Another Step Closer

The Cubs won again, beating the Sveum-led Brewers 5-4.

Despite the fact that Sabathia took the mound for the Brewers, Soriano starting the game with a hit yet again. A double off the wall (did he come out of the box a tad slow? maybe....) put Soriano in place to score a run in the first. He did just that when Lee, heating up at the right time, doubled Soriano in. Ramirez notched two RBIs in the third off Sabathia on a double that scored The Riot and Lee, who had both singled. Soriano added a big homer in the Seventh. Ramirez scored the eventual winning run by leading off the eighth with a double and coming in on a Blanco single.

Dempster got the win and posted a good line with 7 innings, 2 hits, 2 earned runs, 9 strike outs and one walk. Somehow it felt more intense. Probably due to the starters' stellar performances the last two game, but also due to Dempster having some minor hiccups to work through. Fielder, a killer for these Cubs, did a lot of damage with 3 RBI, 3 hits and 2 runs. He bombed a massive 2-run homer in the sixth and a solo shot in the eighth off of Marmol. Wood got the save, but not before giving up a run and putting the tying run on third with 2-out and Fielder at the plate. Wood threw a barrage of fastballs (7 straight) before dropping a slider on a 3-2 count to punch Fielder out. Wood called the pitch a "slurvy slider". Whatever you call it, it froze Fielder and brought on the end-game cheering at Wrigley.

Magic Number: Division - 4; Wild Card - 5 (Mets)

Gilded Lilly

One day after Z pitches his no-hitter, Lilly goes seven innings and gives up only one hit. Samardzija, Marmol and Howry finished it off without giving up a hit (though they did give up a run) and the Cubs became the first team in history to follow a no-hitter with a one-hitter (the Cubs also had back-to-back one-hitters by Lieber and Wood on May 24-25, 2001). For the two games, the Astros hit .019, the Cub starters pitched 16 scoreless innings and gave up one hit while striking out 19. The mini sweep of the 'Stros put the Cubs 5-3 for this longest road trip. They went to 4 cities in 11 days, including two unscheduled rest days due to Ike, and managed to win the final 4 games after starting 1-3.

Samardzija and Marmol managed to give up a run without giving up a hit, which was the only smudge on this two day series. Samardzija walked two with one out and gave way to Marmol. Marmol then let the runners move up on a wild pitch before a sac fly brought in the run.

The Cubs offense got on track a bit with 6 runs on 7 hits (just in time to face Sabathia). Soriano led off the game with a single, was moved over by a Lee single and brought in by a Ramirez sac fly. Good way to start the game and, just like yesterday, that one run was all they would need. Edmonds added a solo shot in the fifth inning (which also included a Lilly single). Four more runs were added in the sixth as Fontenot walked ahead of a Lee homer and then Ramirez singled ahead of a Soto homer.

The Brewers were off yesterday and now the Cubs own an 8-game lead in the Central. Apparently that was enough for Milwaukee management, who fired Ned Yost despite the Brewers being tied for the Wild Card with only 12 games left before post-season play. The Brewers look respectable at 83-67 with a very young, talented team. However, this team has a $90 million dollar payroll and people expected more from them. They fell flat at home mid-season against the Cubs and let them slip out of town in first place, then just recently floundered against Philly and their lead in the Wild Card race evaporated before their eyes. In non-Sabathia starts, the team has gone 15-22 since July 26th - when they were tied with the Cubs on top of the Central. They held a 5 1/2 game lead on the WC on September 1. This is too similar to the 2007 collapse when the Brewers couldn't hold an 8 1/2 game lead in the Central. Yost did good work otherwise, posting a .532 winning percentage and making Milwaukee relevant again. This might be there first playoffs since 1982, but they'll have to do it behind Dale Sveum.

Welcome to Managing in the Bigs, Dale. Here come the Cubbies and their chests are puffed out. Sabathis versus Dempster. Should be a good one.

Magic Number: Division and Wild Card - 6

No No, No Problem!

The Cubs finally played a game against the Astros. They played it in Milwaukee of all places, where the ghost of Milt Pappas (OK, just the repeated use of Pappas - alive and kicking - as the easiest "obscure" trivia answer in Cub lore) was laid to rest.

Big Z felt right at home. After an 11-game rest and a ton of hair pulling and woe-is-me discussion by Cub fans and Chicago sports media, Zambrano got a win.

Not just any win. A no-hitter. The first in Miller Park history. Big Z gave up 1 walk and 1 HBP over 9 innings and 110 pitches. He also went 1 for 3 at the plate and scored a run in the Cubs 5-0 victory over the beleaguered Astros. The one walk came in the 4th and was followed by a Tejada double play ball. Z also hit Pence in the 5th with 2 outs, which was followed by a nice leaping catch by Lee on a hot liner to first.

This may not rank as the best no-hitter ever pitched. The Astros have certainly had a lot on their minds of late and having a supposed home game in Milwaukee didn't help. Neither did the fact that the 'Stros arrived in Milwaukee just a few hours before first pitch and had been sitting on their asses for two days waiting for some decision to be made.

You no doubt will read all the teeth gnashing over how poorly this was handled by MLB and Houston ownership, but it was a tough situation. They should have made an earlier decision, but hindsight is like that. Milwaukee may have seemed like Wrigley Lite on Sunday night, but many parks would have produced a majority Cub fans. Their appeal is evident every time they play an away game. With scheduling such a bitch anyway and weather everywhere in the shitter, the dome in Milwaukee was not a ridiculous choice. Unfortunate for the Astros, for sure, but not ridiculous. Would they prefer to lose a home game or be forced to ruin the potential playoff rotation with games after the season is over? Not to mention, depending on how the revenue is doled out, Milwaukee would certainly produce the most, if not close to the most, tickets sold of any other "neutral" venue.

Nevertheless, Houston was riding a hot streak, winning 14 of 15 prior to Sunday and had leapt into the Wild Card race. The slumping Cubs had been doing a similar amount of sitting around (though clearly with less angst) and Zambrano was coming off a string of bad outings culminating in bench time to rest his aching shoulder.

Big Z hadn't pitched a shutout since 2004 and hadn't had a complete game since June 16, 2007. His performance was stellar, with a zipping fastball and excellent command. 73 strikes, 37 walks, 10 strikeouts, 13 groundouts, 4 flyouts (only 2 balls left the infield, total) and 28 batters faced. It was also a good day for what has seemed like a shaky defense recently for the Cubs.

Soriano started the game out with a HR. That would be all she wrote, but the Cubs added four more in the third in typical fashion. Two singles started off the inning and with 2-out, Lee doubled in Cedeno and Zambrano. Ramirez singled in Lee and advanced to second on an error. He was immediately picked up on an RBI double by Soto. DeRosa walked and Johnson, the ninth batter of the inning, recorded the last out swinging at air in the 10th pitch of the at-bat (having recorded 5 fouls on a 2-2 count).

Now the Cubs stand 7 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee in the Central despite having won only 4 of their last 10 games as the Brewers dropped both ends of a double header to Philly. The Brewers and Phils are now tied for the Wild Card, Houston is 2 games back, St. Louis 4 1/2 back. So much for the Central being the dregs of the NL. Magic Number: Division and WC - 7 games (15 remaining)

Lookee What I Found

It's a couple of victories!

The Cubs managed to take two in St Louis and win a series. They are now sitting on 88 wins and are 5 1/2 games up on Milwaukee (lost to the Phils last night) and 8 1/2 up on the next teams in the Wild Card hunt. Amazingly, Houston is one of those teams and they are tied with the Phils now at 80-67.

Now the Cubs are getting a breather as the hurricane resulted in two cancelled games in Houston [pause for a prayer for the weather beaten masses]. The sizzling Astros are 9-1 in their last 10 and the Cubs are hoping this time off will cool them just a bit.

On Wednesday, the Cubs got 8 innings and 1 earned run (in the first on a Pujols ground out that scored Izturis) surrendered from Lilly. Hell of an effort. The Cubs managed 4 runs in the second inning, which started out with 4 straight singles and was aided by 2 errors from Felipe Lopez at third. The inning also featured Ted Lilly barreling into Molina at home plate, catching him in the jewels with his knee. Soriano nailed Izturis at the plate in the third, which would turn out huge as Woody would give up a Pujols double followed by a Ludwick homer to cut the lead to 4-3, the eventual final score.

Thursday was no less fun. Harden went six innings and gave up 2 runs in the sixth inning. Six is pretty good, but there was more Cub Angst this morning as reports of lowered velocity and Harden fading in the sixth came across the wire. It doesn't take much to get people in a tizzy. Soriano and Fukudome both added outstanding catches in the eighth inning and Samardzija, Marmol and Wood locked it down. The Cubs posted two runs in the fifth without a hit thanks to a succession of events - a walk, a rare Pujols error, 2 more walks (The Riot walked scoring Soto) and a ground out (Lee grounded out, scoring Johnson). DeRosa and Fontenot hit back to back doubles to add another run in the next inning.

The ninth was another doozy as Wood gave up a lead-off double. The bunt that followed was fielded by Lee, who fired to third. With Ramirez having to backpedal to the bag after charging the bunt and the runner on the move, it would have been a miraculous play. As it happens, it was anyway as Brendan Ryan overslid third after beating the tag and Aramis got him on the retag. He looked safe, but it was bang bang. A bloop single then put 2 on and 1 out before Woody K'd Miles and induced a pop up from Pujols, who had us all worried.

Two strange wins, but you take what you get. I'm still concerned about the hitting, but the Cubs made some runs out of nothing (or the Cards gave them out for free with purchase of a hot dog) and the pitchers navigated a tough lineup to get it done. The bunt play last night was typical of the Cubs lately, with Lee opting for the ridiculous play at third rather than the out at first (though perhaps Miles beats it anyway) and Ramirez doesn't actually hold the tag through the slide, he holds it up to the ump before realizing the runner was in the dirt past third. They still got the results, but boy is it tense. Soriano has been on target in the field and Fukudome proved his glove yet again.

The Cubs now face 16 games in 15 days. With the concerns for Big Z and Harden, this could really push the staff. Expect some of the middle relief to get rode hard. Either Z or Marquis is going to have to eat some innings on Sunday. I expect it will be up to Marquis regardless of how he is pitching.

Magic Number: Division 11, Wild Card 8

This is getting old

I agree with Piniella. I'm tired of watching the Cubs play like this.

Last night was just more of the same....eighth loss in nine games. Dempster pitched OK, but with the Cubs up 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth he made a big mistake. After giving up a double and a bunt single (tough play that wasn't going to get Miles, though Lee made a good hockey save to keep the ball from getting too far away and keeping the advancing runner at third), Dempster grooved one to the guy you don't want to make a mistake with. No doubt about the Pujols 3-run homer to tie it up. Dempster did compose himself to get out of the inning and through the seventh without further incident (a good sign, if you ask me).

The offense offered up a little help, with usual suspects The Riot (2-5, 2 runs), Ramirez (3-4, 2 RBI) and Lee (1-4, 1 run, 1 RBI) doing the damage and posting an early lead for Dempster. However, the bats did not come alive late and the Cubs never scratched home plate after the third inning.

Marmol had the mound in the ninth and pissed it away with a single, a balk, a walk, a sacrifice to move runners to 2nd and 3rd, and a fielder's choice scoring the winning run.

Can Lilly be the stopper tonight like he was last year pitching after a loss? Let's hope so. I don't feel like watching more of this.

Division Magic Number is 15. Wild Card Magic Number is 11. With the team playing like this, those numbers seem astronomically large with 18 games to go. The Cubs will make the playoffs. Of that there is no doubt, but will they come in like champs breaking the tape on the regular season race or will they trudge in behind, just happy enough that it's finally over?

Now Panic?

I've been out of town and I can't say I'm sorry I have missed the Cubs descent into madness.

Things are not going swimmingly. That's obvious. There is a growing sense of doom here in the Windy City. I am choosing to ignore it. The Tribune has a piece in the Sports Section today with comparisons to 1969.

I understand. Things always happen. Goats , Bartman and the '69 Mets. Who will play this year's Leon Durham or Brant Brown? I can't say I haven't felt that way in years past. This team just doesn't have that feel to me.

The Cubs have lost 7 of 8 and done it every which way but loose. No hitting. Bad pitching. Bad fielding. Big Z and Harden on the bench. Kid K blowing one late. Nevertheless, this team amazingly has a 4 1/2 game lead over the Brewers and a 7 1/2 game lead over the Phillies (the next closest contender for the Wild Card).

I've gone over the remaining schedule already and it isn't pretty. However, it is exactly what this team needs to right the ship prior to the playoffs. They don't need to flail through a soft schedule and flop themselves into the playoffs. They need to harden up (Harden up, too) by playing tough opponents and quality pitching as they tune this engine back up. Despite this mini-slump, the Cubs still lead the NL with 86 victories and are only 1 back of the Angels for tops in the majors. They are still 2 games above .500 away after muddling all year at a below .500 clip for games outside of the Friendly Confines.

This Cub team is a solid group and still have more going for them than the rest of the National League and can match up with the tops in either league. I refuse to feed into the negative mindset after this latest drop in production. This is what baseball is all about. I'm looking for Dempster, Lilly and Harden to reel off three good starts in a row against the Cardinals. The atmosphere will be there and I expect the Cubs to respond.

PANIC!

What a rough week. Even the 3-day weekend didn't help. The Cubs have now lost four in a row, Fukudome is looking at pine time and two ace pitchers are looking at missing starts.

The dogs are beginning to howl and the fans are antsy. The heroics of the first few Phillie games (Ramirez granny on Friday, Soriano's game winning HR in the seventh on Saturday) were quickly forgotten over the next four games. To put it mildly, the Cubs have looked bad. The hitting is dormant and the pitchers are fumbling.

The last thing any Cub fan wants to hear about is star pitchers with dead arms and injuries. However, the team still sits atop the majors with 85 wins and a 4 1/2 game lead over the Brewers (who are having their own heart palpitations over Sheets and his groin right now). Even the hand wringing over the away record has subsided some now that the Cubs are 34-31 away from Wrigley.

The bad news is that September includes 6 vs St Louis, 6 vs Milwaukee, and four more against Houston, who have been playing well. The only relief is a three game set at Cincy because the four games in NY with a Mets team hanging tight to a 2 game lead in the East will not be easy. To add to the drama, among the 5 teams (4 in the NL) with more away victories than the Cubs are Milwaukee, St Louis, and the Mets.

It's liable to get intense, but I still think the Cubs have the goods. The question remains how well they can position themselves for the playoffs. They need to get Zambrano right and continue to keep an eye on Harden. I'm looking for Dempster to prove just how valuable he is to this team by carrying them toward the playoffs along with strong efforts by Lilly and Marquis, who has done good work lately. The offense has been in a lull recently, but top to bottom, they are too good to stay there.

Dempster can start tonight by halting this losing streak and putting the team back in gear before heading off to Cincy.