So, have you all recovered from your hangovers?  I kind of am so we will begin talking about the postseason. Whoo Hoo!  The postseason matchups are still not know, San Diego and Colorado are playing a tiebreaker game tomorrow to determine the winner of the wildcard.  The Cubs are the Central champs, Arizona the champs of the West, and the Phillies finished their unbelieveable run to take the East.  The team with the best record (Arizona) usually faces the wild card, but since the wildcard winner is also coming out of the west, the rules state that you can’t play someone from your division in the wildcard.  The Cubs have not done well against the Diamondbacks, going 2-4 against the Diamondbacks this season.  But Arizona is a young team, and in the playoffs, anything can happen.

Not Meaningless Games

If you thought that the games Saturday and Sunday were meaningless, think again.  For many of the Cubs players, it was their last chance to try and solidify a spot on the playoff roster.  Rich Hill proved his value by pitching six shutout innings, with a no hitter going into the sixth inning.  Sean Marshall, who has only started one game in September, pitched two inning of no hit ball, strkining out 3 of the 6 batters he faced. Matt Murton weny two for four, with a double and a home run.  Geovany Soto went three for four, with two doubles and a single.  Even Ronnie Cedeno had another home run. All of this against one of the best pitchers in the NL, Aaron Harang.  Sunday’s game was more like a Spirng Training game.  Ted Lilly, who will pitch in the second game of the playoffs. pitched two scoreless innings in the final game of the regular season.  The Cubs used eight pitchers today including Lilly.  Lou also gave his starters some at bats, but pulled nealy everyone after two innings.  Alfonso Soriano started out the game with his seventh lead off homer this month, and a two-run single, finishing his day going 3-3 with three RBI’s.  Derek Lee and Jacque Jones each drove in a run and the Cubs led this game 3-0.  But after Lilly and the starters left after the second, Jason Marquis came in and looked awful again.  Marquis gave up four runs on four hits. hit one batter,  and issued one walk.  He did strike out two batters, but couldn’t even finish the inning.  Then in the next inning, Ryan Demptser also gave up four runs on four hits, including a three run homer two out homer to Joey Votto. 

Lots of Questions

The first big question is will Jason Marquis going to be left off the playoff roster for the second straight year?  Marquis has been terrible in September, with bad outings against Pittsbugh, Florida, and Cincy today.  Marquis finished the season with a 12-9 record and 4.60 earned-run average, but he has a 6.21 ERA in September, and a 5.73 ERA in the second half. Lou had announed that Zambrano, Lilly, and Hill would be the first three starters in the NLDS, but would not commit to Marquis being the fourth.  During today’s game, the Chicago Tribune wrote

"Fans sitting near home plate watched in disbelief as a visibly angry Piniella had an animated conversation with pitching coach Larry Rothschild after Marquis was yanked. The object of Piniella’s displeasure was obvious. "

Trouble is, Marquis is one of the reasons that the Cubs are going to the playoffs, and he is in the first year of a three year 21 million dollar contract.  How would he react if he was left off the roster?  What would that do to Marquis over the next two years?

Dempster’s performance will also have people questioning whether he should close games in the playoffs.  You don’t really want to mess with the back end of the bullpen just when you are about to start the playoff, but Howry is a veteran and filled in when Dempster was out.  With everything on the line, you wonder how confident Lou is with Dempster as his closer. 

Back to 25

The Cubs will have to go back down to a 25 man roster by Wednesday at 10 AM.  It is believed that the Cubs will use 11 pitchers and 14 position players.  The following position players are a lock for a roster spot;

Derek Lee, Mark DeRosa, Aramis Ramirez, Ryan Theriot, Jason Kendall, Geovany Soto, Alfonso Soriano, Jacque Jones, and Cliff Floyd. 

That’s nine players.  That means the following position players are on the bubble;

Ronnie Cedeno, Mike Fontenot, Felix Pie, Craig Monroe, Sam Fuld, Matt Murton, and Daryl Ward. 

The only reason that Daryl Ward is on the list is because he hurt his hand sliding during the Miami series.  If he feels good to go by Wednesday, he is easily on the team since he is their best pinch hitter.  The five that will probably make it are Cedeno, Murton, Pie, Monroe, and Ward.  That means Sam Fuld and Mike Fontenot are probably the odd men out. 

The pitching is a little trickier.  The pitchers that are already locks are;

Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Rich Hill, Carlos Marmol, Bob Howry, Ryan Dempster, Scott Eyre, Michael Wuertz, and Kerry Wood.

That’s nine pitchers.  The Cubs can only add two more out of the following pitchers on the bubble;

Jason Marquis, Sean Marshall, Kevin Hart, Will Ohman Sean Gallagher, Carmen Pignatiello, and Steve Trachsel.

Obviously Pignatiello and Gallagher are probably not going to make it, but the rest of the pitchers are still up for debate. It is a short series and if the Cubs need a fourth starter or a long man, they can use Marquis, Marshall, or Trachsel.  I hope Trachsel is given his walking papers tomorrow.  He hasn’t done much and I don’t like his attitude.  Ohman gives you another left hander coming out of the pen, and Kevin Hart has been phenomenal since he has been called up.  He has impressed a lot of the coaches with his stuff and his mound presence. 

These are some tough decisions that Lou and his staff are going to have to make.  I’m sure they are discussing these same things right now.  Let me know what you think.  Who should make the team, who shouldn’t?  Let me know.

Go Cubs!

The 2007 Central Division Champion Chicago Cubs.

Say it again Cubs fans.  It feels so good.

The 2007 Central Division Champion Chicago Cubs

It was a roller coaster right this season, but the Cubs finally took the NL Central Crown Friday night, bouncing back from a tough Florida series, pounding the Reds 6-0.  The Cubs played an amazing game, with clutch hitting, good defense, and good starting pitching.  Carlos Zambrano had his second good start in a row, giving up six hits, one walk and striking out four over seven shutout innings for his career-high 18th win. Alfonso Soriano loosened up the Cubs by hitting a lead off home run, his eleveth of the season.  Soriano also had the key defensive play in the game.  The Cubs were up 2-0 in the bottom of the fourth and Zambrano was cruising, but after getting the first out of the inning, Jeff Keppinger and Joey Votto hit back to back singles, putting runners on first and second for Edwin Encarnacion.  Encarnacion hit another single, and Keppinger attempted to score on the play, but Soriano tossed him out for the second out.  Zambrano got Jose Valentin to fly out to end the threat.  Cincy would never make another run.  Derek Lee followed that inning with a two run homer, and Jacque Jones hit a two out, two run double, keeping the Cubs comfortably ahead.  After the game Zambrano put it beautifully;

"This one was important. We started the season here. Before the game, I was thinking here we started, and here we’ll finish this. It’s good to have a win today."

Scoreboard Watching

The Cubs then waited in the clubhouse after the game, eating dinner and watching former Cubs legend and teammate Greg Maddux and the San Diego Padres take on the Brewers.  Neither starter, Greg Maddux or Chris Capuano, pitched that great, but San Diego made the most of their opportunities, wiht Cubs killer Khalil Greene had two hits and three RBI’s, to help Maddux earn his 347th career victory.  A tip of the hat to the Brewers organizations and their fans.  It was a great race and I am sure there will be more in the years to come.

Break Out The Bubbly

As soon as the final out was recorded in Milwaukee, the music was turned up, the champagne came out for a wild party in the visiting clubhouse.  It was a true moment of sheer joy for a team that went through an emotional roller coaster this season.  After starting the season 23-29, the Cubs were able to use the summer months to catch up to Milwaukee.  Through August and September, the Cubs, Brewers, and Cardinals were constantly fighting for that top spot and the Cubs were able to outlast the opposition.  Comcast showed the lockerroom celebration and Gayle Fisher got so much champagne poured on her that her eyes started bothering her and she couldn’t finish her interview with Ted Lilly!  Gayle had a great interview with Lou Pinella, who credited his team, and he talked about the passion of the Cubs fans and the enjoyment of being at Wrigley Field.  He called Wrigley "A True Field of Dreams"

Thank You

There will be plenty of time to discuss who makes the playoff roster, who should start Game 1, how far the Cubs will make it, etc. etc., but for now, let’s just enjoy this together.  It has been one of the wildest seasons I can remember and I am excited for the postseason.  A couple of thank yous are in order; First off I want to thank team president John McDonough for respecting the Cubs fans enough to demand that things change before accepting the job as team president.  He made it his goal that the Cubs would win for the fans, and tonight they took that first step.  They went from worst to first.  One season after losing 96 games, the Cubs are now on top of the Central.  The next thanks goes out to Jim Hendry.  A general managers job is never easy.  This year, it seems like Hendry made all the right moves, giving the Cubs the pieces they needed to contend.  Thanks to manager Lou Pinella for all the work that he and his staff have done with this team.  Lou would never accept losing, and turned this ship around when it looked like it would sink.  Zambrano getting hot and cold, a lack of home runs, an up and down bullpen, and somehow Lou found a way to make it all work.  You are worth every penny of your contract and we are so glad you are here.  To the Cubs players; You guys played with heart and guts, and somehow found ways to win games or bounce back when it looked like you were down for the count.  Good luck in the playoffs and let’s go all the way!  Finally, thanks to all of you readers for checking out this little site and making this such a fun experience for me. I have my playoff tickets ready and will be blogging about everything Cubs postsesason, so continue to check back for all the latest Cubs updates, rumors, photos, and highlights. I don’t know what else to say.  I’m so happy that I hope everything I wrote can somehow express what I am feeling right now.  This has been amazing and let’s all work together to help the Cubbies win it all!  As Lou put it

"Hopefully we can have a few more little parties like thisThey’re fun."

Go Cubs!

It was the low point of the first half of the season.  The Cubs already flopped out of the gate, going 23-26 before Florida came in to Wrigley Field. The Marlins came in and whooped us, sweeping the Cubs at Wrigley.  Immediately after that series, Zambrano punched Barrett, Lou kicked his hat around Wrigley, and the Cubs began an amazing turnaround.  Now, the Marlins have given us the low point of the second half of the season.  After a six game love fest at Wrigley the week before, the Cubs traveled to Florida feeling loose and confident.  After the season series sweep, the Cubs are neither loose or confident. The Marlins’ Cody Ross said it best when he said

"You can look in their dugout, and it’s just like panic mode "They’re pacing up and down. We would be in the same boat if the situation were reversed."

Derek Lee summed up the whole series by saying;

"These guys have our number.  They came out and flat-out beat us. We didn’t envision a sweep."

I don’t think any of us envisioned a sweep.  Not after those amazing wins against Cincy and the sweep of the Pirates, but here we are, with three games left in the season and just barely hanging on.

Trachsel Stinks

I knew it yesterday.  After watching the Marlins hit the bejesus out of the ball, I knew Trachsel would get trounced.  Trachsel took the loss, giving up five runs, five hits and two walks over 4 1/3 innings. He got whacked around pretty good.  Trachsel was pulled after giving up a one out home run to Hanley Ramirez, giving the Marlins a 4-1 lead.  Trachsel walked the next batter, Dan Uggla, before getting the hook.  Will Ohman came in and got the second out, but Kevin Hart gave up a double to Miguel Cabrera, making it 5-1.

A Little Life

The Cubs caught a break in the sixth, when Aramis Ramirez and Geovany Soto both hit singles. (thanks Lou for starting Soto.  I knew you were not serious!)  Craig Monroe then hit a grounder to Carbera, who threw the ball away, allowing Ramriez to score and moving Soto to third.  Jacque Jones hit a single, scoring Soto, and moving Jones to second.  After Matt Murton struck out for the second out, Alfonso Soriano hit a ball that would have been a three run homer in any other ball park, but hit some clock in the outfield, scoring only one run.  Ryan Theriot, continuing to slide, grounded out to end the threat, but the Cubs had pulled to within 1.  The Cubs looked to give it all back when Scott Eyre reverted back to first half form, giving up to singles and a walk to load the bases with one out.  Kerry Wood came in and struck out pinch hitter Jason Wood and got Hanley Ramirez to hit into a double play to end the threat.  Bases loaded, no outs, and Wood pulled it off.  This should have given the Cubs the momentum they needed to win the game.  In the top of the seventh, the Cubs were able to load the bases with two outs, but Jacque Jones struck out swinging to end the inning.  After that it was over.  Ryan Theriot hit into a double play, Jason Kendall (who came into the game in the seventh when Lou had Floyd pinch hit for Soto) gave up another stolen base, and Dempster gave up a run in the bottom of the eighth.

Whose Choking Worse?

The question now is who is choking worse, the Cubs or the Brewers.  For the second night in a row, the Cubs had already lost the game, and the Brewers could have cut the lead to 1, but the Brewers committed five errors, three by third baseman Ryan Braun, and the Brewers lost again 8-5.  That moved the Cubs magic number down to two game with three left to play.  This is what makes it more interesting.  The Brewes announced that Ben Sheet will be scratched from his Friday start, meaning Chris Capuano, who hasn’t won a game in four months.  And who will be pitching against Capuano?  None other than former Cub Greg Maddux.  Wouldn’t it be something if the Mad Dog could help his new team and his old one?  Maddux has struggled in his last couple of starts, but he is a gamer, and you know the Padres need to win.  There are three possible teams who could take that wild card spot.  The Phillies and the Mets are now tied in the east, and both are one game behind the Padres.  Colorado is also one game behind the Padres also.  The Padres will have Maddux face off against Capuano (5-12), Chris Young against Dave Bush, and Brett Tomko against Jeff Suppan.  If the Padres need to win Sunday to make it to the post season, they will start Jake Peavy on short rest if necessary.

Not Fooling Anyone

Lou was asked if the Cubs lacked the killer instincts of a champion, something we talked about on this site earlier.  Lou responded;

"I don’t think it’s that" Piniella said. "I think it’s that we go through periods when we just don’t get the job done. Why do you see us as only [seven] games above .500. We’re not a team that does it all the time.

"If we did it all the time, we would be at 92-93 wins. So you’re going to have some times when you do it, and some times when you don’t. I’m just being perfectly honest. We got three games here where we just didn’t hit with men on base."

The Cubs went 3-for-12 with men in scoring position Thursday, after going 1-for-8 on Wednesday. That’s not going to cut it in the playoffs.  They didn’t come through with the clutch hit, and they never played the small ball that was necessary in that stupid Dolphins Stadium.  After the game, Ryan Dempster said

"Believe it or not, as bad as this was, we’re still confident in ourselves."

Ryan’s not fooling anyone.  Everyone sees it in the faces of everyone in that dugout.  Nobody is confident.  Now they hope Carlos Zambrano, the ace of the team, can stop the bleeding.  Zambrano will face off against Bronson Arroyo, who has had the Cubs number almost every time out.  They will send Rich Hill to pitch against Aaron Harang on Saturday.  Although the Reds have two good pitchers going against us, they are beat up and don’t have much left.  They are in the middle of a five game losing streak.  The Reds will be without Ken Griffey Jr., Josh Hamilton, Alex Gonzalez, Scott Hatteberg, and long time Cubs killer Adam Dunn.  They were just swept by the Astros, losing a tough one in the ninth.  Zambrano needs to pitch like he did on Sunday against the Pirates.  Working quickly, throwing strikes, challenging hitters, and getting into a rhythm.  Come on guys, let’s get going.

Go Cubs!

I don’t even think God himself could help the Cubs right now.  Against one of the worst teams in baseball the Cubs dropped their second game in a row.  It couldn’t have gone any worse.  Bad defense, bad base running, lack of clutch hitting, a poor starting pitching performance, some bad managerial decisions, a bad call, and the Cubs golden reliever giving up a key two run homer to put the game away.  I thought the Cubs won this game.  Yeah the Marlins can hit, but they have a bad starting rotation and an even worse bullpen.  With Dontrelle out of the way, the Cubs should have easily gotten a win.  But they lost 7-4, a big, big loss for the Cubs.

Angry From The Beginning

I was furious before the game even started when I saw that Lou announced that Jason Kendall was going to get the majority of the starts the rest of the way.  What?!  I thought Lou liked to play the hot hand?  You are going to sit Soto (.378 batting average, .431 On Base Percentage, and .667 Slugging) for Jason Kendall (.282 average, .374 On Base Percentage, .374 Slugging Percentage)?  Do I need to talk about defense?  Maybe we should change his name to Dusty Pinella. When’s Neifi Perez coming back? I here he’s available.  So what happens in the first inning against the first batter?  Hanley Ramierz singels, and instantle he steals second by a mile.  Even Bob Brenly, who tries to blame the pitcher everytime Kendall makes a bad throw, blamed it on Kendall.  And at the plate?  Kendall went 0-4. 

Marquis A Mess

For the second start in a row, Jason Marquis got hit like a pinata.  He lasted five innings, giving up nine hits and five runs, four of them earned.  Ramirez, after stealing the base against Kendall, would eventually come around to score, giving the Marlins an early 1-0 lead.  The Cubs came back in the top half of the second.  With runners at second and third, Jacque Jones hit a clutch single, scoring two runs and giving the Cubs their first lead of the series.  Didn’t last long.  In the bottom half of the inning, Marquis gave up back to back singles to the seventh(.276) and eighth(.212) hitters before striking out the pitcher.  Hanley Ramriez came up with one out and hit a grounder straight to Mark DeRosa, who tried to flip the ball to Theriot, but threw it wide, allowing Ramriez to reach tying the game and putting runners at first and third with one out.  Dan Uggla walked before Jeremy Hermida doubled, scoring two more runs and giving the fish a 4-2 lead.  The Cubs came back in the top of third, but missed an opportunity to take the lead.  Soriano started the inning off with a single, but then was doubled off first when a Ryan Theriot line drive was caught by Uggla, who threw to first.  Replays showed that Soriano was safe, but Lou’s arguement went nowhere.  Soriano should know that he needs to freeze on any line drive, instead he strayed too much and made the play too close for the umpire to tell.  Of course the next batter, Derek Lee hits a home run.  So instead of scoring two, we settle for one, cutting the Marlins lead to 4-3

Victory?

Mark DeRosa tripled to lead off the fourth, and Jacque Jones hit a sac fly to tie the game 4-4.  Then Jason Kendall lined out, but Jason Marquis hit a single, bringing Alfonso Soriano to the plate. That was it for rookie Daniel Barone, who had zero victories in five major league starts.  With two outs and Marquis at first, the Marlins bring in Ross Wolf.  Whose that you ask?  A relief pitcher who has a 10.32 ERA, against our 136 million dollar man.  Who wins the match up?  Wolf, who struck Soriano out on a chest high fastball.  Well, Florida has one of the worst bullpens in baseball, and ours is one of the best, so I though we had it won.  Wrong.  In the top of the fifth, Ryan Theriot grounded out to start the inning, (Theriot was 0-5 and has continued slumping throughout Semptember), Derek Lee was hit by a pitch.  Cliff Floyd hit a monster shot that his too hard off the wall, giving Floyd a long single and moving Lee to third with one out and Aramis Ramirez at the plate.  This was about to be the momentum shift of the game.  Ramirez weakly struck out, and went 0-4.  The next batter, Mark DeRosa, hit a ball that would have been a home run in any other park, but landed right at the wall for the left fielder.  After that, the Cubs bats went silent.  The Cubs got only two hits the rest off the game against one of the worst bullpens in the league.  Floyd hit a lead off double in the eighth and Daryl Ward had a one out pinch hit double.  Both runners were left stranded at second.  Meanwhile, Marquis gave up one more run in the bottom of the fifth, and Carlos Marmol gave up a double to Hermidia and a home run to Miguel Cabrera, leaving Marmol looking shell shocked and putting the game away.

Brewers Lose

Just know, Prince Fielder grounded out with a runner on first, ending the Brewers game.  The Cardinals prevent the sweep thanks to a four run eighth inning.  A huge break for the Cubs, moving the magic number down to 3.  We’ll see how the Brewers bounce back after a tough, tought loss.  The Cardinals were only up by one run, 3-2, when that eighth inning rally occured.  Now the Brewers will have to face San Diego, a much tougher team than the Cardinals. These games meant nothing but pride to the Cardinals, but the Padres are barely holding on to a wild card lead against the charging Phillies and Rockies.  San Diego may even have ace Jake Peavy pitch against the Brewers on Sunday if the Padres need that win to clinch a playoff spot.  It would really help if the Padres could take two of the first three. We really need some help, especially because….

Steve Trachsel

Yup, Steve Trachsel will be tomorrow’s starter against the Marlins.  Yes, Trachsel, who has to be near perfect to come close to winning a game.  This against the hard hitting Marlins, who will send left Scott  Olsen and his 9-15 record and 5.88 ERA. Besides being a terrible pitcher, we can’t lose to a guy who looks like Jar Jar Binks!  Seperated at birth?!  The reason the Cubs needed to win today was to stay relaxed.  The Cubs lost to Dontrelle Willis on Tueday.  No big deal.  Willis can still have good days.  But losing against the Marlins with Barone starting?  That’s two losses in a row and you are sending Steve Trachsel in to stop the bleeding.  Had the Brewers won tonight, the lead would have been down to one game.  The Cubs are still two games up, luckily, but now they have to begin answering all the questions.  Are they going to choke?  Do they believe in billy goats and black cats?  Do they know Steve Bartman?  Everyone thinking you are going to choke and then you start to believe it too.  Every manager I have ever seen come to the Cubs always laugh at the Billy Goat question when the first come in to town.  They never are laughing when they leave, never to be heard from again. If you watched tonight’s game, in the ninth inning they panned the cameras through the dugout and you saw the doubt in the faces of the Cubs.  I only hope they can get their confidence up for tomorrow.  The Cubs will then go to face Bronson Arroyo, Aaron Harang, and hard throwing Homer Bailey against the Cubs.  We can’t keep hoping the Brewers get beat.  We need to get in because we are a good team.  If we can’t beat the Marlins one time in six games, do we deserve to be in the playoffs?  Hopefully we’ll find out the answer tomorrow.

Go Cubs!

Ooookay.  Let’s hide the chapagne, stop talking about magic numbers, and put away our tomahawk chops.  You knew in the back of your mind, didn’t you?  Everyone said it was a virtual lock.  No team in the history of baseball has ever lost the lead with a 3 1/2 game lead with six games left to play.  But this is the Cubs.  Anything can happen.  For some odd reason, we never learn our lessons.  The Cubs four game winning streak ended tonight after they hacked away at nearly everything Dontrell Willis’ threw up there.  The game wasn’t even as close as the score indicates.  The Cubs have never made it easy this season, have they? 

Lilly Flat

Lilly has been one of our most dependable pitchers this year, but tonight he was off.  He gave up a two out double in the second to Jeremy Hermida and Miguel Cabrera was intentionally walked, but Lilly was able to get out of it.  He wasn’t as lucky in the bottom of the second.  Like Rich Hill on Saturday, the Marlins got some bloop singles against Lillythat loaded the bases, and scored the first run on another bloop single by Hanley Ramirez.  They scored another run on a Dan Uggla sacrifice fly and Jeremy Hermida’s two-out, two-run double gave the Marlins a big 4-0 advantage. 

Hacking Away

Willis had one of his best night’s of the season, striking out seven to seven Cubs and taking a one hitter into the eighth.   Willis’ victory tonight was only the third win in 15 decisions since May 29.  It didn’t help that home plate umpire Andy Fletcher had a huge stike zone, giving Willis’ an extra seven inches outside the plate.  In the ninth, Mark DeRosa jawed with Fletcher and Aramis Ramirez was tossed after having a few words with him as well.  Derek Lee, Ryan Theriot, and Craig Monroe each recorded one hit.  Monroe’s was a two run homer, with Geovany Soto on base after drawing a walk.

Swagger

This is exactly why the Cubs paid Lou the big bucks.  He needs to stay in control, which he did tonight, and not panic.  Every Cubs fan in the world is suffering anxiety attacks right now, and Lou needs to keep his players focused.  All Lou has talked about since the stretch drive started was winning series.  If we win 2 of 3 from Florida and Cincy, it doesn’t matter what the Brewers do.  They cannot afford to start slumping.  The Brewers are destroying St. Louis for the second consecutive night, and Milwaukee is full of confidence at home.  St. Louis is toast and San Diego is reeling, so the Cubs cannot go back to the strategy of hoping the Brewers lose.  They need to take care of buisness.  Although Willis is having an off year, he is always capable of pitching like he did tonight.  The Cubs need to play smarter tomorrow.  The Cubs are sending Jason Marquis, who has come up clutch in many big games this year, against Daniel Barone.  Barone has appeared in 14 games (five starts) since being called up from Triple-A Albuquerque in August. Barone’s last start was a loss at Atlanta on Sept. 19 in which he gave up four runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.   The Cubs have never faced him, but that is no excuse.  Five other teams beat him without ever facing him before, so the Cubs should be able too also.  The Brewers are hoping for a Cubs’ collapse, so Marquis and the Cubs need to play smart tomorrow.  Another loss and that may give the Brewers the momentum they need.  The air was very humid tonight, and balls were staying in the park.  The Cubs need to take patient at bats (I’m looking at you, Soriano), work the count, and swing at good pitches.  Marquis needs to keep his ball down, limit the walks, and take pressure off the offense.  Let’s trust that Lou and the Cubs are going to get back on the winning track tomorrow.

Go Cubs!