A Rough Start

Gold-numbered jerseys?  Check.  Gold-logo emblazoned hats?
Check.  Mandatory around-the-neck gold bling?  None (yet).

Inconsistent offense, shoddy bullpen work highlight first 10 games


It wasn't surprising that many assumed that the 2012 Cubs would struggle on the field.  It probably was surprising, however, that they got off to such an early start at that.  The first homestand, which saw the Cubs host the Nationals for three games and the Brewers for four, started 1-5 for the Cubs as they struggled to find a winning formula.

The Monday night game was not without its highlights, such as Bryan LaHair's monster home run onto Sheffield Avenue early on, but Chris Volstad's shaky start and Shawn Camp's atrocious relief appearance (three earned runs in one inning) spelled doom in a 7-5 loss.  It was a competitive ballgame, however, as Starlin Castro batted in the bottom of the ninth with the tying and winning runs on base.  A John Axford slider then ended all hopes of a comeback.

Tuesday night was a different story.  Paul Maholm, who has now been torched in both of his starts, had allowed six runs by the third inning.  Even the platoon catcher, Jonathan Lucroy, hit a home run. This game left little chance for the Cubs.

Yovani Gallardo and Ryan Dempster had a surprisingly intense pitcher's duel in the Wednesday game.  Gallardo allowed only a first-inning sacrifice fly to Castro, while Dempster held the 1-0 lead until a two-run homer by the other platoon catcher, George Kottaras, gave the Brewers the lead for good in the seventh.

And just like that, the Cubs had lost the first three games of a four-game series and started the season 1-5.  Pretty depressing stuff.  But this, my friends, is the wonder of rebuilding.  The team will be bad, but there are sure to be signs of life.  One such sign came Thursday as the Cubs shut out the Brewers 8-0, a real team effort as six different Cubs knocked in runs.  Matt Garza was even one pitch away from a shutout.  In fact, he got his pitch - an easily-fielded comebacker to the mound - and he promptly fired it into the stands instead of making the easy, 45-foot throw to first base.  Manager Dale Sveum yanked him unnecessarily, and Garza was robbed of the Cubs' first complete game of the season.

Bryan LaHair gets a round of high-fives after hitting the first
Cubs grand slam since October 2010.

The Cubs even broke out the bats for the second straight day in a row, and at a great time.  Those St. Louis Cardinals, decked out in gold-logo'd hats and gold-lettered jerseys just in case anybody forgot that they won the championship last season, were looking for an easy win over this weak Cubs team on their Opening Day.  They didn't get it.  First, rain rained on their parade.  Then, the Cubs rained on their parade.  After a lengthy rain delay of nearly two hours, any Cards fans that stayed looked foolish after a three-run homer by Ian Stewart and a grand slam by LaHair helped give the Cubs a 9-0 lead by the third inning.


Who gave up all these runs?  Why, it was Adam Wainwright.  That's the same Wainwright who, after nearly being the team's ace the last half-decade, missed the entire 2011 season due to injury.  This means he did nothing to contribute to their World Series run even though he is on the team.  So how ironic it was that he was the man to start the game in which they got their World Series rings, wore the glittery gear, and flaunted around pregame in celebratory fashion in front of the second-largest Busch Stadium II crowd ever.  But I digress.


Anyway, the point is that the Cubs did show the ability to score runs.  I like LaHair's power potential; he has two homers so far, one of which went opposite field and the other which left the stadium entirely.  I don't think strength will be an issue with this guy.

The Saturday and Sunday games were a mess.  Volstad imploded in the fourth inning of an otherwise sharp-looking start on Saturday, but the Cubs could never come back from the four allowed in the fourth.  The Cardinals did salvage one win in those odd-looking gold-numbered jerseys.  They had the wit to wear those things for a second game.  Who do they think they are, the New Orleans Saints?  While we're on the topic, is new manager Mike Matheny paying his pitchers to throw at opposing batters (in "kill the head" fashion)?  Probably not, but a concussion did end Matheny's playing career....  Also, in other weird-coincidence news, the Giants wore a similar gold-lettered jersey at their home opener last season as well to celebrate their 2010 World Series championship.  Which team did they host in their home opener?  The Cardinals.

Back to the Sunday game.  That second torching at the hands of Maholm took place on Sunday as Matt Carpenter, some kid who has made a lot of headlines so far, ended up five RBIs for the Cardinals.  The Cubs never really got to Cards starter Jake Westbrook, and the series ended with Friday being the lone Cubs win.  The series started off promisingly, but the end looked like the Cubs team we were expecting to see.

Through these first three series, the Cubs never really showed what their strengths are.  The last guy to make the rotation, Jeff Samardzija, is the only one with more than one win.  The offense scored 18 runs in the first six games then put up 17 runs in the next two.  Kerry Wood's bullpen failures from the first weekend were forgotten in place of a hodgepodge of dismal 'pen work from Camp, Lendy Castillo, and Carlos Marmol namely.  Not to mention Maholm's efforts, which have taken the Cubs out of games practically before they've started.  So far, not so good.  3-7 isn't the end of the world, however, and Sveum has the team playing hard.  The errors are down and the stolen bases are up.  The team certainly has a good swagger, too.

The Cubbies are down in Miami to check out the Marlins' new digs tomorrow night.  Ozzie Guillen will return from his five-game suspension to manage the game.  Just in case the game turns into a Marlins blowout, go online and count as many articles as you can find that mention both Guillen and Fidel Castro written within the last seven days.  Hopefully, though, we can just watch some winning baseball.        

Two Chances, Two Chokes

The game-tying runs allowed in the 8th inning
of the first two games of the season
were allowed by a frustrated Kerry Wood.

Is this the new "Cubs Way" of playing baseball?!  Let's hope not.

You've heard about it all winter.  'Sustained success', 'the right way', 'development', and 'building from within' are just a few phrases that have highlighted a winter of change for the Chicago Cubs.  It may all just be empty talk, but the new Cubs brass even put it in writing with their fundamentals manual, The Cubs Way, which is being distributed throughout the Cubs minor league system.  The effort looks to standardize the way in which prospects are being taught the game throughout all levels of the Cubs system to maximize potential of all prospects and maintaining disciplinary consistency.  However, if the young prospects want to see for their own eyes how the game is played correctly, they ought to stay away from Wrigley Field.  If the first two days are any indication, the major league Cubs will struggle to avoid lines of hypocrisy in 2012.  

Hopefully this will not be the case.  Clearly Dale Sveum was more equipped with the leadership and motivation tools to start his full-time managerial career than Mike Quade was a year ago, and these qualities showed in Spring Training.  So far he has gotten the team much more involved in working on simple yet overlooked fundamentals, including baserunning drills which declared exactly which part of the base the Cubs are supposed to hit when rounding them.  He also got some competition going on to get players more involved. 

Casey Coleman and David DeJesus may not win an award of any type during the rest of either of their careers, but the two gained immediate team respect as they faced off in the final round of the 64-participant bunting tournament in camp.  Coleman swept his way through the pitchers' bracket, while DeJesus did the same in the position players' bracket.  DeJesus ended up winning, but the major reward from this exercise was a sense of accomplishment coming from a fundamental the Cubs needed work on.  

"You're already making me look bad out here.
Vamonos ahora."

After all, these are athletes; they appreciate any added competition to spice things up.  Before it all got started, Tony Campana proclaimed himself as a favorite to win the entire tournament.  He was eliminated in the first round.

The added concentration paid off, as the Cubs brought a winning Spring Training record home with them.  However, the results did not show at all in the first two games of the regular season.  

In the home opener Thursday against the Washington Nationals, Ryan Dempster was finishing up a gem of a performance when he was abruptly yanked with one out to get in the 8th and Ian Desmond on first base.  Enter fan favorite Kerry Wood to hold the 1-0 lead.  A host of problems followed.  Desmond stole second.  Wood walked the next batter, Ryan Zimmerman.  A wild pitch moved Desmond to third and Zimmerman to second.  Wood walks another batter, Adam LaRoche.  After a mound visit, Wood loses another batter in Jayson Werth, whose base on balls forced in the tying run.  

Three consecutive walks spelled doom in the form of lost momentum in this ball game.  Dempster had been living dangerously all day by using the homer-unfriendly winds in his favor, but at least he had controlled the base on balls.  Wood lost it.  Not surprisingly, Carlos Marmol didn't make things any better.  After getting two quick outs in a now-tied ball game in 9th, Marmol allowed a double to Chad Tracy and a go-ahead single to Desmond, scoring Tracy's pinch-runner.  The Nationals took the lead for good.

Don't let the hollering fool you.  The Cubs beat
themselves more than the Nationals beat the Cubs.

A day off on Friday gave the team an entire day to stew about blowing the Opening Day not only of 2012, but of the Theo era.  Apparently it got in their heads, because Saturday's game was hardly any better.  The Cubs again held the Nationals down for most of the game until the 8th in a 4-2 game, when Mr. Wood got the first two outs before allowing a solo homer to Danny Espinosa, bringing the deficit down to one.  Then Zimmerman singled, then LaRoche singled, and then Wood was yanked to avoid further damage.  Who was brought in to replace him?  Marmol.  Remember, this is still all with two outs.  Marmol walks Werth, loading the bases.  Finally, Tracy puts the Cubs out of their misery and sucks the life out of the stadium with a two-run go-ahead single.  

These three rallies - two of them when the Nationals were batting with two outs - are pretty much the trademark of the last year's team.  The bullpen was a strength last year, but the hovering frustration of a lack of focus was the most bothersome aspect of last year's team.  Wood immediately took the blame for blowing Opening Day and cited zero excuses, but then it happened again.  We love ya, Kerry, but that's not gonna get 'er done.  Whether it was keeping their eyes on the ball or throwing to the right base, the Cubs lacked in baseball mental fitness last year.  The new management regime made this their primary goal in the offseason, but the early results have disappointed.  Let's hope this doesn't become a trend.

    

2012 Cubs Preview: Bullpen

Kerry Wood

Young unit loses prime setup man but remains strong with hard-throwing core


The 2011 Cubs were simply not a good team at 71 wins, 91 losses.  The bullpen, however, was undoubtedly a team strength.  I believe that if the closer had been as good as he had for his entire career, this bullpen would have rivaled those of top contending teams.

That closer, of course, is the nasty Carlos Marmol, 29.  The side-arming right-hander pitched to a 2.86 ERA 61 saves, a 12.9 K/9 ratio, a ridiculous 4.8 H/9 ratio, but a 5.6 BB/9 ratio between 2008-10.  In 2011, however, he worsened to a 4.01 ERA with 10 blown saves, most in the National League.  In six of those blown saves, he also let up at least another run to lose the game.  He has the wildest delivery this side of Francisco Rodriguez but doesn't control it well as K-Rod does.

Carlos Marmol

Marmol throws far too many balls, especially to begin an at-bat.  It seems he always falls behind 2-0 before coming back with a slider over the middle of the plate for strike one.  The issues got so bad last season that he began throwing a cutter (or 'soft' slider) - without telling any coaches.  It didn't work, and manager Dale Sveum has already told him to knock it off.  No, Carlos, you're not Mariano Rivera.  Sorry, but the cutter just isn't that easy.  Marmol was given the ball with a lead to save 44 times last season, and he saved 34 of them.  Hypothetically, if given the same amount of chances this year, saving 40 should be a good goal for him.  It's certainly a challenge, but within his talent level.

Most of those leads handed over to Marmol had something to do with former setup man Sean Marshall.  Marshall, who, like Marmol, began his major league career as an unsuccessful starter, confirmed his status as one of the elite setup men in the game last year with a 2.26 ERA and 4.65 K/BB ratio.  Marshall was flipped to Cincinnati when his stock price was highest, meaning the primary setup man duties fall to Jeff Samardzija.

Jeff Samardzija

I talked briefly about Samardzija in the last post for the rotation, where he is being considered as the longest of longshots.  Truth be told, however, his loss would be a big blow to this 'pen.  His 2.97 ERA showed that he could be a good primary middle reliever, and now with Marshall's departure, he's ready for the next step.  He works lefties tough on the inside part of the plate.  Despite having the matchup advantage, they hit only .208 against the tall former Notre Dame wide receiver.  Righties didn't do any better, hitting .195 off him.  Too many batters got on base via the base on balls (50 of them, to be exact) but he still held hitters to a .220 average with men on base, which is hard to do considering the pressure on the pitcher at that point.  Some want to call his season a fluke, but I hope those factors of domination show that he's a changed pitcher and not just a lucky son-of-a-gun.

I haven't heard anyone call Kerry Wood's 2011 a fluke.  The 34-year-old pitched to a very respectable 3.35 ERA last season with 57 strikeouts in 51 innings.  As always, Wood brought the heat on a daily basis with that nasty curveball.  Wood is guaranteed a job with the Cubs for as long he likes, whether that means in the 'pen or front office.  For this season, however, he's a great option as a middle relief/setup man.

James Russell

Other primary names that will be in the mix include 26-year-old James Russell, 27-year-old Marcos Mateo, 26-year-old John Gaub, 24-year-old Rafael Dolis, 23-year-old Lendy Castillo and 27-year-old Scott Maine.  Clearly it's a very young group, but some have more potential than others.  Russell was tried in the rotation last year during the grand scramble for starting pitching, and he imploded.  Put back into middle relief though, he performed well.  I really like this kid's over-the-top delivery, it's very smooth and fundamentally correct; I hope to see him do well in this role this season.

Mateo is an less developed strikeout pitcher with a good fastball and slider.  He needs to work on his command to prove he can stay in the majors, but I like his raw stuff as it is right now.

John Gaub

Gaub throws some serious, serious heat.  In about 212 career minor league innings, he has struck out 298.  He made his major league debut last season and I believe will play a big role this year.  He's a lefty with a power slider, which already gives him value.  He walks about as many hitters as Marmol, however, so we'll see if his command has improved.

Maine was acquired before 2010 in the trade that sent former Cubs reliever Aaron Heilman to Arizona.  He has gotten tidbits of major league playing time over the past two years, but not enough to be judged upon.  In the minors he has a lifetime 3.34 ERA and recorded 12.6 K/9 last season at AAA Iowa.  He's ready for the major leagues, and I was hoping we'd see more of him last season.  I see him as a setup man as early as 2014 if not next year.

If nothing else, Dolis has a tremendous ability to keep the ball in the ballpark.  In 353.2 minor league innings, he's only allowed 14 homers.  This is good, but he's still going to allow runs if he continues to walk as many as he does in the minors.  If he makes the major league roster out of Spring Training, I'd call that a risky move.

Trever Miller

Speaking of risky moves, Castillo qualifies; he was a Rule 5 pick from the Phillies - meaning he must be on the major league roster all season or else he'll have to be returned the Phillies.  The Cubs' last Rule 5 pick was reliever David Patton in 2009, and that didn't turn out so well.  Patton hasn't pitched in the majors since.  Castillo has a 2.43 career ERA in the minors and exactly one strikeout for every inning pitched on average to go with an impressive 1.15 WHIP.  These are all nice, but they might mean more if Castillo had ever pitched above A ball.  Look for him to be used in blowout games only to begin with (which was also Patton's role).

The Cubs bullpen is a very young group now.  The only free agent acquisition, left-hander Trever Miller, is also the only man over 30 heading into the season.  Out of the pool of middle relief candidates, I believe Gaub, Maine, and Russell will become the primary three by midseason especially because of their strong command.  Dolis, Castillo, and Mateo are slightly risky for different reasons and won't all be on the major league roster all year.  Wood, Samardzija, and Marmol are strong pieces at the back.  Despite losing the big prize in Marshall, the bullpen remains a strength for the Cubs despite the uncertainty of the younger pieces.

  

Cubs Sign Andy Sonnanstine, Manny Corpas

Manny Corpas

Before the new year the Cubs quietly completed a deal to sign starter-turned-reliever Andy Sonnanstine.  Allow me to provide a little insight on the move.

In the grand scheme of things, he provides little to the Cubs.  A 13th round pick of the Devil Rays in 2004, Sonnanstine had an impressive minor league track record with a high strikeout rate and low walk rate.  His ERAs were consistently in the 2.00s and 3.00s all the way up to his breakout season as an innings-eater for the 2008 Rays.  Lately, however, his career hasn't gone so well.  By 2010 he had lost his rotation spot and struggled out of the bullpen facing increasing walk rates and ballooning ERAs.  In 2011 he spent most of his time with the Durham Bulls in AAA, but even there he couldn't recreate his previous success in the minors.  His modest 15 games with the major league Rays was a forgettable stint for sure.

A fresh start could be just what this owner of a 5.26 ERA needs.  Chris Bosio will be tasked with finding a way for him to improve his flat fastball, which he goes to 64% of the time.  Manny Corpas' story is somewhat similar.  Corpas emerged as Colorado's best in the bullpen in 2007 with a 2.08 ERA in 78 innings and a WHIP of just 1.06.  From 2008-10, however, he started giving up too many hits and couldn't keep runners off base.  A 4.62 ERA in 2010 didn't recognize the potential he showed earlier in his career.  Then he missed all of 2011 to injury, and now he winds up here with the Cubs.

Neither move is a big move, but both add experience to a bullpen that will be lacking it in 2012.  I don't think Sonnanstine will last long with the major league club if he even gets on after Spring Training, but Iowa Cubs fans might get a good look at him.  Corpas is simply the better pitcher in my opinion, and I think he will earn a bullpen spot in middle relief.  The athletic 29-year-old Panamanian will be healthy to begin the season so he should take advantage of this fresh start.  Believe it or not, he will be the second-oldest in the 'pen behind Carlos Marmol who is only a month older.  That is unless Kerry Wood signs.

No matter what both pitchers will need some work to return to form.  An early test for Bosio, perhaps.

Dumping Grounds

The loss of Prince Fielder would make Milwaukee's
NLCS run their last for a while.

An opportunity is arising for the Chicago Cubs.  Even next season, the NL Central will be much weaker.  The Brewers, who will most likely lose Prince Fielder, don't have anyone explosive enough to follow up Ryan Braun. Braun will be walked.  And walked.  And walked.  After this current group of Brewers, losing lies ahead.  Milwaukee's farm system is ranked 30th (last) in MLB by Baseball America.

Even if the Cardinals keep Albert Pujols, they're not getting any younger.  To expect another elite season from 37-year-old-to-be Chris Carpenter would be foolish.  Losing Pujols also blows any chance they have for the playoffs next season.  The Cardinals are 24th in Baseball America's ranking.  

The Houston Astros, who had the worst season in franchise history in 2011, won't improve by much anytime soon.  Their farm system is ranked 26th.  And just like that, three NL Central teams have three of the worst 10 farm systems in MLB.  The Pirates are nearly the fourth, ranking at 19th.

Brett Jackson

That leaves the Reds (6th) and Cubs (16th).  The Cubs' ranking is good enough (the Sox are at 27th for comparison) but also misleading.  There are many, many average-to-above-average prospects in the system like starter Chris Carpenter who made his major league debut in June.  At one point, Jay Jackson was also projected to be in the Cubs starting rotation.  Both Jackson and Carpenter had awful seasons.  But they were just two of our many hopeful prospects who endured bad seasons in 2011.  A real weak point to the Cubs farm system is that, since Starlin Castro was called up 17 months ago, there are no stars or breakout talents.  Except for one.

Expectations are already too high for center fielder Brett Jackson.  A possible 20-20 threat, some fans and scouts have pegged him as the Cubs' answer leading off for a decade.  Just reading over a scouting report, however, makes me suspicious.  Anyone remember the last two Cubs prospects fitting the following description?  Athletic future Major League center fielder with good speed and power but strikes out too much for a lead off man.  That sounds too similar to Corey Patterson and Felix Pie, both busts who wound up in Baltimore.  Jackson will still be a good player in the Majors (knock on wood) mainly because he walks more than Patterson or Pie ever did, but Cubs fans shouldn't go overboard on thinking he's some super-prospect.

Josh Vitters with Da Comish

He's still only 21, but Cubs fans having been hearing about third baseman Josh Vitters forever.  Of course, being the 3rd overall pick of the 2007 Draft does come with a little added buzz.  He had a real fine year at AA, and if he keeps it up he'll be a September call-up in 2012.  However, he walked less than once every 20 at-bats.  Although he doesn't strike out much either, he could start striking out a lot more when pitchers figure him out.  81 RBI in 488 plate appearances (in the minors)?  I'll take it.  But he'll need to learn how to make pitchers work before he becomes an elite prospect.

My point is that while these guys are good, they all have at least one notable flaw.  Therefore, none are elite.  Furthermore, none are even that close to being 'sure bets' to produce in the Major Leagues.  The system needs more quality prospects and the Cubs should trade to get them.  The new GM, whether it be Theo Epstein or not, hopefully will pick up on this need.  But who should be traded in order to get these prospects?  Glad you asked.

Marlon Byrd

Marlon Byrd is as definite a candidate as there is.  Despite having a terrible season, he seems to still be somewhat of a fan favorite among Cubs fans.  In 2010, he was a fan favorite as well, and deservedly so.  He was an All-Star, brought smiles and a key veteran presence and decent production offensively and defensively.  This season, he hit in the face by an Alfredo Aceves fastball in May.  He missed extensive time but was no better when he came back.  Although he hit a respectable .276, he hit .198 with runners in scoring position.  In 482 plate appearances, he drove in 35 runs.  Let's review.  In 488 plate appearances, Vitters drove in 81.  With only six more plate appearances, Josh Vitters drove in 46 more runs than Byrd - in AA!  That speaks more to Byrd's failure than Vitters' success.

Carlos Marmol should also be considered.  I hate to admit this because Marmol can be so fun to watch and dominating when focused, but he's overpaid and inconsistent.  The Cubs would probably have to pay some of his salary if he were to be traded.  A good presentation and aggressive bargaining, however, could land the Cubs a premium prospect.  Sean Marshall is ready for the closer's role.  I'm not recommending a trade of Marmol this offseason for the sake of dumping Marmol, but there isn't anyone not named Starlin Castro who is untouchable on this roster.  If a team is willing to give up a good prospect to get Marmol, the Cubs need to pounce.

This next one might be a surprise to many, but Geovany Soto could go at the right price.  If the Cubs have another slow start in 2012, it could be just to time to unload Soto while his contract is still cheap and he is attractive to other teams.  Welington Castillo should get a fair chance at the Major League job, seeing as he can play defense and hit, unlike our other backup of the last three seasons (Koyie Hill).

Alfonso Soriano

Lastly, Alfonso Soriano is a real stretch.  A trade would mean the Cubs would eat nearly all of his remaining $54 million over three years.  However, his 88 RBI last season could be inviting to a general manager who would only have to pay a few million for it and could possibly even DH Soriano.  If the Cubs pay a big majority of the contract, prospects would come their way.

The bottom line is that there are many players on the Cubs right now that are no longer totally necessary.  The Cubs are going to need some core pieces to build a team around and surrounding youngsters who will develop, eventually resulting in winning.  These core pieces could be acquired by free agency, but there are too many players on the roster that are holding the team back and are being kept for all the wrong reasons.  Recently the Cubs have boasted about their record-spending in scouting, domestically and internationally.  Why not show it off now by getting under-the-radar prospects?  With better scouting in the past, the Cubs' current center fielder could have been Jacoby Ellsbury.   

Road Trip Analysis: St. Louis, San Diego

It's been a tough season for the Cubs, but you won't hear
National League hit king Starlin Castro complaining.

Record: 2-4
Final Record: 71-91

Starlin Castro just narrowly missed his 200th hit of the season at home, but he didn't waste any time in St. Louis as he singled to center to lead off Friday's game, making him the youngest Cub ever to get 200 hits and only the second Cub to do it since Ryne Sandberg in '84 (Juan Pierre also did it in '06).  Castro finished this season with 207 hits, tying him for the 9th-most hits in a single-season by a Cub.  He is the third Cub in seven seasons to be the NL hit king after Derrek Lee in '05 and Pierre in '06.

Ryan Dempster kept the Cubs in that game which was a 1-1 tie in the 8th when Alfonso Soriano blasted a three-run homer into the left-center bullpen off Kyle McClelland.  Castro, not to be overshadowed on his special night, hit an RBI single in the 9th.  The Cubs won 5-1, putting a big dent in the Cardinals' wild card hopes, but as we found out later, it wouldn't matter.

The win did matter for the Brewers, however, who watched the end of the game with their fans on the scoreboard at Miller Park.  With Carlos Marmol closing out the game, the Brewers won the NL Central.  The Brewers don't often root for the Cubs, but this was a worthy exception.  I thought it was pretty cool that we were the team to down the Cards and basically give the Brewers their division championship.  I guess that's our one gift to them in exchange for our fans invading their ballpark to watch the Cubs crush the Brewers on their home turf for most of the last decade.

On Saturday, the Cardinals were down to their final strike multiple times in the bottom of the 9th against Marmol and down 1-0.  Marmol walked three, walking in the tying run and allowing the winning run to score on a wild pitch.  A loss for the Cardinals would have meant the end of their season in all likeliness, and looking at the way things played out, if Marmol had just thrown strikes and gotten the save, the Braves would have been won the Wild Card.  So in a way, the Brewers and Cardinals are both indebted to the Cubs for helping them out with their postseason aspirations.  I just wish they could've slammed the door on the charging Cardinals to get some pride back, because they have basically walked all over the Cubs this season, winning the season series 10-5.

Two clutch homers late off Randy Wells helped
the Cardinals get into the postseason.

Albert Pujols still hasn't said anything significant on whether or not he will resign with the Cardinals this offseason.  Just in case he leaves, the Busch Stadium fans gave him a standing ovation before his first at-bat Sunday, which could have been the final Cardinals home game of the season.  It wasn't, however, so more standing ovations will come in the playoffs.

For the second straight day, the Cubs blew a late lead.  This time it was on the starter, Randy Wells, who gave up a game-tying homer to Yadier Molina in the 7th and a go-ahead shot to Rafael Furcal in the 8th.  These inexplicable meltdowns on two consecutive days the Cardinals need to win provided all the evidence I require: I can now undoubtedly say that the baseball gods are frowning upon Cubdom, and are punishing its players and fans with the humiliation of letting the Cardinals into the playoffs.  I'm not a very religious guy, but in baseball, I might as well be evangelical.  Play the game right, and the baseball gods shall reward.

The Cubs were shut out by Mat Latos on Monday night in for the 10th and final time on the season, down from 15 times in 2010.  Mike Quade played "the kids" in the lineup, featuring Tony Campana, Bryan LaHair, Steve Clevenger, D.J. LeMahieu, and Tyler Colvin namely.  Seeing as the Padres allowed two hits all night long, the results speak for themselves.

Alfonso Soriano flips the bat watching
his 26th and last homer of the season
Tuesday night in San Diego.

On Tuesday night the Cubs got their 71st and final win of the season.  Matt Garza got back to .500 at 10-10 and Soriano and Aramis Ramirez both hit their 26th homers of the season in the 6-2 win.  Although Garza deserved better, 10-10 is a solid record off which he can build next season.  It was nice to see one final, complete win where the Cubs thoroughly beat the opponent with clean baseball (they committed no errors).

The last game of the season is always an emotional affair for me.  No matter how bad the Cubs are in a season, I have to watch most, if not all, of the season finale.  There's a certain sense of finality in baseball that I don't see in other sports - not a bad thing, but interesting.  Baseball's 162-game season is such a long grind, it's really incredible to sit there on my couch and think about how this team right in front of me has played 161 games already this season.  Even though this season finale was a blowout loss (a season-ending loss for the Cubs for the fifth year in a row) and I was distracted by the historic Wild Card Wednesday, that doesn't mean I enjoyed it any less.  On the last day of the season, I focus on the nuances of the Cubs players and I just listen to Len and Bob, taking in all in the sights and sounds of my team to last me a long and cold Chicago winter.

Smiling in the dugout always means something good
but there wasn't enough of it in 2011.

The game itself was a nice sendoff for the Padres, who decided to break out the bats despite scoring the second-least runs in the National League in 2011.  Nick Hundley's three-run homer and Wil Venable's grand slam were more than enough to finish the Padres season on a winning note.  Interesting enough, the Padres win totaled their season record at 71-91.  What was the Cubs' record?  Guess.

Now that the regular season is over, my coverage of the postseason will dominate blog entries this month.  Not to be overlooked, however, will be my 2011 Cubs: Season In Review and the 2011 Cubs Awards posts coming up in the next few weeks.  For all of those who have been reading my rants and babbles and complaints and thoughts and whatever other noun you can come up with to summarize my posts on the Cubs this season, I thank you all!  Record readership is a signal to me that I must've done something right.  While you have the spare time, check out my latest creation on Sporcle!

A Tale of (More Than) Two Closers

Carlos Marmol and Matt Thornton have
been major disappointments in 2011.

Entering 2011, both the Cubs and Sox appeared to have their setup men and closers all figured out.  On the South Side, the plan was for Chris Sale and Sergio Santos to set up for closer Matt Thornton, and on the North Side Kerry Wood and Sean Marshall would do the same for closer Carlos Marmol.  Unfortunately neither scheme worked out.

Marmol and Thornton themselves are equivalent to polar opposites in most categories.  Thornton is an big man at 6'6", born in Three Rivers, Michigan in 1976.  Despite his intimidating presence, he's somewhat reserved on the mound.  Thornton began his career in Seattle in 2004 as a 27 year old, designating him as a late bloomer.  He came to the Sox in 2006 and has been an elite setup man since with great control, relying on a good fastball and curveball.

Marmol was born in Bonao, Monsenor Nouel, Domincan Republic in 1982.  He's 6'2", so his intimidating factors come from his pitching, not size.  Making his MLB debut in 2006 with the Cubs, he actually was a starter in his first season.  Unbelievably, he both walked and struck out 59 in his rookie campaign.  From 2007 to 2009, however, he was one of the most dominating setup up guys in the National League with a 2.54 ERA combined including 11.8 K/9.  Upon becoming closer in 2010 and saving 38 games, he posted a 3.0 WAR, an incredible mark for a relief pitcher.  Only San Francisco's Brian Wilson had a higher WAR for NL relief pitchers.  And Marmol did all this throwing his devastating slider about 75% of the time, followed by a rapidfire fastball and rarely-used changeup.

Marmol was an All-Star in 2008 and pitched the 13th inning, striking out Michael Young and Carlos Quentin.  Thornton was an All-Star in 2010 and he got in the game in the 7th inning.  With the bases loaded and two outs holding a one-run lead, he gave up a three-run double to Brian McCann, who would be named MVP for that game-winning hit.  So although both have made it to the Midsummer Classic, they've had mixed results despite having excellent careers overall.  But the blown save in the All-Star Game was only the beginning for Thornton.

Over the second week of the the 2011 season, Thornton blew four saves in four consecutive appearances in the worst string of performances I've ever seen a pitcher have.  After the fourth game, he was 0-for-4 in save opportunities.  Marmol was 38-for-43 the season before.  It vaguely made me imagine an independent league pitcher who was forced into MLB action for who knows what reason.  Thornton had absolutely nothing.

Marmol, on the other hand, hasn't had a single series of implosions.  His came over this entire season which probably explains how he was still the closer at the season's end.  All of Marmol's saves start the same way; he puts two baserunners on via hits or, more likely, walks.  The defining moment for Marmol's day on the mound is usually decided by the third batter.  If the batter strikes out, Marmol gets the next two outs quickly, too.  If not, there's some big trouble.  He finished the season just 34-for-44, including ten blown saves, easily the worst in the league.  To make a (6-month) long story short, the crazy Marmol's season has been pretty bad.

What's in store for the future of these two disappointments?  The veteran Thornton has one year left on his two-year, $12 million contract he signed before this season.  I highly doubt he will be given another chance at closer, especially with a new manager who will want to look a different direction.  For Thornton, this was probably the only chance he'll ever get at being closer.  It's back to being a late setup man for the 35 year old.

Marmol and his antics are here to stay for at least one more season.  He's signed through 2013 but I don't see them trading him until, at the earliest, next season's trading deadline.  Honestly I was skeptical of him being a closer when he was named it in late 2009 and miss the shutdown days of Marmol in the 8th and Kerry Wood closing it out in the 9th back in 2008.  Going back to that formula (if Wood doesn't retire) would be an effective and smart reunion, methinks.

Marmol can be the most dominating reliever in baseball in addition to surely the most intimidating.  Hitters can reasonably watch for the same pitch, the slider, on every pitch Marmol throws.  Most of the time, they guess it right but still can't hit it.  I have never seen, and will never again see how many batters take the 2-0 pitch when he's pitching.  Not only is it because Marmol is more likely than the average pitcher to go to a 3-0 count, but because, when dominant, it's nearly impossible to square up a famous slider of his.  He was dominant all of 2010, and gave up one home run all season.  Although frustrating, the spectacle of Carlos Marmol is worth the drama and antics that take place on the field.  He's an A+ in the clubhouse and here to stay.

If Thornton has a mediocre season in 2012, I see the Sox letting him walk.  There's a time to move on for everything, and I'm sensing the end is near between the two.  Besides, the Sox brag enough about the rest of their bullpen; why don't they show us and try to prove?  

Homestand Analysis: Houston, Milwaukee

Starlin Castro narrowly missed
getting his 200th hit at home.

Record: 4-2
Final Record: 69-87

Carlos Lee, despite all odds, has actually had a really great season.  Call me crazy, but the Astros former outfielder (now part-time outfielder and part-time first baseman) has a WAR this season of a full 7.0 points higher than last season!  For comparison, Ryan Braun's 7.2 WAR is 4th in the NL.  Unfortunately for Lee, however, his WAR last season was -2.5, making this season's at 4.5.  Still a very impressive turnaround, and the move to first base definitely hides his defensive weaknesses.  His defensive WAR this season is up 4.0, from -2.0 to 2.0.

Lee hit a solo homer in Friday's game at Wrigley Field for what should have been the only run off Matt Garza.  Even though it was only his 17th of the season, he has been very clutch and improved his walk rate to the point where his OBP improved nearly 50 points compared to last season.  With two outs and two strikes in the ninth on Lee with a 3-1 Cubs lead and a man on base, Lee tagged Garza, who was a strike away from a complete game win, for a two-run game-tying home run.  Marlon Byrd drove in the winning run with an infield single in the 12th.

Despite Lee's great season, the Astros have undoubtedly been the worst team in baseball.  Even though they haven't won the division since 2001, their franchise history reveals that even when bad, they've managed to stay mediocre and avoid disastrous, 100-loss seasons.  Only eight times in the franchise's 50-year history has the team finished with more than 90 losses.  But this seasons, all bets were off and the 'Stros were on pace to lose around 115 games even in May.  Although they definitely won't lose that many now, they lost their 100th on Saturday against the Cubs.  Rodrigo Lopez dominated and Bryan LaHair homered for the go-ahead run early but the lead stood 2-1 at the end.

Bleacher fans celebrate the last home win of the season.
Attendance was down for the fourth year in a row at
Wrigley, but hope is on the horizon this offseason.

Ryan Dempster had one of his typically awful first innings on Sunday but calmed down after that, giving up just those first three runs.  In the 8th, a three-run homer by Carlos Pena appeared to give the Cubs a 4-3 lead, but official review revealed the ball bounced off the yellow rope which divides the home run line and came back into the park, which is in play.  The tying (Starlin Castro) and go-ahead (Pena) runs had to stay at third and second, respectively.  Byrd failed once again with runners in scoring position (surprise, surprise) and that was the only chance the Cubs would have.  The Cubs took two of three, but should have swept.

Geovany Soto drove in all five runs on Monday night against Milwaukee on two homers and a single.  His first homer got onto Waveland Ave, making him the first Cub to reach Waveland this season.  Jerry Hairston Jr. homered off Casey Coleman for his only earned run, and Carlos Marmol performed his routine over-dramatization of a 'save' with a four-run lead by allowing Casey McGehee a 9th inning homer then putting on a few baserunners.  But with the tying run at the plate, the Cubs escaped, winning 5-2.

Mike Quade expects to be back next season, but the
new GM will probably have other (better?) ideas

Tuesday's game was a mess as los Cerveceros put up four on Randy Wells in the 4th inning.  Wells' late season hot streak is definitely over.  Castro was the only Cubs run in the 6th when he homered off Shaun Marcum, who was otherwise practically untouched.  Aramis Ramirez left early with an injury in what could be his last game at Wrigley as a Cub.

In the final home game of the season Wednesday afternoon, the Cubs passed 3,000,000 in attendance.  At 3,017,966 (an average of 37,258), the Cubs just barely passed the mark for the eighth year in a row.  Although 3,000,000 is a great feat achieved by a lucky bunch of larger-market teams, the extra empty seats at Wrigley was no secret.  Through April and May, it didn't look like the Cubs had any chance to get back to 3M, but consistent crowds of 39,000+ in the summer months pushed it through.

In 2008, the Yankees and Mets both had over 4,000,000 in attendance, but higher ticket prices and a recession saw no more 4M teams since.  There won't be any of them this season either; not even close.  The Phillies, MLB's attendance leader, would have to have around eight more home games to reach that.    This season, seven teams have reached the 3M mark and the Angels will by the end of the season.  The first seven in order are the Phillies, Yankees, Giants, Twins, Red Sox, Cubs, and Cardinals.

Matt Garza celebrates his complete game win
to close the 2011 home schedule.

D.J. LeMahieu doubled in two in that home finale as part of a 7-1 blowout.  Byrd hit a three-run homer and Garza got his complete game this time, ending the home season on a high note.  Castro, hot in the pursuit of 200 hits on the season as the NL's hits king, had three chances to get it but was intentionally walked, grounded out to short, and walked.  He got his 200th leading off Friday's game in St. Louis, so not to worry.

The last road trip of the season features St. Louis and San Diego.  The Cubs can really hurt St. Louis' playoff chances with even one win, which they got Friday night.  The Padres aren't playing for much, but the Cubs should be able to close out the season with a series win there.  It's hard to believe the Cubs are done at Wrigley in 2011, but Opening Day feels like years ago.  Watching baseball at Ye' Olde Wrigley was less fun than usual without an alcoholic aid...but big change is coming this offseason and it definitely won't get any worse than it was this season.  Financial flexibility will make us a better team next season, so I foresee games at Wrigley being a significantly hotter ticket next summer than this one.

Homestand Analysis: Pittsburgh, Cincinnnati

Cubs catcher Koyie Hill awaits the throw from Reed
Johnson to tag Edgar Renteria out at the plate late in
Wednesday's game.

Record: 3-3
Final Record: 62-81

As weird as morally wrong as it sounds, the Pirates marched into Wrigley Field last weekend as the statistically better team.  Being a young Cubs fan, I still felt the Cubbies mysterious aura of superiority against the Bucs, seeing as they've had it for, like, the last 20 years.

But the Pirates came to play.  Recently called up starter Brian Burres' only blemish was a Carlos Pena home run before the Pirates bullpen was perfect for nearly four innings, holding their 3-1 lead to the end.  A typical, forgettable game which wasted a great start from Ryan Dempster.

Derrek Lee returned from the DL on Saturday and started at first for Pittsburgh.  His only two homers as a Pirate came against the Cubs in that four-game series in early August, which was actually his Pirates debut.  His third homer also came against the Cubs, a grand slam off Carlos Marmol in the 9th of a 5-3 game.  The Pirates took the lead and the win thanks to Marmol finding yet another method to lose a game.  This was his ninth blown save of the season, an unacceptable mark by any measurement.  After being fooled last season, I've come to the conclusion that he isn't made to be a closer.  Marmol is an 8th inning guy, and should be treated as such for the rest of his career.

You know the whole 'get in front of the ball' tactic coaches
teach outfielders starting in T-ball?  Apparently Alfonso
Soriano (still) hasn't gotten the technique down.

Marlon Byrd picked up two RBIs and Randy Wells won his seventh game of the year as the Cubs beat Pittsburgh to end the season series between the teams, with the series ending tied 8-8.  Next came the Cincinnati Reds, out of the pennant race and relevance again as the NL Central will have a different champion for the fourth year in a row.

Dontrelle Willis made his first start at Wrigley Monday afternoon since May 29, 2007, except this time he started for the Reds.  After a sharp first few innings, he lost it during a rally in the 5th inning, where five straight batters got on base.  The Cubs' 4-1 lead barely held up to the 9th, when Marmol rebounded with a 1-2-3 inning, which was surprising to say the least.  Vegas oddsmakers must be stumped on how to gauge this guy.

Mike Leake started Tuesday, and the Cubs basically gave him a complete-game shutout.  Swinging way too aggressively, the Cubs were hanging on to their last hope in rookie Bryan LaHair in a 2-0 game with a man on when LaHair launched a ball onto Sheffield to tie the game with two outs in the 9th.  The Cubs would lose in extra innings, but this LaHair dude is some kind of exciting.  38 home runs this season alone in the Minor Leagues?!  His power numbers are unheard of and were leading the Minors by a wide margin when he was called up.  At 28, many would call him a late bloomer.  But with this ridiculous power, I hope he finds a bench spot on the roster next year while they decide which defensive position for him will cause the team the least damage.

The Reds were the ones who came back on Wednesday, but the 3-3 tie game was short-lived.  Pena launched a three-run monster blast over the bleachers.  Marmol got save #33 and the Cubs took the series from the Reds.  This series was very tight and each game came down to the end, but I really liked the starting pitching they displayed here.

The Cubs now need to go 19-0 the rest of the season to get to .500, 14-5 to match last season's record, and 11-8 to avoid losing 90 games this season, which is big from a moral standpoint.  Given the easy schedule remaining, hopefully it will be somewhere around the third option, as the first two are unrealistic for this team.

Next up for the Cubs is the Mets in New York, where they haven't played since April 2010.  The streak of not playing there for that long was the longest among NL teams.  Because of September 11, the Cubs and Mets, two teams well out of contention, will be ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball.  I can't remember the last time ESPN showed a September game between two teams a combined 40 games out of their divisions or whatever.  Not that I'm complaining, but the producers definitely were hoping it would be the Yankees hosting the Rangers or some other contender for the ceremonious ten-year September 11 shindig.  Hey Cubbies, just don't embarrass yourselves on national TV like you have a knack for doing these days (see: Starlin Being Starlin?).

Road Trip Analysis: Atlanta, Houston

Record: 3-3
Final Record: 54-70

This road trip began like many other for the Cubs, as they were mauled on Friday night in Atlanta.  Dan Uggla extended his hitting streak with two homers, both off Carlos Zambrano.  Chipper Jones, Jose Constanza, and Freddie Freeman also homered off Zambrano, who took out his frustration on Jones by throwing at him twice, hitting him the second time.  The Braves won 10-4.

Zambrano was thrown out and walked out on his team, earning him a 30-day suspension on the rarely-used disqualified list which could mark the end of his Cubs career.  Apparently anger management classes last year didn't hold up, and Zambrano started telling everyone in the clubhouse he was going to retire immediately before he cleaned out his locker and beat it.  Later, calling in on Chicago Tribune Live on CSN, he said he was upset that word of his potential retirement escaped the clubhouse and got to the media.  Either way it was a stupid thing to say so he doesn't have much of a right to be mad.

The Cubs won on Saturday thanks to an array of RBI singles and doubles, but Uggla extended his hitting streak to 33 with a home run.  I was impressed at how the Cubs attacked Derek Lowe, knocking him out of the game after six, allowing ten hits.  Final score was 8-4.

They also won on Sunday 6-5, ending Uggla's hitting streak at 33.  The Braves rocked Matt Garza for four runs in the first four innings, but the Cubs fought back and eventually tied the game on a wild pitch. Although Alex Gonzalez got the Braves the lead back on an error in the next half-inning, Carlos Pena blasted a long two-run homer to take the lead.  With the tying run on second base in the ninth, Carlos Marmol got Martin Prado out to take the series 2-1 from the NL's second-best team.

As shocking as that series win was, I was even more excited for the Cubs to head to Houston to play MLB's worst team and hopefully go for the sweep.  The Cubs should've swept too, but the Astros took two one-run games to sneak out the series win.

Two two-run doubles were enough, barely, to beat the Astros 4-3 on Monday night thanks to a save from Kerry Wood, his first as a Cub since 2008.  The loss for the Astros dropped them to 19-41 at home.  On Tuesday night, the Cubs played a solid game and took a 5-2 lead into the ninth.  Tyler Colvin and Aramis Ramirez both hit homers in the game, but Ramirez's shot will be on highlight reels all season long as it landed on the train tracks above the wall in left field, an estimated distance of over 450 feet.  But what will most be remembered from this game will obviously be Brian Bogusevic's walk-off grand slam off Marmol to win the game 6-5.  I bet the Cubs wish they had used Wood again.  Marmol has this remarkable ability to somehow find a way to lose a game, and showed right here.  Brian Bogusevic?  Really??  And did I mention that this was his second career Major League homer, and his first ever at home?

Casey Coleman gave the Astros the lead in the 4th of Wednesday afternoon's game, and they would never give it back.  The Cubs offense was shut out for four innings by the Astros bullpen, which featured David Carpenter, Sergio Escalona, Fernando Rodriguez, and Mark Melancon, only one of whom has thrown more than 40 innings in the Major Leagues.  I might as well just have named four construction contractors.  Added with Bogusevic, and the Cubs lost a series to a team to a team that will be 50 games under .500 by the end of the year because of five nobodies.  Nice going, guys.

Cub fans should be pleased with their effort in Atlanta because they're not an easy team to face at all.  The important thing was that they scored early to avoid having to battle against the bullpen which is, in my opinion, the most dominant in baseball.  Hardthrowers Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel are two of the most toughest pitchers in the league because everything they throw is hard, hard, and harder.  Kimbrel hasn't allowed a run since June.  The results of the Houston series, however, is pretty much unacceptable.  Marmol found a way to lose then so did the offense the next day.  Although these two events probably didn't directly have anything to do with Jim Hendry's dismissal, it definitely didn't cheer up the franchise's outlook at all.

Homestand Analysis: Cincinnati, Washington

Record: 4-2
Final Record: 51-67

Fresh off that major sweepage in the Steel City, the Cubs returned home to face a reeling Cincinnati team that had pretty much knocked themselves out of postseason contention.  The underperforming Reds, expected by many to battle the Cardinals and Brewers for the division all season long, came into Friday's game at 57-61 and 10 games behind division-leading Milwaukee.  The Cubs wouldn't make it any easier for them either, as the Cubs, or Tony Campana rather, motored past the Reds in a 4-3 win to open the series.

Campana's first-inning inside-the-park-homer, which also scored Starlin Castro, was the first home run of his career.  In fact I remember Len and Bob once remarking on a broadcast that it was as likely that Campana's first homer came in the park as it was over the wall.  It was just an amazing sight to behold and one of the most exciting plays in baseball, although near the end there was little doubt the little guy would make it.  The left fielder was a first baseman named Yonder Alonso who apparently hadn't adapted well to his temporary position, as he ran into the wall and let the ball skip right past him.

Tyler Colvin homered an inning later to make it 3-0.  Ryan Dempster ran into a bit of trouble in the 4th, allowing two runs, but the Reds never got the lead back despite a late homer by Ramon Hernandez which cut the lead to one.  Carlos Marmol saved the win, but Campana's clutch catch in the center field ivy (Sam Fuld-style) robbing Brandon Phillips of extra bases gets the real save.  A solid, solid victory.

On Saturday, the Cubs beat the Reds in blowout fashion.  Carlos Zambrano earned his ninth win of the season which could be his last win as a Cub.  Zambrano homered, Castro picked up four RBIs, and Carlos Pena picked up three in the 11-4 win.  On Sunday, Sean Marshall's midseason slump appeared to pack in one last stand as Marshall blew a one-run lead in the 8th, allowing the Reds to win 8-7.  The win snapped the Cubs' season-high seven-game winning streak.

Following the Monday rainout, the Cubs played the first of three against Chien-Ming Wang and the Nationals on Tuesday.  Wang stymied the Cubs offense, allowing hardly any baserunners and no runs while Matt Garza on the other side continued to receive the world's worst run support.  This one of Wang's first few starts in over two years, so the effort by the Cubs offense is pretty disappointing.  Golden boy Castro homered in the 8th, but the rest of the lineup stayed quiet in the 3-1 loss.

Batboy?  Nope, the dude in the middle is
the scrawny little Campana.

Homers by Reed Johnson, Geovany Soto, and Alfonso Soriano were enough to put away the Nats on Wednesday, thanks to a solid start by Rodrigo Lopez.  Although Lopez is just a short-term fix for this season's lack of rotation depth, it's good to see the Cubs be able to win with him on the mound.

Dempster again had great stuff in his Thursday start against the Reds, a 1-1 tie until homers by Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Pena made it 4-1.  A late rally nearly tied the game for the Reds, but a huge clutch performance by Carlos Marmol got the Cubs their third series win in a row and left them 9-2 in their last 11 home games.  Rick Ankiel hit an all-or-nothing blast to deep center that was caught near the warning track with the bases loaded and everything on the line with two outs in the 9th, giving the Cubs the win.

The phrase 'home cookin'' hasn't really applied to the Cubs this year or the last, but their 'road cookin'' in Pittsburgh carried over and kept on rolling back to Wrigley anyway.  This homestand just had a fun, positive feel to it which made it so fun to watch.  MVP honors goes to Dempster, who gave the Cubs everything in two very solid starts.  After the tough summer this has been for the Cubs and their fans, it's about time for some winning.  And according to Mike Quade, this could still be the year!

Homestand Analysis: Florida, Philadelphia, Houston

Record: 5-5
Final Record: 42-60

Fresh off a trip to the All-Star Game, Starlin Castro returned to Chicago to rejoin his team for a four-game set against the Florida Marlins, who were making their last trip to Chicago under that name before they become the Miami Marlins next year.  The Marlins went out with a bang too, taking three of four games and outscoring the Cubs 27-13.

Two of the three losses should have been wins for the Cubs, and only one of those two was actually the Cubs' fault.  A typical Carlos Marmol ninth inning implosion blew the lead and the game in both teams' first game after the break on Thursday night.  After a win on Friday and a blowout loss Saturday, the Cubs were robbed of at least extra innings by second base umpire Lance Barrett, who blew the call on a pickoff play that would have gotten Kerry Wood out of a serious jam in the 8th.  Wood and the Cubs were livid, but there is no instant replay on those calls and they just had to deal with it.  Wood went on to walk in the go-ahead run and the Cubs would never get the lead back.

While losing three of four to Florida might have seemed bad, the Cubs had an even taller task ahead of them when the Phillies came to town on Monday.  But for the second year in a row, the Cubs beat Phillies ace Roy Halladay and opened off the series with a surprising win.  Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Pena added home runs in the game.

While Ramirez and Pena and known sluggers, it would still be a surprise to see one of them homer of Phillies southpaw Cliff Lee, widely regarded as one of the best pitchers in baseball known for his impeccable control.  But it was a kid with five career homers heading into the game who would homer off the veteran Lee on this night.  Castro's two-run first inning blast gave the Cubs a lead that would hold up until the 8th, when Sean Marshall blew it on a double by Chase Utley.  As I've mentioned in previous posts, Mike Quade has taken a lot of blame for leaving in pitchers too long.  Perhaps preparing for potential extra innings, Quade left in the demoralized Marshall to pitch the 9th, and a two-run double by Michael Martinez gave the Phillies a lead they wouldn't give back.  The mistake by Quade was inexcusable, and I was highly disappointed that this problem still plagues Quade.

After the Phillies finished their series win with a blowout in nothing-to-see-here fashion, the stumbling Houston Astros came to Wrigley Field.  The Astros had gone 9-3 in their last 12 games at Wrigley Field before this series, but that was certainly bound to change.  This year's version of the Astros is unprecedentedly bad and on pace for around 110 losses, which would be a franchise worst.  In fact, the Astros have never lost 100 games in the franchise's 50 year history, but that will change at this rate.  And a sweep from a fifth-place Cubs team definitely won't help them avoid it.

The Cubs took the Friday matinee by power, as Alfonso Soriano and Ramirez had key homers to take it 4-2.  Randy Wells, pitching for his life in the rotation, came through with just one run allowed Saturday and was allowed to stay in the rotation.  Marlon Byrd and Geovany Soto joined the homer party in support.  Speaking of homer party, Carlos Lee gave the Astros the lead 4-3 on Sunday with a shocking two-run homer in the 8th.  Lee, a notorious Cub killer, has 36 career homers against the Cubs, which is 17 more than he has against any other opponent!  But my immediate reaction to Lee's homer on Sunday was, 'Isn't this guy too old for this now?!'  Lee's homer, just his eighth of the season, was quickly forgotten by Cubs fans, however, as a Soriano single tied the game just a half-inning later.  In the 10th, Jeff Baker singled to left to win the game and begin the walk-off celebration.

And just like that, the Cubs took their first three-game sweep of the season.  Oh, and that was also their first three-game winning streak in nearly four months of baseball.  See, it wasn't that hard guys.  Does it really count against a team like the Astros?  For our purposes, yes.

For how ugly the homestand started, you have to give the team credit for rebounding and sweeping the Astros.  But the Cubs should have taken three of four from the Marlins and two of three from the Phillies, counting the game that Marshall and Quade unintentionally colluded to blow.  Counting the sweep of the Astros, that would've been an 8-2 homestand.  But the past is the past, and as the all-mighty Da Coach says, the past is for cowards.  Point being the Cubs have to take the positives and work forwards to have any chance of a late-season rebound like last year's.  

Homestand Analysis: Colorado, San Francisco, Chicago (AL)

Record: 4-4
Final Record: 35-50

Against the Rockies, the Cubs finally got their first series sweep of the season.  Unfortunately, it was a one-game series, as in a makeup game for the rainout back in April.  This means the Cubs have yet to sweep a three-game series, and also haven't even won three in a row.  But play later in the week was encouraging for the Cubs.

Behind two homers each by Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Pena, the Cubs rolled past the Rockies 7-3.  The four homers would be the first four of 12 homers on the eight-game homestand.  Something was definitely in the water, as even backup Koyie Hill added one to the tally.  The annual weather swing has struck Wrigley, with that summer wind blowing out to the bleachers.

In the Colorado game, starter Matt Garza gave up a deep fly ball to left field by Carlos Gonzalez.  Alfonso Soriano went back to the track at his typical, lackadaisical pace.  Soriano eventually just pulled up and stopped, facing the wall, waiting for the ball to drop.  Garza, standing on the mound and thinking Soriano couldn't see the ball, raised his arms and said, "What are you doing?!"  Sure enough, the ball landed in the bleachers for a home run.  Garza, like most of the rest of the players, was shocked.  This evidence of the bandbox that Wrigley Field becomes in the summer has to come as a big surprise to the newcomers like Garza, who thought this ball would be a routine flyout.

The jetstream helped the Cubs for the rest of the homestand.  Ramirez hit six homers on it, en route to a well-deserved National League Player of the Week award.  But even that couldn't help the Cubs from looking absolutely dreadful in the doubleheader against the Giants on last Tuesday.  The Cubs were blown out by baseball's worst offense, reminiscent of their similar drubbing of the Cubs at Wrigley Field last year.  For the Cubs, Doug Davis and Rodrigo Lopez started the two games and the results are history.

Thankfully, the Cubs salvaged the last two games in impressive fashion.  A 1-0 ninth inning lead was blown by Carlos Marmol, but Ramirez singled home the winning run just a half-inning later on Wednesday night.

On Thursday afternoon, the Cubs put together one of their most complete wins since 2008.  Marcos Mateo pitched five incredible innings of relief after Carlos Zambrano's injury allowed him just one inning.  Ramirez erased a 1-0 deficit on a 95 mph fastball off Giants closer Brian Wilson.  Darwin Barney hit a huge clutch double in the 13th inning to tie the game at two after the Giants took the lead in the top half.  Geovany Soto stepped up and, two pitches later, ended the game with a three-run walk-off homer that was one of the most amazing moments the Cubs have had in the last decade.  The game was intense throughout and the Cubs trailed twice facing a loss, coming back both times.

In their millionth attempt to win a third game in a row, the Cubs were again denied, this time by the White Sox.  The Cubs didn't commit any errors on Friday in the series opener, according to the box score.  A mental error by manager Mike Quade cost the Cubs the lead in a tie game.  Quade has been sharply criticized this season for leaving in starters too long, and although much of this criticism is unfair, there's a case for this game to be examined.  Randy Wells gave up the two-run lead he had in the seventh, increasing his runs allowed total to four.  After Alex Rios reached base, Quade allowed Wells to pitch to Juan Pierre who lined a two-run triple to gave the Sox a lead they wouldn't give back.  Quade's mental error wasn't something major on his part, but I believe it was just the wrong decision.

A blown call at second base on a double play ball prevented the Cubs from tying Saturday's game at one, and the Cubs lost 1-0.  Garza threw a complete game despite losing, a sign I love to see.  Back in the Lou Piniella days, Garza would've been yanked after eight regardless of his low pitch count and the fact that his performance had earned him another inning.  Garza has been the beneficiary of some serious bad luck this season, and his value to the team has been far underrated thus far.

The Cubs finally got a win on Sunday, which salvages all Cubs fans everywhere from having to hear those Sox fans yappin' their yappers about how they swept us in our own park, yadda yadda yadda.  Thank God.  A Starlin Castro RBI triple and Ramirez two-run homer built a small lead, and although Kerry Wood allowed the bases loaded in the 8th, the Cubs escaped, avoiding the sweep.  The Sox now lead the Crosstown Series 12-6 since 2009.

On this homestand, Cubs pitchers really started throwing strikes.  In the case of Wells, Lopez, and Davis, who was released after his latest shellacking, this tactic didn't work so well.  In the case of Garza and Ryan Dempster, this worked very well.  Keeping a lower pitch count should allow the starters to go later in games, which is something the Cubs need.  Garza's performance on Saturday was incredible; but not as incredible as the fact that he lost.    

Crosstown Showdown: Cubs 6, White Sox 3

Three key Cubs step up big in win over streaking Sox

CHC leads 1-0

Last night the Cubs and Sox met for the first of six games this season.  The news coming up to game time and in the 1st inning was all about Carlos Zambrano and his temper tantrum last season at The Cell, which nearly led to him being kicked off the team.  But a different Zambrano emerged, despite another bad first inning.  He gave up three in that first inning before calming down and staying as cool as the other side of the pillow for most of the game.  Through 8 innings, Zambrano allowed only those three runs.

The blow up actually came from the other side as Ozzie Guillen was ejected arguing a fair or foul call on home plate.  These disputes are rare because such an instance was very rare but nonetheless the umpire called Alexei Ramirez out after Geovany Soto tagged him with the ball which the ump thought he had picked up off home plate.  The Sox claimed the ball had rolled off and Soto grabbed it in foul territory.  Guillen, in his frustration, kicked Soto's catcher's mask towards his own dugout, prompting eruptions of laughter and hysteria from the Cubs dugout.  Even Soto, standing near Guillen behind home plate, pointed and laughed along with his teammates.

The three keys to winning the game for the Cubs were Zambrano, Starlin Castro, and Carlos Pena.  Castro knocked in the first three runs with a two-RBI single and a solo homer, and Pena gave the Cubs the lead for good with a big three-run homer to the right field bleachers off a stumbling Gavin Floyd.

Carlos Marmol, who puts the fire in fireman, aka closer, gave up singles to catcher A.J. Pierzynski and center fielder Alex Rios just to give Cubs fans a headache before retiring Mark Teahen and left fielder Juan Pierre.

This win was huge in my opinion.  It proved that the Cubs' improved competitive play against the Yankees wasn't a fluke, and that they can hang around with an American League team.  Also, the current Chicago fad of hating on the Cubs takes a big hit with every win they get over the White Sox.  It's as if the bandwagon shrinks, if even just a little.