The Chicago Cubs hit three home runs as they beat the San Diego Padres 9-6 on Thursday night.  It is great to see this team winning like this!  They are scoring a lot of runs, and that is really helping out the pitching staff.  One more win, and we just might see Len Kasper growing some facial hair, and Bob Brenly shaving his off!

The Cubs used three home runs in the huge ballpark to get the win.  Geovany Soto got things started in the fifth inning with a solo home run that he absolutely crushed to center field.  Mark DeRosa then hit a two run shot in the fifth inning.  It wasn’t until the eighth inning when the Cubs hit their third home run of the night when Alfonso Soriano went deep for a three run home run.

Ryan Theriot, Derrek Lee, and Aramis Ramiez all had one rbi in the game as well to help out.  Ramirez could have had a lot more but he struckout with the bases loaded and the showed his emotion by throwing his bat into the ground.

It was Jason Marquis getting the win for the Cubs as he tossed five innings and allowed three runs.  Marquis really wasn’t that sharp at all even though he only gave up four hits.  He was actually hit pretty hard, and in other stadiums might have even gave up a couple of home runs.  A win is a win however.

The Cubs bullepen was called upon once again and they did a pretty good job for the most part.  The one downside was seeing Kevin Hart give up three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.  Hart had just been called up so the Cubs would have a fresh arm in the bullpen.  Instead, the Cubs still had to use Bob Howry and Kerry Wood in the late innings.  Michael Wuertz, Scott Eyre, and Neal Cotts all seen action in the game as well.

Ted Lilly will get the start on Wednesday night as the Cubs battle the Padres once again.  It is another night game so plan on staying up late if you want to watch all of the game.  I really hate these West coast games…

It seems that not even Jason Marquis‘ mediocre pitching can keep the Cubs down on this homestand. The 8-4 win over the Rockies on Thursday night was the Cubs’ 4th in a row. Marquis gave up 3 runs on 7 hits in 5 plus innings but did not factor into the decision. The Cubs got the first 2 runs on an RBI double by Aramis Ramirez in the 1st and a solo homer from Derrek Lee in the 3rd. Up 3-1 in the 6th, Marquis loaded the bases and then was pulled. Recently recalled Neal Cotts gave up the game tying single and then the Rockies got the lead off Michael Wuertz in the 7th.

The Cubs quickly responded with 2 of their own in the bottom half when Alfonso Soriano scored on an error and Geovany Soto drove in Ryan Theriot with a sac fly. Micah Hoffpauir got his first major league RBI in the bottom of the 8th and then Soriano picked up a 2 run single for more insurance. Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood pitched scoreless innings of relief to close it down. The Cubs go for 5 straight at Wrigley on Friday afternoon; 1:20 PM CT.

The Chicago Cubs four game win streak is no more as they were beaten by the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night.  Jason Marquis gave up four runs in the fourth inning and the Padres beat the Cubs 4-3 on a rainy night at Wrigley Field.

Now comes the question once again if Marquis will make his next start.  Marquis seems to pitch a few good innings but then give up three or four runs in the next inning.  You can’t do that if you want to keep your team in the game.  Marquis has struggled pretty much all season long and he now has a 1-3 record with a 5.26 era on the season.

I would like to give some props to Michael Wuertz though.  Wuertz had a great effort tonight as he pitched the final three innings of the game and only allowed one hit.  That is a great job, and he did everything he had to do to keep the Cubs in the game.

The offense just wasn’t able to come back and score a run late in the game.  Hell, they didn’t score a run after the second inning of the game.  Alfonso Soriano got the Cubs on track with a lead off home run which was his fifth of the season.  Reed Johnson then had a two run double to deep right-center field that scored Geovany Soto and Mark DeRosa.

Look for the Cubs to have some trouble tomorrow night as well as they have to face off against Jake Peavy.  Ted Lilly will take the mound for the Cubs as they hope to start another winning streak.

The Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals played in front of a national tv audience on ESPN on Sunday night and the Cubs played pretty bad in a 5-3 loss to the Cardinals.  Albert Pujols broke a 2-2 tie in the fourth inning with a two run double and the Cubs didn’t have an anwser after that.

Jason Marquis struggled as he only lasted 5.1 innings as he gave up all five runs.  Marquis isn’t throwing the ball that well and his record shows that as it is now 1-2 on the season.  On Sunday night he walked five batters so he is having some control problems.

Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome, and Reed Johnson all had an RBI in the game for the Cubs.  The Cubs really struggled as they only had five hits off the Cardinals pitching staff.

It really sucks losing two out of three against the Cardinals.  The Cubs are now 1.5 games behind the Cardinals in the division standings.  The Cubs will begin a three game series with the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night.  Hopefully they can pick up that 1.5 games this next series and be right back on top of the Cardinals.

The Chicago Cubs were on the wrong side of a slugfest at Wrigley Field on Tuesday night as they lost to the rivals from the north 10-7.  The loss was the fourth in the five games for the Cubs who have hit a slump after coming out of the gates strong.

The Cubs could never get going as the Brewers scored in six of nine innings against the Cubs pitching staff.  Jason Marquis got the start on the mound and lasted five innings as he gave up ten hits and five runs.  Kevin Hart gave up three runs, Sean Marshall and Jon Leiber also gave up a earned run out of the bullpen.

The Cubs batters faced a wild Ben Sheets who walked seven batters but the Cubs couldn’t string together three or four hits in a row to take advantage of all those walks and put up a big number on the scoreboard.

Mike Fontenot did double with the bases loaded to pick up three RBI but that was about the Cubs only big hit that scored more then one run at a time.  Derrek Lee did connect for his eighth home run in the in the third inning and finished with that one RBI.  Reed Johnson, Felix Pie, and Marquis all had one RBI as well.

It is time the Cubs get back to winning some games, and they really need to pick up the win tomorrow when they face the Brewers once again.  You can’t keep dropping these divisional games and expect to win the division.

So will the Cubs get the win tomorrow?  Leave us a comment and let us know!

The Chicago Cubs six game win streak was stopped today in Denver as the Colorado Rockies beat the Cubs 4-2.  Once again most of the offense happened late in the game but unlike Wednesday night, the Cubs were on the losing side of this one.

The key play in the game was in the eigth inning when Ronny Cedeno and Ryan Theriot tried to turn a double play that would have ended the inning.  Cedeno’s throw was a little bit off the bag and Theriot was unable to hold onto the ball.

Jason Marquis pitched seven innings for the Cubs today.  Two runs were charged to Marquis, and he allowed eight hits in the game.  Kevin Hart pitched in relief and took the loss as he gave up two runs.

The Cubs will now travel to Washington to take on the Nationals.  I think they will take two of three or possibly sweep this weekend.  What does everyone else think on the Nationals series?

The Chicago Cubs completed a three game sweet of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday with a 13-6 victory.  Ryan Dempster picked up the win to improve to 3-0 on the season.  Aramis Ramirez and Ryan Theriot both had a good day at the plate.

Theriot had four hits, including two doubles and two RBIs, while Ramirez contributed three hits and four RBIs, including his fourth homer of the season, a two-run shot in the fifth.  Derrek Lee and Matt Murton both had two RBI while Ronny Cedeno had one RBI.

In the games on Friday and Saturday, the Cubs picked up 3-2 and 13-1 victories over the Pirates.  On Friday, Rich Hill picked up his first win of the season as he tossed five innings.  On Saturday, Jason Marquis picked up his first win of the season as the Cubs crushed the Pirated 13-1.

After the three game sweep, the Cubs are tied for first place with the St. Louis Cardinals.  Keep on playing good baseball!

Manager Lou Piniella told the media today that Jason Marquis and Ryan Dempster would be in the starting rotation.  I am suprised to see both of them in the rotation and Jon Lieber working out of the bullpen.  I would rather have Lieber in the rotation, and then one of the other two out of the bullpen.  Maybe this is just to get Marquis some work, so hopefully the Cubs can eventually trade him.

Piniella also said that Kerry Wood would start out the season as the teams closer.  He was in a battle all spring with Carlos Marmol and Bob Howry.  Wood proved to the coaches that he could pitch on back to back days and did a good job so he earned the spot.  If Wood struggles, look for Marmol to be thrown into the position.

Sorry I haven’t been able to get an update on the blog lately regarding spring training. I have been pretty busy the past week, but I’m here now, and ready to talk Cubs Baseball!

It was interesting to hear Lou Piniella say it would be a three person battle for the closers role as pitchers and catches reported.  Piniella mentioned Kerry Wood, Carlos Marmol, and Ryan Dempster would battle it out.  Make you think what is going on as Dempster is supposed to get a look as a starter as well.  Then out of nowhere yesterday, Piniella said that Bob Howry would be the closer if the season started today.  Lol, does anyone know what is going on with the closers role?!

I thought it was pretty funny that Carlos Zambrano was wearing Fukudome’s jersey as the Japanese reported to spring training.  After playing with Fukudome for a little bit, Big Z then gave him his jersey as they all had a good laugh.  Gotta love a little joking around to keep the players lose.

As far as the starting rotation, it looks like the Cubs will be going with something like this:

1.  Carlos Zamrano
2.  Ted Lilly
3.  Open
4.  Rich Hill
5.  Open

Piniella really wants to split up the lefthanders Lilly and Hill.  I would probably pencil in Jon Leiber or Jason Marquis into that #3 spot and then the other in the #5 spot.  Leaving out Sean Marshall unless Piniella wants to have back to back lefties in the #4 and #5 spots.

How do you all feel with the pitchers?  What is the best rotation Lou can set up?  What is the best option for closer at this point?  Leave us a comment and let us know your opinion!

The regular season is over for the Chicago Cubs after the dropped a 8-4 contest against the Cinncinatti Reds on Sunday.  I wouldn’t put much into the final game of the season as the Cubs were just playing in a tune up for Wenesdays opening night game in the playoffs.

Alfonso Soriano led off the game with a lead off homer as he set a Major League record with his 7th lead off homerun in the month of September.  Soriano led the game off for the Cubs this year hitting 12 homeruns.  Soriano also singled in the 2nd inning that scored two more runs.

Two players that got into the game that I am very worried about however is Jason Marquis and Ryan Dempster.  Marquis pitched 2/3rds of an inning and allowed four hits and four earned runs.  Dempster wasn’t much better as he pitched one inning allowing four hits and four runs.  Terrible performance once again by Dempster.

I don’t want to see Marquis or Dempster with the ball in the playoffs to be honest.  Let Bob Howry be the closer of this team.

Before the game Lou Piniella said that Carlos Zambrano would pitch game one against the Diamondbacks, and Ted Lilly would get the ball in game two.  I would expect to see Rich Hill get the nod for game three which will be in Chicago on Saturday night.

GO CUBS GO! - Chicago Cubs Blog