Unglued

I'll admit, any semblance of positivity I have about this season seems to dwindle away the longer the Cubs are out on the road. Yet another poor offensive showing results in wasting another really strong outing by Harden. That kind of thing has to gnaw at a pitcher.

Harden went 7 innings in 112 pitches giving up just one run on the only hit the D'Backs managed off him, a home run to Alex Romero in the sixth inning. The new guy walked only 2 against 10 strikeouts and throwing 60% of his pitches for strikes. Harden looked like an ace, though he suffered a few control miscues, including zooming a fastball over Soto's head for a wild pitch and bouncing one short of the plate that did not allow a running on second to advance only due to the game situation.

On the other side, the team managed only 2 hits (one each by Johnson and Edmonds) and 3 walks (Theriot, Johnson, Edmonds). Yet again, the big boppers remained silent on the road and the Cubs fail to look like a team to fear. At the very least, Randy Johnson was pitching with as much impact as Harden and this wasn't a game dropped to a 5th starter. Nevertheless, losing yet again to Randy Johnson is a kick in the teeth.

Soriano can't get back soon enough. This is exactly the time that he can add some zing to the offense. It looks like he'll get one more rehab start and be ready to go on Thursday.

The good starting pitching may not be netting victories, but they have eaten up innings and gone deep into games. Sweet Lou is likely to use that to his advantage and keep Wood on the roster, rather than a DL stint. Hopefully a new ointment Wood is trying will help heal that blister.

The Cubs have Marquis going tonight and he is sporting a 3.30 career ERA against Arizona (over 57 1/3 innings). Maybe he can work some magic, but more importantly, the Cub offense needs to show something (Arizona has yet to announce their starter for tonight).