General manager Jim Hendry has countered the Milwaukee Brewer’s trade for CC Sabathia with a trade of his own.  Hendry and the Oakland Athletics worked out a trade that will send Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin to the Cubs for Matt Murton, Eric Patterson, Josh Donaldson, and Sean Gallagher.

I don’t mind one bit giving up Murton and Patterson in the deal, I would have rather had someone else go instead of Gallagher but you have to give up something good to get something good in return.  Murton should now get some good playing time on the A’s so the trade is very good for him.  I’m not sure what the A’s plan will be for Patterson but Gallagher could go right into their rotation.

So Cubs fans, is Hendry done wheeling and dealing?

The Chicago Cubs lost 8-3 to the San Francisco Giants on Thursday as the two teams split a four game series out in San Francisco.  The Cubs were right in the game until the the seventh inning when Carlos Marmol gave up a three run home run to Rich Aurilia.  Something is wrong with Marmol like we have blogged about before.  I just hope the kid can make it to the all stat break and get a much needed rest.  He needs rest for the body and the mind I’m afraid.

Sean Gallagher had one bad inning where he gave up four runs.  He was only charged with three runs however as one of the runs scored unearned due to a Cubs error.  Gallagher is now 3-4 and could be moved to the bullpen soon.

Jose Ascanio gave up two runs while Jon Lieber gave up one run.  The Cubs pitchers just didn’t have it going on the mound.  Hopefully they weren’t thinking ahead to the big weekend series with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Mark DeRosa had two rbi to lead the Cubs at the plate. DeRosa doubled in the sixth inning to score Derrek Lee and Jim Edmonds.  Lee had the Cubs first rbi in the first inning when he scored Reed Johnson.  It was nice to see Johnson make his return to the lineup as he went 1-3.

To make room for Johnson on the roster, the Cubs sent Eric Patterson back down to Triple A Iowa.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe July 4th tomorrow and we can all sit down and watch the Cubs beat the Cardinals!

The Chicago Cubs lost to the Chicago White Sox for the second straight day as the White Sox outscored the Cubs 6-5 on Saturday afternoon.  A home run by Carlos Quentin off of Cubs reliever Carlos Marmol in the seventh inning won it for the White Sox.  Most times the ball wouldn’t have been a home run, but with Marmol’s fastball and the wind blowing out, the ball was able to get over the fence.

So now the Cubs have lost two in a row to the White Sox and will have to win on Sunday night to avoid the three game sweep by their crosstown rivals.  The Cubs just didn’t get that big hit late in the game like they have in the past.  Derrek Lee started off the ninth inning with a double and was moved over to third on a ground ball by Daryle Ward but Aramis Ramirez and Jim Edmonds both hit little ground balls to end the game.  Have to get better swings on those kind of pitches late in the game with a runner on third base.

Lee finished the game 5-5 at the plate and knocked in three rbi.  Mark DeRosa and Daryle Ward had the other two rbi for the Cubs.  As a team they struck out a season high 14 times as they were not patient at all.  Usually they will have more walks than strikeouts but this time they only had three walks compared to the 14 strike outs.

On the mound for the Cubs, Sean Gallagher gave up five runs over six innings of action.  Gallagher gave up two home runs and eight total hits in the game.  I was actually suprised that Lou left him in the game for as long as he did because he was really getting hit hard and the pitch count was getting up there.

Carlos Marmol ended up taking the loss as he gave up the home run to Quentin in the seventh inning.  Like I mentioned before, in most cases that ball doesn’t leave the ballpark, and it was actually a pretty decent pitch by Marmol.  Tough break for the kid and the team.

So now the Cubs will send Sean Marshall to the mound on Sunday night.  The game will be on ESPN in front of a national audience.  Hopefully Marshall and the Cubs can put on a show and pick up a win in the series.

What a sour way to lose on Thursday night as Carlos Marmol and Scott Eyre pitched terribly in the seventh inning and the Chicago Cubs lost 8-3.  Yeah, the Cubs were ahead 3-1 heading in to the bottom of the seventh but two walks and two hit batters for Marmol led to Scott Eyre giving up a grand slam, triple, double, and sac fly before the inning was over.

It sucks to see both of them throw the ball so bad.  Was it because Marmol hadn’t been used for four days?  Was it just one of those nights where the Cubs weren’t meant to win?  Who knows but it sure sucked seeing them pitch like that and not be able to hold down the lead so Sean Gallagher could win.  Gallagher tossed six innings of four hit and one run baseball.  Great job by Gallagher, hopefully next time he will be able to get the win.

Kosuke Fukudome, Ryan Theriot, and Mike Fontenot all had a rbi for the Cubs.  Derrek Lee went 3-4 but struck out with runners in scoring position one time.  The Cubs really struggled at the plate in this series with the Rays.  Hopefully they can bounce back out of it as they taked on the White Sox Friday afternoon.

And what is up with the Cubs playing a night game in Tampa and then having to fly all the way back to Chicago and play an afternoon game against their rivals?  Shouldn’t the Cubs and Rays been playing in the afternoon so the Cubs would have had more time to get back to Chicago?  Talk about some weird scheduling.

Well we will be back this afternoon to blog about the Cubs and White Sox game.  I hope we can kick some white sox ass!

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Last Sunday, I was down in the dumps as I watched (in person) Alfonso Soriano drop a fly ball with 2 outs in the 9th at PNC Park. Despite the “Bartman” chants from the Pirate fans and the loss that eventually resulted, I told myself, everything happens for a reason. Fast forward a week: the Cubs haven’t lost again.

The 5-3 win today completed the 4 game sweep of the Rockies and the 7 game home stand, with no losses to be found. Sean Gallagher got his 3rd win, picking up a career high 8 strikeouts. Alfonso Soriano hit another homerun, a solo shot in the 6th. Aramis Ramirez who went 3-3 had an RBI single, and Jim Edmonds has another multi hit performance with a double, triple, and 2 RBIs. Kerry Wood worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 14th save. Coming up next for the Cubs is a 7 game road trip to the West Coast starting with 3 in San Diego - game 1 tomorrow night.

Mike

Wahoo, those last three innings of the game was pretty exciting as the Chicago Cubs scored three runs in the seventh inning and then held on to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1.  The Cubs have now won two games in a row and improved their record to 31-21 on the season.

It sure was great watching Sean Gallagher pitch a good game.  Gallagher pitched seven innings and only allowed four hits and one run.  Great outing for Gallagher who has to stay in the rotation for atleast two more games in my opinion.  Hell, let him stay in the rotation for good.

Carlos Marmol worked out of a bases loaded jam in the eighth inning without giving up a run, and then Kerry Wood shut down the Dodgers in the ninth to pick up his 12th save of the season.  I still worry that the Cubs are using Marmol a little bit too much.

Mike Fontenot, Aramis Ramirez, and Kosuke Fukudome all had one rbi in the game.  Had the Cubs got some bunts down that they messed up on, it probably would have been a 5-1 or 6-1 game in my opinion.  Tomorrow, they are going to be getting some practice bunting the ball lol.

The Cubs and Dodgers will play again on Wednesday night as the Cubs go for the three game sweep.  Carlos Zambrano will take the mound for the Cubs as he tries to improve his record to 8-1 on the season.

GO CUBS GO!

The Chicago Cubs lost to the Houston Astros 5-3 on Wednesday night as the Cubs struggled at the plate.  With the 5-3 loss, the Cubs dropped two of three to the Astros and are now sitting at 28-19 on the season.

Sean Gallagher took the loss and is now 1-1 on the season.  He gave up eight hits and five runs over 4 2/3 innings.  The Astros big blast came in the third inning when Carlos Lee took a high fastball and crushed it into the left field bleachers for a three run home run.  That knocked Gallagher out of the game for good.

Michael Wuertz also had some trouble as he came in after Gallagher left.  Wuertz only recorded one out and walked two batters.  Scott Eyre, Jon Lieber, and Bob Howry all pitched a scoreless inning in relief so atleast that was one bright spot for the Cubs on Wednesday night.

At the plate for the Cubs, Derrek Lee had a two run home run in the first inning and then Geovany Soto had a rbi double later in the inning.  After the first inning, the Cubs only had two hits in the game.  Micah Hoffpauir did have two hits in the game as he notched his first career hit in the first inning and later scored on the Soto double.

The Cubs will now have an off day on Thursday and then start up a series on Friday with the Pittsburgh Pirates.  The Cubs really need to sweep the Pirates to stay on top of the Central Division.

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Alfonso Soriano once again led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run as he continues to swing a very hot bad. Soriano also hit a three run shot in the second inning as the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-4 to open up the three game weekend series.

Soriano led the Cubs with four rbi in the game as he has raised his average up to .265 after starting the season off slowly and spending 15 days on the disabled list.  It is awsome to see him swinging the bat the way he is right now even though he is still swinging that the first pitch every at bat and watching every flyball he hits like it is a home run.

Geovany Soto and Mark DeRosa both hit home runs for the Cubs as well as they both hit solo shots.  Aramis Ramirez also had one rbi as he had a rbi groundout in the first inning.

Sean Gallagher picked up the win in and his now 1-0 on the season.  Gallagher tossed six innings and allowed four hits and three runs.  Gallagher could have stayed in the game longer but he started getting a little wild and Lou Piniella didn’t want to take any chances with the young pitcher.  I would exptec that Gallagher would get atleast two more starts and many more if he continues to throw the ball like he did on Friday.

Bob Howry came in after Gallagher left the game and had some trouble.  Howry actually let the Pirates back in the game as he gave up three hits and three runs.  Two of those three hits were home runs.  Kerry Wood was called upon in the ninth inning to close out the game.  Wood didn’t have any problems as he picked up his ninth save of the game.  I’d expect Wood to get Saturday off as he has pitched in the last three game.

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The Chicago Cubs got a little bit of revenge this weekend as they finished off a three game sweep of the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks.  The last time the two teams played, it was the Diamondbacks sweeping the Cubs in the playoffs.

The Cubs were out of it on Sunday until the seventh inning when Reed Johnson hit a two run home run to tie the game at 4-4.  In the eighth inning, Daryle Ward came to the plate with the bases loaded and doubled to right-center field scoring two runs.  Earlier in the game Derrek Lee hit his tenth home run of the season as well.

Starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano was scratched from his start due to the wet conditions and the fact that the game started about an hour late.  Instead it was Sean Gallagher making the start.  Gallagher tossed 4 1/3 innings while he gave up five hits and four runs.

Chad Fox, Michael Wuertz, Carlos Marmol, and Kerry Wood all pitched in relief and no one gave up a hit!  The bullpen pitched awesome as Marmol picked up the win and Wood picked up the save.  Just like it should be every game, Marmol and Wood closing the game in the eighth and ninth innings!

The Cubs will now welcome in the San Diego Padres for a four game series starting Monday night.  The first three games of the series will be a night so Wrigleyville is going to be buzzing into the late hours.

Wow, the Cubs were never even in the game hardly today against the Cincinnti Reds as the Reds came out of the gates with some big whoopin sticks.  The Reds hit four home runs off Jon Lieber in the second inning, and then two more home runs off of Sean Marshall in the fifth inning, and one more off of Sean Gallager in the sixth inning.

The pitchers didn’t even give the hitters a chance today as they put them into such a big hole to start off.  Yeah, the offense sucked as well in the game as they only recorded six total hits and didn’t even score one run.  Leaving twenty runners on base and striking out eleven time sure didn’t help the offense.

The Cubs will now off Thursday off which is a much needed off day if you ask me.  Let the bullepen get some more rest as they are probably going to have to be used quite a bit this weekend when the Arizona Dimaondbacks come into town for a weekend series.  The Cubs have a long homestand coming up, they really need to win 75% of these games to stay within striking distance of the St. Louis Cardinals who just keep on winning and winning.  Right now the Cubs are thre games behind the Cardinals in the standings.

So how will the Cubs do against the Diamondbacks?  I’m predicting that they will win one game out of the three game series.  Leave us a comment and let us know what you think.