 2-0 and finished with three rbi on a 2-4 day.

Jake Fox also connected on a two run home run as he hopes to stay with the big league roster when Aramis Ramirez returns on Monday. Fox has been swinging a nice bat and has been playing pretty well in the field as well. I’d hate to see Fox be sent down but it could happen if the teams elects to keep Mike Fontenot or Andres Blanco on the big league roster.

Kosuke Fukuedome, Mike Fontenot and Geovany Soto all added rbi’s at the plate as they helped out as well. Great job by the entire offense. Even Alfonso Soriano went 2-4 as he batted in the six spot.

Let’s hope the team can continue playing well on Monday night as the Atlanta Braves are coming to town.

- Cliff

Whats going on Cubs fans?! The Cubs and Brewers just finished up the second game of a huge four game series at Wrigley Field and after two games the Cubs are up 2-0 in the series! These type of games are huge as the division is so close together in the standings. Great first two games so far!

I’ll start off by talking about Thursday nights game which I was only able to listen to the final two innings of. Derrek Lee was on fire his first two at bats as he smacked a three run home run in the first inning and then followed that up with a grand slam in the fourth innings. That wasn’t the only home run hitting for the Cubs as Geovany Soto and Jake Fox also went deep in the Cubs 9-5 victory.

Onto today where the Cubs scored the game winning run in the 10th inning on a bases loaded walk to Fox. Fox battled off some close pitches and then took a slider that stayed up high for ball four to force in Ryan Theriot for the winning run. The 2-1 victory currently puts the Cubs just two games out of first place in the division. At worst, they will be 2.5 games back depending how the Cardinals do tonight against the Reds.

Carlos Zambrano got another no decision in the game as he gave up just one run over seven innings of action. Zambrano struck out just three batters but also only allowed five hits to the Brew Crew. Zambrano also helped himself out at the plate as he singled in the fifth inning to score Fox for the Cubs first run of the game.

Kevin Gregg pitched two scoreless innings to finish the game and pick up the win. Gregg improved his record to 3-2. Things almost didn’t go Gregg’s way in the ninth inning after Milton Bradley messed up and lost a ball in the sun in the bottom of the ninth inning, but Gregg battled back and got Ryan Braunt to pop up to Theriot to end the threat.

So far so good in the big series as you look back at both games so far. With Rich Harden getting the start on Saturday afternoon, I like the Cubs chances to win their third game of the series and inch closer towards first place. I hope everyone has safe and happy July 4th weekend. Hopefully we can all take a break from the festivities and catch the game tomorrow but if not, check back here Sunday and we will have the games blogged about!

- Cliff

Cubs manager Lou Piniella was ejected for the first time since July of last season and the Cubs went on to beat the Pirates 4-1 and take two games in the three game series. Finally Lou showed a little bit of emotion out on the field as he tossed his hat when getting to the first base umpire who called Randy Wells out on a bang bang play at first base which would have scored a run. Good job Lou, way to do something finally!

Wells through seven strong innings as he pitched great for the third time in a row. Wells gave up one run and six hits as he improved to 3-3 on the season. In his last three starts, Wells has a 2.18 ERA.

Derrek Lee got the team started in the first inning when he smashed a two run home run to put the Cubs up 2-0. Sam Fuld who was recently called up from Triple-A Iowa scored on the Lee home run. Fuld had a great all around game as he recorded his first major league hit on the third pitch of the game and he later added an outfield assist as he gunned down Jack Wilson at the plate in the fifth inning.

Kosuke Fukudome added a solo home run for the Cubs while Geovany Soto got in the rbi column with a run scoring single in the eighth inning.

Despite winning two out of three in Pittsburgh, the Cubs still had a horrible road trip where they only went 3-7. You can’t move up in the standings by playing like that. Hopefully a little home cooking will get the Cubs heated up. They will open up a huge four game series with the Brewers on Thursday night at Wrigley Field. It’s time too get going and it all starts with the Brewers!

- Cliff