Rich Harden (4-1, 1.47 ERA, .162 BAA, 13 K's/9 innings as a Cub) has been every bit as dominant as CC Sabathia, even as the team continues to limit him to five or six innings per game. If Harden's arm is going to forcibly detach from his torso in a cloud of blood and volcanic ash, you want it to happen in October against the Diamondbacks, not against the NL's weak sisters in August. ... Here's why Carlos Marmol is unhittable once anew: Lou Piniella doesn't feel compelled to use him 13 times a week now that Jeff Samardzija has emerged as a legit late-game option. ... Baseball players are tougher than you or I, Vol. LXXVII: A tooth explodes in Carlos Zambrano's mouth, and he spits it out and finishes the game. Had the same thing happened to me, I'd have told my editors that I needed the rest of the week off -- that is, if I were able to stop sobbing long enough to convey my discomfort -- then spent the rest of the afternoon soliciting sympathy from the perky oral hygienist.
08/19/2008
1
2
They get lost amid the Soriano and Lee and Ramirez heroics, but the center field platoon of Jim Edmonds and Reed Johnson leads all other NL center fielders in OPS. Nice work by GM Jim Hendry in acquiring them both for free. ... Note to Ryan Theriot and his grit-drenched uniform: Stop trying to steal bases. You're not particularly good at it (only 18 successful swipes in 31 tries) and you're hurting your team by running into outs when the mashers are at the plate. ... Nine games against the Reds, Pirates and Nationals are on the slate for the next two weeks, so the Cubbies could be 35 games over .500 before too long.
08/12/2008
2
2
Kosuke Fukudome brings OBP wisdom and quiet dignityishness and God knows what other kinds of silliness to the table, but at some point the Cubs have to think about platooning him and giving extra at-bats to Mike Fontenot (.944 OPS vs. righty pitching). Mark DeRosa's ability to play a passable right field makes this a no-brainer move. ... Adjectives I never expected to use in describing Ryan Dempster: "reliable," "ace-ish," "fit." ... I might have been wrong about Jeff Samardzija a few weeks back when I suggested that hitters would soon learn to sit on his fastball. His secondary offerings are much more refined than I thought they were. No hard feelings, guy.
08/05/2008
2
7
That Brewers series was a good old-fashioned curb-stomping. ... Their 41-16 home record seems almost impossible, yet it's barely baseball's best (Tampa is 43-17, despite playing before 3,000 fans most nights). ... I see no reason to rush Kerry Wood back, especially now that Carlos Marmol has rediscovered his fastball and his smile, but he'll be good to go tonight against Houston.
07/29/2008
7
2
Huge, huge win Monday night to set the tone for this series. ... 30 K's for Rich Harden in his first 17 innings as a Cubbie. ... Please join me and the good folks at Microsoft Office in welcoming "Samardzija" to my spell check. That said, given that he lacks anything vaguely resembling an out pitch, hitters will start teeing off on his fastball before too long. ... Yeah the Cubs have a better record than their crosstown peers, but they have compiled it in the short-bus league. Right now, I'm operating under the assumption that every NL team would be at least three games worse if they played in the junior circuit. Whadda say we put the numbers guys to work on an AL/NL equivalency stat?
07/22/2008
2
2
They're 37-12 at Wrigley, 21-29 on the road ... Alfonso Soriano should be back Wednesday, which will send secret weapon Mike Fontenot (.931 OPS vs. righties) back to the bench ... Kerry Wood possibly headed to the DL ... with a blister? That's all? No tears or disfigurements? This is like Elijah Dukes getting arrested for something like jaywalking.
07/09/2008
2
2
Kudos to overshadowing the Brewers' trade acquisition on the night of his debut with your own deal for ace Rich Harden -- a classic case of 'Can you top this?' The Cubs gave up far less for Harden, too.
07/01/2008
2
1
After that interleague debacle, the AL really stuck it to the supposed 'Senior Circuit,' we cannot justify having an NL team on top. As bad as the weekend was, though, they get to beat on the 'Short Circuit' from now until late October.
06/24/2008
1
1
They rebound from a sweep in Tampa Bay and the loss of Carlos Zambrano to the DL to sweep the first-place White Sox at home. Their No. 1 ranking will be on the line this weekend on the South Side.
06/18/2008
1
1
The loss of Alfonso Soriano will be felt, but it sure helps when your primary division rival loses Albert Pujols in the same week.
Preseason Power Rankings
Date
Ranking
Previous
02/28/2008
8
-
Only our third NL team in the top eight, but this team is a few pieces from being among the elite. They have questions in center, right, catcher and at closer, but all four spots can be more-than-adequately filled with up-and-comers (Felix Pie, Kosuke Fukudome, Geovany Soto and Carlos Marmol) or Kerry Wood.
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