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 Blog

Cubs beat Brewers on bases loaded walk

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

Cubs Blog

Piniella ejected in Cubs 4-1 victory

The best chance the team came to scoring was in the eighth inning when they had two base runners on with the top of the lineup coming up. However, Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome both struck out and Derrek Lee then ended the inning by grounding out to second base. Good job Soriano and Fukudome!

Geovany Soto was the only player to show up and actually hit the ball as he led the team with two hits.

Ted Lilly was the tough luck loser even though he threw a pretty good game. Lilly did give up eight hits over seven innings but struck out seven while only walk two Pirates. Two of the Pirates runs were scored with two outs off of Lilly. Ted also made a bad play on a wild pitch when he missed the return throw from Soto as Freddy Sanchez scored.

Just an ugly game as the Pirates even the series up at one game each. The rubber match will be Wednesday night and it will be Randy Wells trying to get the win for the Cubs.

- Cliff

Cubs Blog

Cubs show why they are a .500 team

There wasn’t a whole lot of offense for the Cubs but they got just enough to get the win. The offense put up single runs in the second, third and fourth innings to get the win. Andres Blanco got things started for the offense in the second inning with a rbi single that scored Jake Fox. In the third inning it was shortstop Ryan Theriot going deep for a solo home run that put the Cubs up 2-0. The final run for the offense came in the fourth inning when Milton Bradley split the gap on a rbi double that plated Geovany Soto for the third run. Fox and Bradley both led the team with two hits each.

Rich Harden got the win on the mound as he threw the ball pretty well. When Rich did get in trouble he was able to get out of the jams just like a good pitcher does. Harden gave up nine hits but only allowed one run on a rbi ground out by Jack Wilson in the fifth inning. Harden would end up throwing seven innings to improve to 5-4 on the year.

Carlos Marmol and Kevin combined to throw the eighth and ninth innings to secure the win. Both Marmol and Gregg and 1-2-3 innings as they were great out of the pen. It’s sure nice to say that!

I’m looking forward to Tuesday’s game when the Cubs will look to go up 2-0 in the series with Ted Lilly on the mound. I like their chances a lot!

- Cliff

Cubs Blog

Cubs take game one in Pittsburgh 3-1

Bradley was disciplined by Cubs manager Lou Piniella, upset after the outfielder threw his helmet and overturned a water cooler when he had a bad at-bat in the sixth. Piniella had followed Bradley into the clubhouse, and there was an ugly verbal exchange. The two would talk the next day and Milton was in the lineup on Saturday despite hearing it from the local fans when he appeared at the plate.

After being shutout 6-0 by John Danks and the White Sox on Friday, the Cubs have now lost six out of their last eight games. Somehow though, the team is just 3.5 games out of first place in the division and will look to get Aramis Ramirez back in the lineup shortly before the All Star break. I feel if they can hold on and stay at worst four games back when Ramirez returns, he will spark the team and they will be right there towards the top in the division.

The team will kick off a series on Monday night with the Pittsburgh Pirates and they will have Rich Harden going to the mound. The three game series is a huge one for the team and I fully expect them to win two out of three games against the Pirates if not sweep them. The series is very big because it is right before a series with the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field.

It should be a very exciting week of Cubs baseball!

- Cliff

Cubs Blog

Cubs drop two out of three on the South Side

The highlight of Thursday’s game was Jake Fox who connected on a three run home run in the first inning. The three run blast was the first in Fox’s pro career. Fox needs to be in the lineup no matter if it is a corner outfield position, third base or first base. Hit bat is just too good to keep out of the lineup.

Micah Hoffpauir stayed hot as he also hit a home run in the game. Hoffpauir went deep for the Cubs fifth and final run of the game in the ninth inning. Hoffpauir is another bat that needs to be in the lineup. I would rather have him play everyday rather than Milton Bradley.

Now to that bad part of the game. Ted Lilly took the loss as he gave up ten hits, two home runs and six runs in just six innings. It was not the quality outing that I was hoping to see out of Lilly and he dropped to 7-5 on the year.

So now the team is heading back to Chicago where the will start another three game series with the White Sox on Friday. The team is now one game under .500 and once again we will soon start hearing about roster or lineup changes I would imagine. You can’t just go and win four games and than lose three straight and expect to move up in the standings. It’s a good thing that the Cardinals are not running away with the division at this point.

- Cliff

Cubs Blog

Tigers take the brooms to the Cubs

Some of the questions that I was asked were:

• The Cubs interest in Pedro Martinez and what kind of role he would play with the team?
• Aramis Ramirez being out with the separated shoulder and how it has hurt the team?
• Why the Cubs ownership does not give general manager Jim Hendry the spending ability like the Yankees or Red Sox have?
• Why the Rich Harden trade has been a bust so far?

So give it a listed over at 955TheGame once today’s podcast is put up. I kicked off the second hour of the show.

Cubs Blog

Radio Interview with ESPN Radio 95.5 The Game This Morning

Good job Gregg, way to blow another game for the team. I’ve blogged over and over that Gregg is not a capable closer for this team. This was the third time this season that he has blown a save and is now 2-2 on the season. I wish I would have been able to start off this article talking about Micah Hoffpauir hitting a go ahead two run blast in the eighth inning but that is pretty much forgotten thanks to Gregg.

Carlos Zambano ends up with a no decision as well in the game. Big Z tossed seven innings and limited the Tigers to just five hits and three runs. Zambrano gave up a two run home run to Brandon Inge and a rbi triple to Placido Polanco in the game. Not a bad outing for Zambrano but not good enough to get the victory in the end.

The Cubs offense wasn’t hitting the ball that well tonight as they faced off against Tigers starter Edwin Jackson. Jackson held the Cubs to just four hits and two runs over his seven innings of action. Derrek Lee did extend his hitting streak to 20 with a double in the sixth inning. Lee also had a rbi in the first inning when he scored Alfonso Soriano on a fielders choice. Geovany Soto added a sacrafice fly in the sixth inning as well.

So now instead of being up 1-0 in the series the Cubs are down 0-1 and will have to face Rick Porcello who is 8-4 on the season. Had the Cubs won tonight, I really liked their chances of winning two out of three in Detroit and winning the series. Not now, I don’t think the Cubs will beat Porcello, but they should win on Thursday.

Keep those heads up Cubs fans. One of these times Gregg will actually do his job.

- Cliff

Cubs Blog

Ryan Raburn says take that Kevin Gregg!

Even though the offense was held scoreless, they had 10 hits in the game, they simply just didn’t get the hit they needed with runners in scoring position. Every player in the starting lineup had at least one hit besides Kosuke Fukudome and starting pitcher Ryan Dempster. Even though Fukudome didn’t have a hit, he did walk twice.

The offense was playing without starters Alfonso Soriano and Milton Bradley as Piniella chose to give them a day off before the team heads to Detroit. Micah Hoffpauir and Jake Fox started out in the outfield for Soriano and Bradley.

On the mound it was Ryan Dempster taking the loss. Dempster threw 6 2/3’s innings but gave up four walks while striking out six Braves. Dempster gave up two runs on eight hits. I really have to think if Dempster’s head was really in the game tonight since he will be flying back to Chicago after the game to spend time with his family. The Dempster’s will be bringing home their little girl that has been in the hospital since she was born in April. We wish the Dempster family all the best as they head home. In the end though, this loss wasnt Dempster’s fault, he pitched a great ballgame.

The Cubs will now jump right back on a plane and head to Detroit where they will begin a interleague series with the Tigers on Tuesday. The Tigers are leading the Central Division so it would be a very good series. If the Cubs can win two out of three before coming back to Chicago and taking on the White Sox on the South side I will be happy.

If you are in the Portland, Oregon area, tune into Sports Radio 95.5 The Game tomorrow morning as I will be on the air talking about the Cubs during their morning show.

- Cliff

Cubs Blog

The Cubs winstreak stops at four

Wells finally picked up his first major league victory as he pitched into the seventh inning. Randy did a great job all game long as he gave up just five hits and two runs. It was great to see him pick up his first win and improve to 1-3 on the season. He should have already had a couple of wins but the bullpen blew his leads in earlier contests. Congrats Randy!

Fox led the offense for the Cubs as he finished the game with a team high three rbi. Fox got things going in the fourth inning with a sacrafice fly that plated Ryan Theriot and then added a bases loaded two run double in the fifth inning. Fox needs to play third base everyday just so his bat is in the lineup in my opinion. I can live with an error here or there as long as he is swinging the bat good. He is a better option at the hot corner than Mike Fontenot right now.

Geovany Soto also continued to do good things at the plate. He put the Cubs on the scoreboard in the second inning when he hit a line drive home run off of Indians starting pitcher Jeremy Sowers. Soto also walked with the bases loaded to add on another rbi to his stats.

Derrek Lee extended his hitting streak to 18 games when he scored Wells with a rbi single in the fifth inning. Lee is leading this offense right now and if he can stay hot, the Cubs are going to be in contention the rest of the way.

After the three game sweep against the Indians, the Cubs are sitting in third place in the division. Just 2.5 games out of first place however. They will play a make up game down in Atlanta on Monday night, and then catch a plane up to Detroit where they will open up a three game set against the Tigers. Let’s keep on winning!

- Cliff

AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

Cubs Blog

Wells and Fox lead the Cubs past the Indians for the sweep

Andres Blanco hit a sharp single past Indians shortstop Luis Valbuena to score Kosuke Fukudome who scored the game tying run in the 13th off of Wood. Blanco would move to third base on a single by Aaron Miles and he then scored on a wild pitch by Wood. Blanco didn’t have the best day at the plate, but when it really mattered in the 13th, he came through for the team.

Derrek Lee continued to swing a good bat as he hit his fourth home run in three games when he connected on a two run blast in the fifth inning. Micah Hoffpauir also added a two run shot in the sixth inning to account for two of the runs.

Ted Lilly had the start on the mound and pitched alright. Jhonny Peralta did the most damage to Lilly as he knocked in two total runs with a rbi double and solo home run. Luis Valbuena also hit a solo shot off of Lilly who lasted six innings in the no decision.

Jose Ascanio and David Patton each game up a run in relief. Patton gave up the solo home run in the top of the 13th inning to Valbuena (his second of the game) which put the Indians in the lead by one. Lou simply had no other choices out of the pen and had to put Patton in the game. Patton would end up getting the win despite giving up the run in the top half of the inning.

The Cubs will be going for the sweep on Sunday. This could be a huge series for the team as the look to pick up games on the Cardinals and Brewers. Get those brooms out Cubs fans!

- Cliff

Cubs Blog

Thanks Kerry Wood!

Kevin Gregg actually held the White Sox scoreless in the top of the ninth inning and then it was lead off man Alfonso Soriano delivering the game winning base hit to score Reed Johnson who led off the inning with a single and moved to second on a sacfrafice by Andres Blanco. Soriano then knocked a single to right center field off White Sox pitcher Matt Thornton to score the winning run.

This was exactly the type of win the team needed. A come from behind rally where it got their emotions going and to come out on top was just the icing on top in my opinion. This will hopefully give them a little spring to their step and they will start playing better baseball.

Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano pitched a pretty good game until he ran into trouble in the seventh inning when Alexei Ramirez hit a two run home run to put the White Sox on top by the score of 3-1. Zambrano gave up six hits and three runs in seven innings of action on the mound.

Way to go guys! The bats woke up and finally did some damage! Now will it continue over into the weekend series with the Cleveland Indians who will be in town for a three game series. Welcome back Mark DeRosa and Kerry Wood!

- Cliff

Cubs Blog

Late inning rally wins it for the Cubs!

Against White Sox starting pitcher John Danks and two relievers, the Cubs managed just five hits and one run. They had chances to score some runs however with runners in scoring position, they just couldn’t come up with the big hit or get a ball to drop for a base hit. The one run the team did came in the eighth inning when Alfonso Soriano scored Aaron Miles on a RBI ground out. MIles started the inning off with a double off of Danks to get things going.

The eighth inning would have been more interesting and productive however White Sox center fielder Brian Anderson leapedin front of the ivy-covered wall to catch pinch-hitter Jake Fox’s long drive. Fox just about came up with that big hit that the team needed but it didn’t go his way this at bat.

Ryan Dempster got the start for the Cubs and didn’t look good from the start. Dempster allowed a solo home run that reached the basket in left field to Alexei Ramirez in the first inning and things really didn’t get better from there. Dempster walked six batters and was charged with three runs in the game. Angel Guzman was charged with a run in the eighth inning when A.J. Pierzynski hit a sacrafice fly to plate Dewayne Wise.

The Cubs have lost five of six. And over the last 26 games, they have scored one run or less 10 times, going 9-17 in that time. Lou Piniella said he is about going to be forced to make some changes in the lineup to get guys in there that can do some hitting. My first thought is getting Jake Fox some starts in right field.

The cross town rivals will meet up once again on Thursday afternoon on the Northside. Carlos Zambrano will take the mound for the Cubs against Gavin Floyd and the White Sox. I like the Cubs chances in this game as they split the rain shortened series. I hope I’m right.

- Cliff

Cubs Blog

Would the offense please do something?

This really comes as no surprise to most people that paid attention to Sosa when he was with the Cubs. Going from 36 home runs in 1996 to hitting 66 bombs in 1998, you knew something was up. You could tell how big Sammy was getting. It wasn’t just his upper or lower body, it was his entire body!

Sammy was a fan favorite in Chicago and is still looked up on by a lot of fans in his home country of the Dominican Republic. Alfonso Soriano said that Sosa is still and will always be a hero to the kids in the Dominican. Nothing will change that.

No way Sosa gets in the Hall of Fame after this report in my opinion. Sure it’s just a report and until Major League Baseball releases the entire list of 104 we will never know if it is 100% true, but most people figure it is true and I just don’t see him going in to the HOF.

What are your thoughts on the report?

Cubs Blog

Sammy Sosa reportedly tested positive

I thought Perry did an alright job with the team. The 08 team was great at the plate but this year they just haven’t got hot and stayed hot for a 10 game stretch. There is no question in mind that Perry will be on another major league roster next year. I hope him the best in the future.

To replace Perry, Von Joshua was called up from Triple A Iowa to take over at hitting coach. Joshua, a former big league outfielder who was in his fourth year as the Triple-A Iowa hitting coach, will be in uniform Tuesday for the opener of the Cubs’ Interleague series against the White Sox.

So let’s see if the players will react to Joshua and start hitting the ball better. Hopefully Milton Bradley and Alfonso Soriano can start to make better contact and drive the ball like they should be doing. Who knows though the way things have been going as of late. We will see come Tuesday night when the crosstown White Sox come to Wrigley Field.

- Cliff

Cubs Blog

Gerarld Perry fired as Cubs offense sputters