Road Trip Wrapup: Seattle, Chi Sox

Record: 2-4
Final Record: 33-42
Games Behind First: 8.5 GB

The Cubs should've known heading into Seattle that if they were going to score a lot of runs in this series, it was going to have to be in the first game against Jason Vargas.  Vargas is a solid pitcher, but doesn't compare to the likes of Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez, the starters for the next two days.

Franklin Gutierrez provided the only scoring on Tuesday night, cranking a two-run homer off Ryan Dempster who otherwise had a great start.  Jason Vargas didn't allow a run and the Cubs were finished just like that.  Any chances the Cubs had offensively were wasted.

Cliff Lee didn't make it any easier the following night, only allowing a solo homer to Tyler Colvin.  A whole bunch of RBI hits and a home run by Michael Saunders made it a big mess that finished 8-1.  Cliff Lee had a huge lead to work with and the Cubs were done Wednesday.

The Cubs grinded out a win Thursday afternoon in extra innings.  Ted Lilly got a real nice start and Marlon Byrd singled in the winning run in the 13th allowing Tom Gorzelanny to pick up his first career save.  Good baseball was to be seen today fundamentally (no errors) and smart decisions put the overwhelming fact was that the Cubs just need to score more.  They managed just four runs in the entire series!  Four runs!  Combined with the Sox series, and there were only 14 runs on the entire road trip, over six games!  Over the first five games of the trip, the Cubs scored six runs!  Sometimes how bad the Cubs offense is can just be amazing.

For info on the second Sox series, read the Crosstown Classic: Round Two post right below this one.

Crosstown Classic: Round Two

This time the series shifted to the South Side for a three game set.  After a disappointing showing in the first series, the Cubs knew they had to win two here to split the series and maybe some figured out that, no matter what, the Cubs had to win Sunday to take the first BP Crosstown Cup.  For the Cubs to get that Cup, they would also need to win either Friday or Saturday.  If they won Friday and Saturday, they would still need to win Sunday because the tiebreaking rule in this Crosstown Cup is that the team who wins the last game takes the series for the year.

There was another big moment in the Crosstown Classic on Friday, this one going against the Cubs, but not from the White Sox.  Carlos Zambrano gave up four in the first, including a three-run homer to Carlos Quentin, and returned to the dugout attacking at first no one in particular and then Derrek Lee.  Apparently he wasn't pleased that Lee didn't dive down the line for Juan Pierre's leadoff double, because Pierre scored a run and Zambrano thought the team didn't go all out on defense.  He paced the dugout screaming after the 1st inning and came up to Lee and shoved him backwards a bit while verbally attacking him.  Zambrano was suspended indefinitely and placed on the restricted list, not to return until after the All-Star Break.  Some reports have mentioned that he won't return to the mound for the Cubs ever.  Jim Hendry says he will be back, but the public criticized Carlos' decision to go out to dinner with Ozzie Guillen at the Wit Hotel and the night after his blowup.

Paul Konerko hit his 19th homer in the 8th to be the go-ahead run as the Cubs offense was slowed by Freddy Garcia who allowed just two over seven innings.  As the story of Carlos Zambrano swirled around the Chicago sports media community, this game went somewhat unnoticed for a Cubs-Sox game.  Aramis Ramirez hit a home run in this one, his first since June 5th and his longest out of his six home runs this year, flying 418 feet to center.  Sox won 3-2.

The Cubs offense came out stronger Sunday putting up eight runs in their 8-6 victory avoiding a sweep.  A three-run bomb by Tyler Colvin and doubles by Derrek Lee and Geovany Soto made it 6-2, followed by another Paul Konerko homer.  The Cubs extended their lead thanks to an Alfonso Soriano homer and Tyler Colvin RBI single but their comfortable lead wasn't as comfortable after a bunch of hits brought the Sox within two in the bottom of the 9th.  The Cubs closed it, however, and improved to 2-4 on the season against the Sox.

The Cubs have lost the season series two straight years against the Sox and haven't won it since 2007, but the Cubs took away some positives even after being beaten badly Friday and Saturday.  Not that the Cubs could possibly hold any momentum, as they were beaten by the Pirates 2-1 on Monday.

All-Time Head-to-Head Dominance

Well, the Cubs aren't playing too great of baseball recently.  This sure would be a great time to distract from the on field product and take a trip down memory boulevard to be humbled by Cubs history.  Time to dig up the Cubs All-Time Head-to-Head Records, brought to you by baseball-reference.com which by the way is an unbelievable website with every MLB stat ever, no crap just stats.  Anyway, the Cubs are a winning franchise for sure.  While the Phillies made headlines just a while ago with their 10,000th loss in franchise history, becoming the first franchise to achieve such futility, the Cubs got their 10,000 win in franchise history also becoming the first franchise to achieve this mark.  It was at Coors Field in April 2008.  The following head-to-head records are from 1901 onwards.

Chicago Cubs All-Time Record: 10,196-9,641 (.514 winning %)

Chicago Cubs Most Played Opponents (Most Games Against):
1. Pittsburgh Pirates (2,144)
2. St. Louis Cardinals (2,140)
3. Philadelphia Phillies (2,024)
4. Cincinnati Reds (2,000)
5. San Francisco Giants (1,899)

Chicago Cubs Most Beaten Opponents NL (Most Wins):
1. St. Louis Cardinals (1,083-1,040)
2. Philadelphia Phillies (1,058-953)
3. Pittsburgh Pirates (1,027-1,107)
4. Atlanta Braves (1,024-849)
5. Cincinnati Reds (1,007-977)

Chicago Cubs Most Beaten Opponents AL (Most Wins):
1. Chicago White Sox (36-39)
2. Minnesota Twins (11-10)
3. Kansas City Royals (9-6)
4. Cleveland Indians (7-7)
T5. Oakland Athletics (4-2)
T5. Seattle Mariners (4-4)
T5. Texas Rangers (4-5)
T5. Toronto Blue Jays (4-5)

Chicago Cubs Most Defeated Opponents NL (Most Losses):
1. Pittsburgh Pirates (1,027-1,107)
2. St. Louis Cardinals (1,083-1,040)
3. San Francisco Giants (903-978)
4. Cincinnati Reds (1,007-977)
5. Philadelphia Phillies (1,058-953)

Chicago Cubs Most Defeated Opponents AL (Most Losses):
1. Chicago White Sox (36-39)
2. Detroit Tigers (3-11)
3. Minnesota Twins (11-10)
4. Cleveland Indians (7-7)
5. Kansas City Royals (9-6)

Chicago Cubs Winningest Opponents NL (Best Winning %):
1. San Diego Padres (236-190, .554)
2. Atlanta Braves (1,024-849, .547)
T3. Colorado Rockies (77-68, .531)
T3. Milwaukee Brewers (104-92, .531)
5. Philadelphia Phillies (1,027-1,107, .526)

Chicago Cubs Losingest Opponents NL (Worst Winning %):
1. Arizona Diamondbacks (39-53, .424)
2. Houston Astros (308-355, .465)
T3. San Francisco Giants (903-978, .480)
T3. Washington Nationals (266-288, .480)
5. Pittsburgh Pirates (1,027-1,107, .481)

All 30 Major League Baseball teams have played at Wrigley Field, but the Cubs have never played at Fenway Park in Boston (coincidence?) and at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, home of the A's. The Angels became the last team to play their first game at Wrigley Field last Friday, winning 7-6.  The Cubs are 2-0 at neutral sites after beating Houston in both games in Milwaukee in 2008, effectively ending their hopes at a wild card berth in the playoffs.  Carlos Zambrano no-hit Houston in the first game, and Ted Lilly came close to doing the same the next day.

First Basemen Front and Central

The first basemen of the central divisions of baseball may be as stacked as they ever have been in the history of baseball.  Ferocious power hitters and tenacious defenders, these guys have their names all over the offensive leaderboards.  All eleven of the eleven central teams have a great first baseman.

National League
The first basemen of the NL Central have combined for 69 homers this season, including 15 by Albert Pujols and Joey Votto each, 10 by Garrett Jones and Derrek Lee each, 6 by Lance Berkman and 13 by Prince Fielder.  St. Louis' Pujols, a three-time MVP of the NL, can be counted on for consistent power production like this for years to come.  Votto is one of the NL's top young stars, leading the Reds in their push for first at age 26.  Fielder, also only 26, has had great power for years now and became one of few Milwaukee Brewers to hit 50 home runs in a season back in 2007.  Derrek Lee, who mashed 46 HR in 2005 and 35 HR in 2009 on the Cubs, really hasn't hit as well as anyone would've liked him to in 2010 but he got hot this last weekend and looks to keep his roll going.  Lance Berkman is on the downside of his career at 34 but still is the main run producer for a failing Houston Astros offense.  Jones took Pittsburgh by storm in 2009 after his summer call-up, a thrilling young talent who, with Andrew McCutchen, has given something for Pirates fans to root for.

American League
The first basemen of the AL have combined for 65 home runs, including 7 by Billy Butler, 17 by Paul Konerko, 8 by Travis Hafner, 19 by Miguel Cabrera, and 14 by Justin Morneau.  Butler is the offensive face of the Kansas City franchise, a young slugger with dominant power still in developing stages.  Paul Konerko is having a big comeback year, flashing back to his 40 HR days of old.  Morneau is leading the AL in walks and has become a perennial fixture for the Twins.  Hafner's career has been damaged much by injury, and he hasn't played a full season since 2007 but could be getting back to his old productive self.  Cabrera has been the best offensive player in the American League in 2010.  If the Tigers make the playoffs, he is my surefire MVP.  His 19 HR and 60 RBI lead the AL, and the .328 AVG ain't too bad either.

Significance?  69 HR by NL 1B, 65 HR by AL 1B.  What's the big deal?
Well, many scouts and baseball personnel like Ryne Sandberg agree, power at the corners is crucial.  Ryno's theory is simple: power in the corners (1B, 3B, RF, LF) and speed and defense up the middle (C, 2B, SS, CF).  There is more power in the Central than any other division in both leagues, where there are 59 HR from the NL East (Ryan Howard, Ike Davis, Adam Dunn, Gaby Sanchez, and Troy Glaus) and 44 HR from the NL West (James Loney, Aubrey Huff, Todd Helton, Adam LaRoche, Adrian Gonzalez).  In the AL, there are 49 HR from the AL East (Kevin Youkilis, Mark Teixeira, Carlos Pena, Lyle Overbay, and Garrett Atkins) and 26 HR from the AL West (Daric Barton, Mike Napoli filling in for Kendry Morales, Justin Smoak, and Casey Kotchman).  While steals are on the rise in today's game, the home run ball is becoming underrated as the home run in critical in the winning formula.  With no power, there are no wins.  With no power, you get the 2010 Seattle Mariners who are last in the league in home runs and their home run leaders are Milton Bradley and Mike Sweeney with a whopping six.

The Final Home Run Stats
AL East: 49
AL Central: 65
AL West: 26

NL East: 59
NL Central: 69
NL West: 44

Want more on home runs?
Check out hittrackeronline.com and tatertrottracker.com for all the stats you want.

Homestand Wrapup: Chi Sox, Oakland, Los Angeles (AL)

Record: 4-5
Final Record: 31-38
Games Behind First: 7.0

For info on the first series against the Sox, go see the Crosstown Classic: Round One post right below this one.

Baseball fundamentals, specifically fielding, have not been a bright spot on the Cubs teams of recent years. When the Cubs were able to win with teams like 2003, 2004, 2007, and 2008, scouts cited the Cubs' high level of talent which made up for that.  However, the lack of fielding was put on display in bad fashion as the frustrated Cubs allowed too many unearned runs coming from errors and simply bad baseball.

Oakland put the pressure on the Cubs defense in game one of the series, winning 9-5 getting help from four errors committed by the Cubs, including Derrek Lee's first career two error inning.  Not only is Lee's bat unreliable these days, his former Gold Glove defense is failing him.  This game was completely ugly and the Cubs did not deserve to win.  Lee made up for it by smashing a homer to left in the 2nd Wednesday night, and the Cubs put up a zero in the error column in a 6-2 win.  Ryan Dempster pitched well and Alfonso Soriano amazingly put down a bunt, trying to play smallball on a team built for the homer.  But hey, if it works, I'll take it.  The Cubs got a surprising win on Thursday in comeback fashion with Kosuke Fukudome being the MVP in this one.  He scored to tie the game at 2 on Xavier Nady's sac fly in the 8th and hit a walk-off single to right to win it, 3-2.  Randy Wells was efficient and I was glad the Cubs were able to pull out this one.  The Cubs really need to be able to come back late in games, especially at home.  The opposing teams will play their bullpens more conservatively and basically just cruise to a win unless the Cubs make 'em earn it.  If they can't come back, at least make it a ballgame.

The Cubs did just that in the opener against the Angels.  In the former California and Anaheim Angels franchise's first ever trip to Wrigley Field, the Cubs' evil defense committed three errors and by the time the Cubs looked up at the scoreboard in the 8th it was 7-2 LA in front.  Tyler Colvin blasted a three-run homer in the 9th to make it a two run game for Derrek Lee, who redeemed himself for his error earlier in the game with a homer.  The rally died, though, and Fernando Rodney finished it.  There isn't much to talk about on Saturday.  It was all Angels.  Literally all Angels.  Howie Kendrick hit a leadoff homer for the first of his three RBI, and the game was pretty much over after Torii Hunter's blast two-run blast to make it 6-0 in the 5th.  Ted Lilly was nothing like his dominant self from the heroics of the Sunday nighter against the Sox a weekend ago.  The Cubs couldn't manage a run and fell 12-0.  Sunday was a nice rebound, and they really needed it.  Lou Piniella has now admitted he has done everything he can with this personnel to win, and the Cubs need to believe that.  It's on them now.  A 12-1 win like the one the Cubs got on Sunday would have been a whole lot sweeter if the mood didn't suggest that a win that day was probably more crucial than any other game so far this season.

Up next for the Cubs is Safeco Field in Seattle where the Cubs are 2-1 in franchise history.  2002, the first time the Cubs ever played the Seattle Mariners franchise, saw Mark Prior throw 124 pitches through seven shutout innings and 11 Ks to pick up a 2-0 win.  Freddy Garcia beat the Cubs in the next one 4-2, but Jon Lieber took the finale 5-1 and the Cubs won the series against the divisional contender at the team who were led by none other than manager Lou Piniella.  The Cubs also took two of three in 2007 at Wrigley Field, so the Cubs are 4-2 all-time against the Mariners.      

Crosstown Classic: Round One

There have been plenty of skeptics the last two years of the relatively dull popularity of the Cubs-Sox series.  However, I believe this series really revitalized it once again.

On Friday, the buzz returned to Wrigley Field as the Sox fans marched in.  They had plenty to cheer about with Alex Rios and AJ Pierzynski both collecting four hits and a homer each.  Carlos Quentin poured on the score with a homer along with a bunch of hits in the late innings, and the Sox rolled 10-2.  The only highlight and scoring for the Cubs came in the second when Alfonso Soriano hit a two run homer, the 300th of his career just two days after Derrek Lee got his in Milwaukee. 

Carlos Silva had reason to be frustrated Saturday.  More problems with Xavier Nady cost the Cubs another win.  Paul Konerko hit an RBI single early on that would have been caught with Tyler Colvin or Kosuke Fukudome in right.  However, Nady pulled up instead of going all out.  There wasn't any scoring until the top of the 8th, when Konerko hit an RBI single to the same spot and once again Nady pulled up.  The Cubs pushed across a run in the 9th, and the tying run was on base at the end of the game.  If Nady had gotten both of those like Fukudome or Colvin would've, the Cubs had a win.  I'm aware that Nady is basically a DH, but I really think that for him to be making over three million dollars to be a fifth outfielder/backup first baseman he needs to be diving at every opportunity.  Guys like him aren't playing all-out ball.

Sunday night was what has made this series a big deal again.  This was the definition of a pitchers duel.  Ted Lilly and Gavin Floyd both threw 6.2 IP of no hit baseball, but Alfonso Soriano doubled ending Floyd's no hitter.  On the next pitch, Chad Tracy brought him home with a single up the middle.  That was all the scoring the Cubs would need, but Ted Lilly lost his no hitter in the top of the 9th in shocking fashion against former Cub Juan Pierre.  Carlos Marmol loaded the bases, but got Carlos Quentin to pop out to end the ballgame.  Ted Lilly pitched by far the best game of his career.  The only thing that consistently bothered me was Jon Miller's constant mentioning of the no hitters in progress.  Joe Morgan even mentioned later that it "used" to be an unwritten rule not to mention it on the air.  They just said that because they realized that fans weren't too happy about what they were doing.

This series is changed.  You can bet this won't be the last time the media reminds you of what happened this weekend, especially with Ted Lilly.  I'm just putting it out there that if the Cubs follow the regular rotation with Lilly, he will get the first start of the second Sox series.  If both the Cubs and Sox are done for the season, which the upcoming two weeks of interleague play could decide, enjoy the next Crosstown Classic series in two weeks as the only playoff atmosphere either team will have in 2010.    

Road Trip Wrapup: Pittsburgh, Houston, Milwaukee

Final Record: 27-33
Trip Record: 3-6
Games Behind First: 7.5

It could be a long summer for these Cubs.  The Cubs, who can't live up to winning expectations, haven't been able to beat even the bad teams the last two years.  This road trip should have swung momentum in the opposite way it actually did, and with a 6-3 or 7-2 record the Cubs would be pumped to play the Sox to resume the interleague dockett.  But here we are again, asking questions about how guys like Felipe Paulino can overwhelm the Cubs offense for the majority of a game. 

The first two games in Pittsburgh were frustrating, but the way the Cubs played gave me an indication that they brought the winning attitude with their luggage this time.  The lead on Monday, May 31 slipped off a rare bad outing by Sean Marshall, including a Garrett Jones homer.  Hopefully Cub fans had something nice to do on this Memorial Day than allow themselves get stressed by this loss.  The next one, however, on the next night, was nothing short of heartbreaking for me.  It was one of the hardest losses to take this year, because of how fundamentally well the Cubs had been playing all evening.  Like mentioned in an earlier post, it was Neil Walker who drove the Ted Lilly pitch out for a huge go-ahead homer in the bottom of the 8th, and before the Cubs could react it was game over.  The next game was postponed, but on Monday the next week Carlos Silva squeaked out a quiet 6-1 win.

The Houston series was pathetic.  I don't care to recap Friday except that Felipe Paulino 'dealing.'  The Astros plastered together three runs, and that's it.  Aramis Ramirez and Tyler Colvin both homered Saturday night and the Cubs responded well pouring on eight runs.  Ryan Dempster went a strong 6.1 IP with 7 K, which made me think we were going to turn it around on the trip.  But no, as Carlos Lee hit a two-run homer in a three run first inning off Randy Wells on Sunday.  The Cubs left town having lost two of three. 

After playing the makeup game Monday in Pittsburgh, the Cubs headed to Miller Park where they are already 3-0 in 2010.  Two of the three games there were Pittsburgh-esque heartbreaking, as the Cubs fell in the opener because of a two blown leads in as many innings.  There were no runs until a Cubs rally in the 8th, but a Corey Hart homer gave that lead away on one pitch.  In the ninth, the Cubs put up another run only to put men on and Carlos Marmol surrended a go-ahead, walk off two run single to Casey McGehee.  ESPN carried Wednesday's game, and the inconsitent Cubs offense put up nine including five homers coming from three hitters.  The 9-4 win set the stage for a disaster Thursday.  Xavier Nady hit a two-run homer earlier in the game, but blew it anyway in the bottom of the 10th.  In a 4-4 game, Craig Counsell sacrificed Carlos Gomez to second with none out, but Gomez just kept going all the way to third.  Nady made a dumb throw, a very ill-advised action in youth baseball, and the throw got away, scoring Gomez and ending the game.  The whole thing happened so fast, it was unbelievable.  Here's my question: Nady was at first because Derrek Lee had the day off.  Understandable.  But the fact that Lee is a three-time gold glover who hates days off and was ready to go merits the question of why wasn't Lee, in a big extra inning game, inserted for defensive purposes over a perennial DH in Nady?

The Cubs really screwed up this time.  They played great baseball in seven of nine games, and easily could have won those seven.  If the Cubs can't beat these teams, then who can they?

Debuts Today

It's been two busy days for the MLB Network.  The Draft yesterday and the debut of the two biggest prospects heading into the 2010 season today, Mike Stanton of the Marlins and Stephen Strasburg of the Nationals.  Young talent like this is the reason that Tim Kurkjian forecasted a power shift from the AL East to the NL East, a bold forecast that has never been heard on ESPN before.

Stephen Strasburg, famous for his 103 mph fastball in college and the number one draft pick last year, makes his debut today starting against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  He has great control and a good changeup that sits well with his fastball.  This combination is critical for power pitchers; no matter how fast you throw it, hitters will catch up unless you have something else to offset their timing.  I see his 2010 stat line like this: 96 IP, 2.88 ERA, 108 K, 35 BB.  In 2011 his ERA will undoubtedly rise, because when a new pitcher arrives the pitcher, not the hitter has the advantage when two guys who have never faced each other do.  Especially in Strasburg's case, because it's not every day you see 100 mph regularly on the four seamer.  Hitters will make adjustments to push Strasburg's ERA well into the threes.  What will determine if he can truly be an ace is if he can overcome these adjustments and find a new way to succeed.

Mike Stanton is the definition of power.  By the time the Marlins open their new park in 2012, I see him as the face of the franchise.  With 21 HR (!) in the minors already, on pace for around 55, he was called up and makes his debut today.  Coming into the majors, he obviously won't begin by raking how he has been, but it shows his potential.  He will be a 30 HR hitter by next year, but this year won't be anything spectacular.  His average which has hovered around .300 this year is being held up by the homers.  Making the adjustment, his average will drop and he won't be hitting .300 for a while.  He does strike out a bit, but doesn't every power hitter?  Expect about 150 K in a full season from Stanton.  In AAA, he has the freedom to be a free swinger.  But when he gets to the Marlins, I'm convinced they're going to try to teach the guy some more plate discipline to be a smarter hitter overall.  This will decrease home runs as well.  2010 stat line: 380 PA, .261 AVG, 12 HR, 44 RBI, 94 K.

MLB's First Imperfect Game

The runner is out.  A perfect game is in the books.  The Detroit Tigers celebrate a specially historical win.  The fans roar, having witnessed history they can brag about to friends and family forever, and can pass the story down.  Armando Galarraga gets the 21st seat in an exclusive club that has added two players already this year.

All of this would have been real nice, wouldn't it have?  It would've, but Jim Joyce will probably be remembered more for ruining this than anything else in his umpiring career.  On the biggest play of his career so far, he made a clear mistake.  This kind of failure, never seen with more on line, is calling aggressively for Instant Replay.

This play was shown live on ESPN including in the Buffalo Wild Wings I saw it in, and this allowed Buster Olney, Tim Kurkjian, Karl Ravech and other analysts of the like begin breaking it down instantly.  From almost all analysts on ESPN the next few days, it was agreed upon that there the chances of not instituting instant replay on these calls also are tiny to none.  A call of this magnitude, with Hall of Fame officials lurking and everything, cannot ever happen again.  Change the circumstances for a minute.  What if Galarraga was just going for a complete game against some NL team in the World Series in Game 7?  What if the tying run is on 3rd with 2 outs and this play happens?  And if the runner is safe and the other team ends up falsely winning, the effect on the game of baseball would be disastrous.  Like legitimately the worst call in the history of professional sports.  You may be thinking, 'Oh, well the odds of a blown call then are about one in a billion,' but then again you wouldn't have guessed such a clearly blown call would occur when it did in the Galarraga Imperfect Game.

Instant Replay is definitely the way to ensure blind spots like this never happen again.  Some baseball traditionalists call for the 'human element' to the umpires and like seeing the 'umpire personalities.'  That could still be achieved by allowing the umpires to their own calls on balls and strikes.  Players and managers aren't allowed to argue balls and strikes states the rule book, and that has sent more than a few managers to the clubhouse for the remainder of the game.  Why not make it easier and keep that rule?  Calling balls and strikes is more like clockwork than base calls; there is a consistency that makes it a safer bet to be the right call.  Pitchers and hitters over time have had to adjust to the strike zones of certain umpires.

Instant Replay in baseball can't be like it is in football, but more like basketball.  If a team was given, say, two plays they can replay per game, then any close play when you're down to your last out will be challenged just to give it a shot at getting any further chance.  This will bother umpire Joe West, who made headlines with comments about how Yankees-Red Sox games take way too long.  The umpires should review the play if there is any uncertainty whatsoever, which with good umpires shouldn't happen too often.  The maximum time for review is three minutes, and TV contracts for Major League Baseball should universally now include the right to go to commercial during the review.  This will increase TV revenue across the league.  The umpires can review such plays as fair-foul calls, home run calls, safe-out calls, etc.  The umpires aren't allowed to review balls and strikes, catcher's inteference, and other minor calls.  This is how Instant Replay should be instituted in Major League Baseball.    

Bold Predictions: Start of Summer

This is my first in the Bold Predictions segment, but I plan to do this occasionally.  I am definitely not going to get all of these right, but they're out there for you to chew on.  Some are kind of surprising, others not as much.

Personal Predictions:
-Ubaldo Jimenez, ERA (0.93) and Wins (11) leader of the NL, continues his dominance to win 20 games and win the Cy Young just like Zach Greinke did in surprising fashion in the AL last year.
-Josh Beckett, now injured and frustrated with a 7.29 ERA in eight starts, returns and becomes slightly effective although he never completely gets his stuff back.    He finishes with an ERA in the mid 4s. 
-Paul Konerko (17 HR) fades after the All-Star Break or possibly sooner, but still finishes with about 30 home runs. 
-Jose Bautista (18 HR) of the Jays does the same.
-Aramis Ramirez (.169 AVG, 22 RBI) who has been arguably the most disappointing hitter in the NL, recovers in the summer and catches fire in July.  He cools off at the end of the year, but finishes around .260 with 25 HR and 75 RBI.
-For the second time in three years, Miguel Cabrera leads the AL in HR and throws in a nice 125 or so RBI.
-Alex Rios (12 HR, 17 SB) continues resurrect his career with his 25-25 talent.

-Stephen Strasburg, the most overhyped big league prospect of all time, finishes 2010 with around 2.50 ERA after hitters make the adjustments to hit that 103 mph fastball.  He throws about 100 innings in the Nationals' rotation.

-Jason Heyward, another guy who had a lot of hype around him, gets 25 HR and 100 RBI.

I hope you're chewing that good.  Because at the All-Star Break, you might just look back and go, "How did he know that???"  Also, I'm introducing a new series call Wrap-Ups.  The two forms of the series are 'Road Trip Wrap-Up' and 'Homestand Wrap-Up'.  These will appear after each road trip and homestand and will go over some stats and review the games, including analysis and discussion.  Then, I'll get you set for the next opponents.  The first issue of 'Road Trip Wrap-Up' will appear after this current trip to Pittsburgh, Houston, and Milwaukee is over this Thursday.  Also, look forward to special coverage of the Crosstown Classic.

Team Predictions:
-The Rangers (30-26, 1st in AL West by .5 games), behind the continued hot hitting of surprising Vladimir Guerrero and regular Josh Hamilton, extend their lead in the division to at least three by the All-Star Break.  The Angels stay in the race, but finish near 85 wins as the Rangers win the division by at least five.
-The Rays (37-20, 1st in AL East by 2 games) lose their division lead to the Yankees although they continue to win all year and the Rays will be right there with them at the Break.
-The Red Sox (33-25, 3rd) stop getting so lucky with guys like Clay Buchholz and see a big gap in the division appear between them and the Yankees and Rays.
-Amazingly, the Blue Jays (33-25) hang in there and take 3rd while the Red Sox fade.
-The Braves (33-24, 1st in NL East by 2 games) keep winning with Troy Glaus' hot bat, putting the pressure on the Phillies.
-The Mets (30-27, 3rd) keep winning as well to pass the Phillies, in 2nd place by the All-Star Break.
-The Phillies (30-25, 2nd), who stop pitching when Roy Halladay isn't on and still can't hit, prove to everyone that they aren't the team 'that we thought they were.'
-I shouldn't do this, but the Cubs (25-31, 3rd in NL Central by 8 games) start winning a bit and pass up the Cardinals on their way down.  The Reds and Cubs battle it out beginning after the All-Star Break.
-For the first time since 2006, the Padres (33-23) and Dodgers (33-24) reunite a geographical rivalry as they fight for the NL West down the stretch.  The Rockies and DBacks hang around .500, but can't muster a big winning streak enough to catch up.

Cubs Walk the Plank

It's been a fail against the Pirates this season.  The Cubs fell to 1-7 against the always futile Pittsburgh team Tuesday with a hard fought but disappointing effort.  Xavier Nady was the only offense, with a two-run homer the only tick for the Cubs in the 3-2 final score.  Does anyone know who Neil Walker (pictured, left) is?  Ted Lilly does, after giving up a huge go-ahead homer in the bottom of the 8th to him.  My point is just that these nobodies that the Pirates put out on the field (Delwyn Young, Steven Pierce, Chris Jakubauskas) should definitely not be the ones beating us.  I'd rather be beaten by Andrew McCutchen than some guy's first career MLB homer.  This game showed the Cubs' 2010 motto once again: When the going gets tough, so do the Cubs.  They can't beat the bad teams, but do alright against the good ones.  That isn't a very good indication heading into this weekend's series in Houston, a bad team that is now hot, but it is the right place to get the offense going.  There is a ton of time left in this division to make a move with only St. Louis and Cincinnati contending, but it would just be easier to take off the tension and start winning now.  Houston is bad in general, and Milwaukee can't win at home which is good for when the Cubs head there next week to make their second visit this season.  The Cubs haven't played in Houston yet this season, but are 3-0 at Miller Park and 5-1 against the Brewers overall in 2010.  Houston won 2 of 3 in April at Wrigley Field.