It wasn’t a very good night for the Chicago Cubs on Friday as they opened up a weekend series against the beer drinkers to the North. Besides Aaron Heilman blowing the game in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Cubs also lost third basemen Aramis Ramirez in the game as he dislocated his shoulder. Overall, it was about a bad game for the team.

I don’t want to really blog about the game too much but it was all on Heilman who gave up a two run home run too Ryan Braun that gave the Brewers a one run lead. The Cubs pretty much had no shot at Trevor Hoffman in the ninth inning the way he was throwing.

Starting pitcher Randy Wells pitched very good as he filled in for Carlos Zambrano, it’s too bad the bullpen couldn’t hang on and get the win for him.

So all the focus is now on the Ramirez injury. He first injured the shoulder back in 2000 when he was playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Back then he elected to not have surgery and sat out six weeks. At this point it is uncertain how long Ramirez will be on the disabled list but I would say atleast six to eight weeks.

Look for Mike Fontenot and probably newely acquired Ryan Freel to be playing third base for the next couple of months.

I won’t have an update today or tomorrow as I’m heading out of town for a graduation. All I can really say is Go Cubs Go and let’s get some wins!

AP Photo/Darren Hauck

Well here we go again Cubs fans. The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that starting pitcher Rich Harden has a slight tear in his pitching shoulder. We all knew that Harden was injured at the end of last year when the team was skipping his starts and giving him extra rest. You could also tell when he was throwing the ball late in the season that he was pitching in pain. Well now we all know why.

My question is why was this taken care of right after the season was over? Are you telling me that the team didn’t run tests on Harden’s shoulder right after the season was over? Were they hoping it would heal on it’s own or what he heck was going on? As it stands now the team is calling it “just severe enough that some players might seek surgery but slight enough to be in a range often treated effectively with a strengthening program.” Hmm does this sound like Mark Prior all over again?

Harden commented at the Cubs Convention and had this to say:

“I’m on a set program, and I’m not behind at all. ‘I’m right on schedule and feeling great. I’ll be ready for the start of the season for sure. There’s no doubt in my mind. Nobody has any doubts whether I’ll be ready or not. I will.”

Hmm something fishy is going on once again in Cub land regarding injuries.

Well I’m sure all the Cubs fans out there have heard that Alfonso Soriano was hit by a pitch in last nights game against the Atlanta Braves and will be out the disabled list for a while.  Soriano broke a finger on his left hand, and then finger will be in a splint for the next three weeks atleast.  Expect Soriano to be out until around August.

So what will the Cubs do now?  Start Mark DeRosa in left field and give Mike Fontenot that majority of the starts at second base?  What about giving Ronny Cedeno some time at second base?  Micah Hoffpauir looks to be the guy that will get called up to take Soriano’s spot on the roster and he can see some time at left field as well as first base and DH in the upcoming interleage matchups.

Another name to look out for would be Eric Patterson.  We could see Patterson being called up along with Hoffpauir and a reliver sent back down to the minor leagues as the Cubs will need an extra batagainst the Toronto Blue Jays this weekend.

Ryan Dempster tossed a complete game for the Chicago Cubs on Wedneday night as they defeated the Atlanta Braves by the score of 7-2.  The complete game by Dempster was the first complete game by a Cubs pitcher this season.  The complete game was huge because it saved the bullpen from having to pitch in the game.

The Cubs got out to a good start at Kosuke Fukudome hit a three run home run in the first inning to put the Cubs up 3-0.  The Cubs then got two runs in the second inning and two more runs in the third inning.  In the second inning, Ryan Theriot had a two run double and in the third inning both runs came on a rbi single by Jim Edmonds.

One bad thing from the game however is that Alfonso Soriano was hit a by a pitch on his left hand and the pitch actually fractured part of his fourth finger.  Soriano will more then likely be out for two to three weeks as he as to be able to squeeze his fist and fit the hand into his glove before he can make a return.  It really sucks to see Soriano get hurt as he was just starting to get into another groove and hitting the ball pretty good.

I would expect Micah Hoffpauir is already on his way to Chicago or he will be early in the morning.

So how will the Cubs do as Soriano is headed to the disable list once again?  Leave us a comment and let us know your opinion.