–Robnett is either incredibly quick–or–has great baserunning instincts–or–is the only Cub to realize that A.J. has a weak arm at this point in his career and was determined to take advantage of it. I don’t know where Robnett will eventually fit into the system, they seem to have an over abundance of maybe Minor League outfielders these days(Fuld, Robnett, Snyder, Colvin) as well as viable Major league choices(Gathright, Johnson, Fukudome, Taguchi?). Len did mention that Robnett has only stolen twenty bases in five minor league seasons, so I don’t know if he has:

A) Never taken advantage of his speed

-OR-

B) Stole on Pierzynski’s weak arm.

But he looked to be quick beating out an infield single before his second of the two stolen bags. Maybe he has the instinct to steal bases, I don’t know. If he does pan out then we got something for a sometimes nothing in Wuertz who for the record was effective when:

His slider was on

Which was more off than on in the past year.

Mike Fontenot and Ryan Theriot can hit. These guys may be the hokey joke about short and white with no range, but these guys CAN hit. I know Fontenot has the questionable record against left-handers, but, as long as Miles can produce(if Mike fails against left-handed pitching) then Derosa shouldn’t be missed regardless of the numbers he puts up this year.

Micah Hoffpauir can also hit, but his swing still has a bit too much of an uppercut to it at times, which leaves it susceptible. Is he a solution for when Derrek leaves?  Doubtful. Even with the bat, is his glove good enough? I don’t think Lee’s glove will be fully appreciated(even if it is just slightly above average now) until a real butcher is installed there. Will Micah be that? Don’t know, but Theriot’s arm and Ramirez’s penchant for throws in the dirt could become alot more glaring once he leaves.

Chad Fox can still get outs. Is he going to make the team? I doubt it. He lacks any real dominant stuff, or from what I saw today. I’ve seen him before, but in such a small sample size, that today I really paid attention. He has the ability to get outs, but if there is even a slightly better option I don’t see anyway they can justify taking him.  He’s Borowski stuff, without Borowski numbers.

They lost.

7-6, but it doesn’t matter. Spring Training.

I caught about an inning of Smardzija, but from that and the ongoing commentary he was off. I say he goes down to AAA and stretches out, works on his pitches, and the Cubs ignore their tribune-ish urge for marketing and do it the INTELLIGENT way, drop the hype and let the kid pan out or not.

We might lose Angel Guzman. He just doesn’t look sharp enough to make the team as it is and he’s out of options. Kind of sad for a kid who has been built up as much as he has and has some incredible pitches.

Lilly pitched four innings today for Team USA, two hits, a run, and awesome ensued.

That’s what I pulled from today’s game that I was actually able to watch. The  major pieces(Fontenot, Theriot, Bradley with a double in the other split)look good, and barring a complete fucking collapse from alot of players then we should be in good shape for the season.

Here’s the Box.

First Pitch is at 3:05 pm central time in Las Vegas VS. The White Sox. Game is On WGN America.

Heilman takes the ball in the first.

You kind of have to look past the “awesome” copyright anti-infringement measure…

But I understand. It’s cool ….

And for the rest of you villagers–put down those torches and pitchforks.

I know we lost four to two to that blabber-mouth D*&ck and his pet.

It’s Okay

It’s only Spring Training. 

But today did have a bit of that, I don’t know–”Catch the F*&cking ball!” after-taste.

Did it not?

I mean, Dempster may not have walked  7/9ths of the roster( only one), but it does give you that same eerie feeling creeping up the back of your spine, No?

I realize I’m mixing games one and two of last October’s post-season meltdown together for my own narrow purpose but…

Come on!

HITTING

Ryan Theriot –You may have gone two for three today, but all you really did was play into your critics hands. The rest of your line read a bunch of sh*&tty zero’s, meaning your two hollow singles and .600 average didn’t make up for the two(fielding, throwing) errors and being the absolute reason the Cubs lost today.

But it’s cool…

I am not an Anti-Theriotite, just disappointed that today’s L in the loss column speaks more loudly than the actual facts( That Cubs hitting and pitching, all major factors in the past, put. them. in. place. for the win).

On the bright side — Aaron Miles grounded into two double plays today. So that means we can finally all go back to liking this guy.

Whew…

Mike Fontenot — Some people may think–”Oh, that is so cute! He thinks he’s a third baseman honey.”

But not me.

Mike went two for three today, both doubles, and scored one of the Cubs two runs. He is hitting .417(five for twelve, with four of those being extra base hits) this spring.

Reed Johnson –You Son of a Bitch! You went one for three and PUT. THAT. SHIT. DOWN. in center..until Fuld came in to pinch run ?

Jake Fox — I am so sorry Jake( error 1, fielding), but you did get a hit in three at bats. You even scored a run!

AND……..THAT’S IT?

Cub bat’s were pretty quiet against Peavy, with whipping boy Theriot registering the only hit in his three innings. It’s a disappointing outcome to be sure, but not a reason for this because…

PITCHING

Although the box score may not read it, Dempster actually pitched well. He may have faced a total of seven batters in the first inning, but his overall line was two hits with one walk and a K. Sooo–ledgies may be dropping like flies right now, but at least so did Padres hitters when facing…

ALSO PITCHED:

Chad Fox — The man with the oldest arm on the planet pitched a scoreless inning today, giving up a hit with no walks and a K.

Mike Stanton — Just plain old f*&cking old. Goddamn Pinella?  Stanton pitched a perfect inning– and then the sun came up. Ha!

Justin Berg — gave up the only earned run in the game. Some have called this move the “Gutenburg.”

Rocky Roquet– a hit a walk and no runs. Has never heard of “The Gutenburg.”

Kevin Hart — no hit and no walks with a K in one. Hart has bounced back and forth between the Major and Minor leagues the past year or so. Hart could be in the pen, but then again could not. Meh.

Marcos Mateo — His second(or third?) spring training appearance, he closed out the ninth with a perfect inning and a K. Who the F*&ck knows anymore?

With so many pitchers showing up in such a short time you can’t really get a good bead on who is doing what for now and what for the long run yet.

CORRECTIONS:

WBC– The Cubs are actually sending seven players to the classic this year: Lilly(USA), Fukudome(Japan). Marmol(Dominican Republic), Alex Maestri( Italy..and he’s actually Italian!), Soto(Puerto Rico)  Koskie(Canada), and Vince Perkins( Also Canada).

The WBC begins Thursday March Fifth in Tokyo, Japan with a matchup between Japan and China. Game time is 4:30 am eastern standard on ESPN2 and ESPN deportes. Cub Fans will finally get their first good look at Kosuke this spring, so tune in.  The MLB NETWORK will be carrying sixteen games over the course of the classic including, I would imagine, the finals to be played at Dodger Stadium.

The Cubs host the D-ba(gs)cks( are you kidding…are you really going to make it that easy Arizona?) at Ho Ho Kam tomorrow. On the mound in the first is….

CARLOS ZAMBRANO!

Making his first start this spring.

First pitch is at 2:05 Central Standard Time.

Today we are going to eschew what has become the “Original” format to talk about the three different types of major league baseball players, at least I believe, should be on every team:

The Super Star(Soriano, Zambrano)

The Fan Favorite(Ramirez, Theriot)

The Grinder(which is not my favorite term, but F*&k it, it serves my purpose here–Johnson, Fontenot)

The Super Star:

There can be some discrepancy as to whether or not these players always deserve the recognition they get–most have one or two great breakout seasons and then remain on the lips of every sportswriter throughout the tenure of their career–or– have the good fortune to play for either Boston or New York. Their playing time and ridiculous contracts are warranted by their production, but have a tendency to become a hindrance to the team as they age and their skills wane, often times becoming untradeable due to their bloated contracts(Sosa). But, during their hey day on your team they are an essential ingredient to have a winning ball club.

On the Cubs:

Carlos Zambrano — What needs to be said. To know Z is to love Z. His era has been creeping up and his strikeouts have been going down, but so has the games/tantrums ratio. Here’s to hoping  that he keeps his head on straight and that Bako has been working on his hay-maker.

Alfonso Soriano — The Cubs record contract left fielder with the smile that looks like he’s been brushing with bleach, Soriano has yet to play a full season for his oh-so generous team. He was intitially signed for his speed and power at the plate, but ,a string of leg injuries has kept his stolen base totals low and all the time off has kept his home run totals under the forty range. Has shown a bit of patience at the plate so far in spring(two walks in three official at bats) and has said his legs are finally starting to feel “healthy” again. He probably won’t fourty/fourty again, but thirty/any number above thirty is adequate for the guy who, when leading off, somehow coerces the team into an over .600 winning percentage.

The Fan Favorite:

This is the guy who’s jersey you bought and then spent the rest of the afternoon explaining who he is to non Cub fans. His skills, while sometimes on par with the super-star, are usually good enough to warrant an all-star game or two in his career and keep him a valuable asset on the field.

On the Cubs:

Aramiz Ramirez — Ramirez is not a super-star. Should he be? Probably, but maybe it’s his supposed lack of hustle, quiet off-field demeanor, or all the time spent busy fiddling with his cock–but he just hasn’t reached that status despite hitting over twenty-five home runs and driving in a hundred rbi’s in every season since he’s been with the Cubs. Ramirez is even more impressive when someone else is on base, with a .301/.390/.950(last is ops) line for his career. He is hitless so far this spring, but you know, it’s like, latin players just play better when it’s hot and shit. Right?

Ryan Theriot — if you’re a Cub fan then you know why and how Ryan got to be where he is today. He hit a shitload of singles. Critics say he isn’t a major league shortstop, he has no range, no arm, and is flat out slow-short- and white. Apparently Pinella see’s it differently.

The Grinder:

This guy just flat out plays, no matter when-where-or why. They also usually have a hole in their game as big as the one in Pie’s swing(ooooo…suck it B-more). Most often found in a platoon situation or as a defensive replacement or pinch runner to accentuate( some sexy talk about the Cubs) their particular skill set.

On the Cubs :

Reed Johnson — Nuff said. Seriously, the only thing I want to add about Reed is that I’m almost a hundred percent positive he is a product of super-scout Tim Wilkens. If this is what we have to look forward to then the Cubs are in it for a while folks.

Spring Training Unknowns –and now we have the link into the usual pre-game. See how I did that? These are the guys(Hoffpauir, Fuld, Rivas, Scales, Patton, Gathright) fighting it out for maybe one/two spots on the bench. Versatility is the name of the game here, and so far it looks like Micah’s bat and Patton’s arm are speaking pretty loudly.

Things to watch for:

Happy Birthday Hoff ! Hoffpauir turns twenty-nine today and is supposed to get the day off after seeing action in every game so far. Look for D-lee to get the start, or possibly Jake Fox trying to showcase his ability to play the field well enough to beat out the birthday boy as possible backup first/third basemen.

Jake Peavy –Who will not be a Cub this season, but will give Cub fans a chance to see what might have been .

Yea, everyone would have died. Is that what you want Jake? Is it?

Dempster — makes his first start of the spring in an effort to keep up the incredible work he did last season. Yukk Yukk–ya dork.

First pitch is at 2:05 pm in Peoria.

And for anyone in Chicago, Lucero comes to town May tenth at the Metro.

I was trying to post video directly to the page, thereby avoiding linking you to an outside source–BUT, as it turns out, I have no clue how to do that.

So here you go.

Onto Cub related news.

CUBS WIN!…SOME MORE…

The team rolled into spring training the way they rolled out of last season–winning( There was no October in 2008. Weird, I know.)

And the team that they beat?

Yep.

The Cubs beat the Dodgers by a score of 5-3 earlier today at Ho Ho Kam, with four of their five runs coming courtesy of a first baseman not named Lee. Lee was in the game alright( 0 for 1), but the teams took advantage of the spring training caveat allowing the use of a DH regardless of location or opponent. So it turns out Micah Hoffpauir(1-4 with a grand-slam) is an awesome DH.

Awesome–He’s on a national league roster.

But his performance could be indicative of his ability to stay in-game while not being on-field, which could in turn strengthen his case for being the backup lefty power off the bench. Plus, he cant catch shit.

Jeff Samardzija started the game for the Cubs and pitched two innings, retiring the side in the first before having a shakier second. He gave up a total of three hits, two runs, two walks and struck out one. Samardzija is one of the candidates for the fifth spot in the rotation, but until his secondary pitches develop he would probably be better off starting for AAA than being lit up by major league hitters. He might return to the bullpen, where he was excellent last year, but that could be more of a disservice to his future as a starter than an asset to what some say is an already deep pen.

Mitch Atkins, Cubs 2008 minor league pitcher of the year, followed Samardzija by pitching the third and fourth, giving up one run on three hits with a strikeout of his own. Atkins will most likely start for AAA or be returned to AA West Tenn, which is the more competitive, pitching-oriented league.

Also Pitched:

Ken Kadokura–one hit and one strikeout in 1.0 . Japanese league veteran with legit shot for the pen.

David Patton–two hits and a strikeout in 1.0 . Rule-Fiver from Cinci, could also be seen in the pen.

Esmailin Caridad–zero hits and zero Runs in 1.0 . Battling Samardzija for name least likely to be spelled by sounding it out phonetically.

Jason Waddell–o hits, a walk, two strikeouts and the distinction of me not having the first clue who he is. WHERE DID YOU COME FROM!? Jason Waddell.

Jeff Stevens– one hit, one walk, and one strikeout in one inning. He was also a piece of the Mark Derosa deal with Cleveland. I believe he was the torso.

At the Plate:

The Cubs managed to push across five runs on eight hits while leaving a Bakers dozen(18) runners on base. They also managed to walk four times– which is oddly enough also considered a Bakers dozen.

Micah Hoffpauir– one for four with four rbi’s and a homerun(Grand Slam). Likely to start on the bench as the Cubs backup first basemen/Corner outfielder.

Ryan Theriot– two for three with two singles. The Cubs incumbent shortstop. Whipping boy.

Alfonso Soriano –one for one with a walk and a run scored. Cubs starting left fielder/linguistic enigma(How can he not speak the language better? He’s been here for like eight F*&kin years.)

Geovanny Soto– one for two with a single. Cubs starting catcher. Speaks better English than Soriano.

Reed Johnson– one for two with a single. He’s REED JOHNSON. Nuff said.

Bobby Scales/Luis Rivas– One for two with a single. Two headed minor league third baseman monster.

So that’s a wrap on my first wrap(get it?) As the season progresses I am going to attempt to post links and online videos as well as create unique names for each of these sections, hopefully making the blog easier to navigate.

Cubs take on the Brewers tomorrow in Mesa at 3:05 pm central. Sean Marshall takes the mound in the first.

Oh yea. This is what the Dodgers did.

Ok, so this is what they really did.

Once again haunting Ho Ho Kam park in preparation for the 2009 season. Full squad workouts began at their Mesa, Arizona facility  on the 20th with only one notable name missing, that being their pirouetting, non-righty hitting, early season mania-inducing only to be disappointed/confused at WHAT EXACTLY IS HE SWINGING AT?! right center fielder Kosuke Fukudome.

But more on him later.

GM Jim Hendry spent the majority of the early off-season dodging rumors(Peavy…Peavy…Peavy) and courting the switch hitting, off-field headline producing Milton Bradley before kicking it into high gear on last day of 2008 by trading Mark Derosa to the Cleveland Indians for three pitching prospects. Trading fan favorite Derosa proved unpopular and left many fans feeling validated in their belief that Hendry is in fact a donut hoarding idiot(why it’s always donuts I don’t understand). He followed that move up by jettisoning:

An idiot(Cedeno to Seattle along with Garret Olsen for former Met disappointment Aaron Heilman)

A malcontent(Jason Marquis and his drain of a salary to Colorado for the Lovely Luis Viscaino, his 5+ era, propensity for drunk driving, and…being a malcontent)

The next Lou Brock?(more likely Corey Patterson Felix Pie and his inabiltiy to hit major league pitching to Baltimore for Heilman bait Garret Olsen and RHP Henry Williamson)

And another idiot(Rich Hill also to Baltimore for a player to be named later determined by his effectiveness…which means that player will most likely be hitting off of a tee and have to be in the house by dark.)

So what have we learned about Hendry this offseason?

*That apparently he considers Baltimore to be his own personal waste dump.

*That he coveted Bradley enough to give him a 3yr/30 million dollar contract(although the third year is dependent upon games played.)

*That Gabor (Paul) Bako must have seen him do something terrible because he is back in camp at the bargain? price of 725K.

*That if you can jump over cars then you can play for the Cubs. No matter how mediocre you truly are.Gathright Jumping Car.

He is projected to cover the quota of bench players being tagged out at second following a walk now that Cedeno is gone.

*He also signed some guys to Minor League deals like So taguchi, Mike Stanton..blah, blah

Im not going to touch on the Kerry Wood subject in this post. But yea, he’s gone too. To Cleveland.

In an effort to shorten what is already proving to be a tedious and long post here is what you have to look forward to in upcoming entries:

*Zambrano needs Lasik–Dempster jealous of His “Sweet Ass Looking” eyepatch.

*Johnson doesn’t think he’s better than Fukudome. His beard reportedly does.

*Short white guy or short white guy, who’s on second?

*The Bullpen/Bench , which is more boring?

*I love Geo Soto(Thats it, no lame joke.)

Spring training play begins Wednesday February 25th at Ho Ho Kam with Jeff ” The Shark” Samardzija starting against the Dodgers.(yea…F those guys), followed on Thursday and Friday by starts from Sean Marshall and Ted F’in Lilly.

Notes:

WBC- Lilly(USA), Fukudome(JAPAN), and Soto(PUERTO RICO) are the only Cubs still committed to play for their country in this years classic.

TV- For a complete listing of Spring training Games on television visit either www.cubs.com or you can link to this post from their message board(kindly provided by one of their posters)– http://www.forums.mlb.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&nav=messages&webtag=ml-cubs&tid=351492

Fuku- I told you I would get back to him. In exhibition play he has hit a two run triple as well as a grand slam against Nippen league team opponents. In how many at bats I don’t know, but I’m hoping it is two.

Interviews/Batting practice- Here is a link to Spring Training Interviews with Marshall, Fuld, and Cotts provided by mouthpiece sports: http://www.mouthpiecesports.com/blog/tag/Chicago-Cubs/

And here are links to BP from spring training:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW3bRyPq0q4&feature=channel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn_b5BcH_ww&feature=channel_page

Thats it for my first post of 2009. I’ll be updating regularly with news, rumors, transactions, winning series recaps, losing series excuses and in general lousy humor and shoddy reporting. As I learn how to use this more I am hoping to be able to make it easier to follow links.

Sweetlou

The Cubs got on the scoreboard with a rbi groundout by Ronny Cedeno. The ball was hit slow enough to third base that Reed Johnson was able to score as he took off on contact. The throw was never made to home as the Pirates third basemen elected to just get an out at first. On the very next pitch, Henry Blanco laid down a squeez bunt and Mark DeRosa scored without any troubles.

Jason Marquis pitched seven shutout innings and did not allow a walk as he earned his ninth victory of the season. Marquis was awesome and kept the Pirates guessing all afternoon long. Once again it was Carlos Marmol pitching in the eighth inning and Kerry Wood finishing things off in the ninth as the Cubs went on to win.

Cubs Baseball Blog

Ted Lilly didn’t have his best stuff as he was charged with four runs but it was good enough to get the win and improve to 12-6 on the year. Bob Howy had some trouble as he allowed a three run home run that got the Braves back within four runs. Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood then finished up the Braves in the final two innings.

Aramis Ramirez hit a three run home run to lead the Cubbies at the plate with three rbi. Alfonso Soriano added a two run shot of his own as well. Geovany Soto had another great game at the plate as he had three walks and two rbi. Mark DeRosa, Reed Johnson, Daryle Ward, and Ryan Theriot all had one rbi each as well.

The Cubbies will try to make it nine in a row on the road Friday night as they take on the Florida Marlins. Big Z will be taking the mound for the Cubs.

Cubs Baseball Blog

Cub’s fans got exactly what they expected out of newly acquired pitcher, Rich Harden, but it would take an 11^th inning RBI single from Reed Johnson to secure the Cubs second straight victory.  Harden was effective through 5 1/3^rd innings giving up five hits while striking out ten batters and giving up no runs.  It was the third time in his career that Harden had double-digit strikeout totals and the second this year.  He would leave to a standing ovation in the 5^th inning with a smile on his face that was shared throughout the electric crowd on hand at Wrigley. 

The Cubs would give Harden plenty of run support early led by Jim Edmonds 2-run homer in the 3^rd and then a two-run double in the 4^th.  He would finish the day 2-4 with four RBI’s and 2 runs.  The Cubs would then take a 7-0 lead into the 8^th inning before Giant’s catcher, Bengie Molina, doubled in Ray Durham for the Giant’s first run.  They would score once more to make it 7-2 heading into the 9^th inning. 

In the 9^th, with a five run lead, Lou Piniella gave the ball to Carlos Marmol, who has struggled of late.  After a lead-off double to Giant’s shortstop, Ivan Ochoa, things would begin to unravel for Marmol.  After another single and two Cub’s misplays in the infield, the game was quickly tied 7-7.  Cub’s closer, Kerry Wood was unavailable in the game due to a blister so Lou went with Sean Marshall in the 10^th.  Marshall pitched two solid innings before leading off with a single in the 11^th.  Then, with Mark DeRosa at 2^nd and Mike Fontenot at 1^st, Reed Johnson hit a one out, game-winning single which scored Derosa on a very close call at home plate. 

Expect the presence of broomsticks in Wrigley for the series closer Sunday afternoon as the Cubs look for the sweep.  They will be facing Giant’s ace and All-Star, Tim Lincecum (10-2), who has looked like a Cy Young winner despite pitching for a team below .500.  The Cubs will bring Ryan Dempster to mound who has yet to lose in Wrigley Field this season.

Special Note….  Cubs shortstop, Ryan Theriot, went 3-4 on Saturday extending his hitting streak to nine games and upping his batting average to .322 on the year.

 Carlos Zambrano pitched 8 brilliant innings in route to his 10^th victory of 2008 on a beautiful night in Wrigley.  Zambrano located his pitches very well having both the slider and sinker working nicely.  Coming off the DL only last week, Zambrano gave up a homerun to Adam Dunn, with one out in the 2nd inning, and then sat down the next 20 Reds batters he faced.  

Offensively the Cubs got it going early.  After going down 1-0 on  Adam Dunn’s homerun the Cubs answered as rookie All-Star Geovany Soto led off the second with a double, and then scored from second on an error by Cincinnati Red’s shortstop Jeff Keppinger.  Soto’s hustle was reminiscent of his inside the park homerun in Houston earlier this year.

After Cubs shortstop Ryan Theriot made a brilliant play to end the top half of the 6^th inning, Aramis Ramirez took the very first pitch of the bottom half and sent it to souvenir city to give the Cubs their first lead of the game.  Red’s pitcher Johnny Cueto would then go on to strike out the next two batters and escape any further damange.  The Cubs offense struck again the very next inning.  After Cub’s left fielder Reed Johnson led off with a single, Zambrano attempted to bunt him over to second.  Zambrano was called out at first even though he beat the throw by a country mile.  This brought Lou out of the dugout and sparked the Cub’s offense.  With two outs, Kosuke Fukudome doubled in Reed Johnson to give the cubs a 3-1 lead.  Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez then both followed with RBI hits off of Red’s reliever David Weathers and the Cubs went in to the 8^th inning with a 5-1 lead. 

Carlos Marmol came in to pitch for the Cubs in the top of the 9^th and got into some early trouble.  After appearing to tweak his foot, while making the second out of the inning, Carlos then gave up a hit and walked the next two batters to load the bases.  Lou then made the call for All-Star closer Kerry Wood to come in for a chance at his 23^rd save.  Wood did not disappoint an ecstatic Wrigley crowd by getting Red’s second baseman Brandon Phillips to pop out to Derek Lee for the last out of the game.

Carlos Zambrano gets the win as he pitches 8 strong innings giving up only one hit and one run while striking out 5.  He moves to 10-3 on the season and looks to pitch next in the All-Star game at Yankee Stadium.  Cueto is credited with the loss as he moves to 7-9 on the season.

Ted Lilly will take the mound tomorrow in hopes of becoming the third Cub pitcher to win his 10th game of the season as he faces Cinicinnati right-hander Bronson Arroyo.  The Cubs will be looking to sweep the Reds and win their 4^th straight. 

Written By:  Murray Shaw

The Cubs had scored one run earlier in the ninth on a passed ball to make the game 3-2. They had a chance to score another run on another wild pitch but Fukudome decided to stay at third base which was probably the correct choice.

Neal Cotts took the loss for the Cubs as he gave up the game winning home run to Longoria in the game.  It seems that Cotts always gives up at least one run in the game every time he pitches.  Does it seem that way to you?

The Cubs will have their ace Carlos Zambrano on the mound on Wednesday night so I expect them to get a victory and even the series at 1-1.

Cubs Blog