GAME 16 REVIEW

CUBS 1 CARDS 4 W: Sidney Ponson (2-0) L: Glendon Rusch (1-3) S: Jason Isringhausen (5) Recap | Box Score | Play-by-play | Game Chart

I have a challenge for Dusty Baker, any other member of Cubs management, God, Deep Blue, or any other reader. Explain to me the strategic merit of the double-switches that occurred in the fifth and sixth innings. For those of you who missed it: With the game tied at one, the Cards loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth with two outs. Pujols is coming up. Dusty Baker brings in Scott Williamson. The pitcher's spot is five batters away in our lineup (Ramirez ended the previous inning.) Baker brings in Neifi Perez to replace Walker at second base, and flips the batting order. Williamson, instead of being due up fifth (the ninth spot in the order) is due up eighth (Walker's spot, the third in the order.) Williamson gives up a base hit to Pujols, giving the cards a 3-1 lead, before getting the third out. The Cubs go three up, three down, in the top of the sixth. Williamson struggles in the bottom of the sixth, getting one out, giving up one run, with a rally continuing. So Baker replaces Williamson with Scott Eyre. He also replaces Matt Murton with Freddy Bynum. Bynum is now hitting third (replacing Williamson, who replaced Walker) while Eyre is hitting seventh (replacing Murton). With the double switch, Eyre goes from being five spots away from hitting, to being nine spots away. Eyre gets the last two outs. When the Cubs bat, they get set down, 1-2-3, again. So again, the spot in the order that the pitcher was double switched out of never came to bat. Murton and Walker are now out of the game that we are losing by three runs- Walker with four offensive half-innings left in the game, Murton with three left to go. In Baker's defense, when he pulled Walker, we were tied, but the Cards had the bases loaded. When Murton is pulled, we're already losing by three. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only reason to do a double switch when you bring in a new pitcher, is because you want that pitcher to be able to pitch the next inning as well. The switch pushes the pitcher's spot further away from batting, so that you don't have to either pinch-hit for him, or watch him flail away at the bat. So if the pitcher's spot is due up first, second, third, or even fourth, and you're quite certain that you don't want your pitcher to bat, but you DO want him to pitch the next inning, then you do the double switch. Now, I have the advantage of writing this piece after the fact, knowing that neither of these double-switches wound up serving their function, and in fact gave Bynum and Perez ABs that should have gone to Walker and Murton. But for the life of me, I can't understand that first double-switch. Why not just leave Walker in the game? If we rally in the bottom of the inning, and we get to the 9th spot in the order, Baker is then free to pinch-hit with whomever he wants - Barrett, Restovich, Hairston, or Perez - and we bring in a new reliever to a game where we've (likely) drawn closer. If we don't get to the 9th spot in the order, Williamson can pitch the next inning, and Walker can still hit. And it further removes the necessity (which isn't even a necessity, just the option) of making that second double-switch, the following inning. Am I missing something, here? Is it worth removing two of your best offensive players from a game that still has a long way to go, and from a lineup that's missing Derrek Lee, and inserting your two weakest hitters, all in order to be absolutely certain that Williamson and then Eyre could pitch the next inning without maybe having to take his turn in the batting order or be pinch-hit for? I just don't get it. Did it affect the outcome of the game? Probably not. But there has to be some sort of Hippocratic Oath for managers, obligating them to not make moves that are more likely to harm the club than to help it.

GAME SIXTEEN IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] CHICAGO CUBS (9-6, 4th, -1.5) AT ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (10-6, 3rd, -1.0) Busch Stadium, 1:15 PM CDT Weather: 77 degrees, Cloudy, Wind 7 mph left to right TV: WGN, DirecTV 735 Radio: WGN, XM 187

Sydney Ponson, RHP 1-0, 3.97 ERA, 11.1 IP 5 K, 1 BB, 2 HR	Glendon Rusch, LHP 1-2. 6.60 ERA, 15 IP 11 K, 4 BB, 7 HR
*Juan Pierre, CF Ronny Cedeno, SS *Todd Walker, 2B Aramis Ramirez, 3B *John Mabry, 1B *Jacque Jones, RF Matt Murton, LF Henry Blanco, C *Glendon Rusch, P	David Eckstein, SS Hector Luna, 2B Albert Pujols, 1B Scott Rolen, 3B *Jim Edmonds, CF Juan Encarnacion, RF Yadier Molina, C So Taguchi, LF Sidney Ponson, P
Cubs vs. Ponson Jacque Jones: 5-26, 192/267/308, 3 BB, 5 K Todd Walker: 6-18, 333/368/389, 1 BB, 1 K	Cardinals vs. Rusch Albert Pujols: 13-38, 342/419/737, 3 HR, 6 2B Jim Edmonds: 13-49 265/308/327, 3 BB, 12 K Scott Rolen: 8-26, 308/455/577, 2 HR, 6 BB, 7 K Juan Encarnacion: 5-14, 357/438/429, 2 BB, 2 K So Taguchi: 4-18 222/263/222, 1BB, 1 K

Let's just forget about last night's game, all I have to say is that Jacque Jones should probably not be in there versus lefty pitchers, especially those of the quality of Mark Mulder. Granted, options are limited, but Restovich can play right field and wastiing 3-4 at-bats a game doesn't seem like the best use of your talent. Today it's Butterball Rusch versus another out of shape pitcher, Sydney Ponson. If the game gets out of hand, I say they settle the score in a sumo match. Rusch should make all efforts to avoid pitching to Pujols and Rolen today as he has a lot better luck versus Edmonds. GO CUBS!!!

I know it's four hours until gametime, but the last thread was filling up rapidly, so: GAME FIFTEEN IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] CHICAGO CUBS (9-5, 2nd, -0.5) AT ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (9-6, 4th, -1.0) Busch Stadium, 7:10 PM CDT Weather: 75 degrees, Wind 8 mph left to right TV: WGN, DirecTV 736 Radio: WGN, XM 187

Mark Mulder, LHP 1-0, 4.05 ERA, 20 IP 10 K, 1 BB, 4 HR	Jerome Williams, RHP 0-1, 2.45 ERA, 11 IP 5 K, 9 BB, 1 HR
*Juan Pierre, CF Jerry Hairston, Jr., 2B *Todd Walker, 1B Aramis Ramirez, 3B Michael Barrett, C *Jacque Jones, RF Matt Murton, LF Ronny Cedeno, SS Jerome Williams, P	David Eckstein, SS *John Rodriguez, LF Albert Pujols, 1B Scott Rolen, 3B Jim Edmonds, CF Juan Encarnacion, RF Yadier Molina, C #Aaron Miles, 2B *Mark Mulder, P
Cubs vs. Mulder Jacque Jones: 5-15, 333/412/533, 2 BB, 6 K Neifi Perez: 9-25, 360/393/480, 2 BB, 1 K	Cardinals vs. Williams Albert Pujols: 1-12, 083/083/333, 1 HR, 2 K Jim Edmonds: 1-13, 077/294/077, 4 BB, 4 K Scott Rolen: 0-9, 000/182/000, 1 BB, 3K

Jerome Williams has allowed 18 baserunners in 11 innings, yet he has an ERA under 3.00. How is this possible? Well, seven of the walks came in his first relief appearance and his first start -- he got shelled in the former case and pitched lucky in the latter. I expect his ERA will come up if his walks don't come down, but whether that happens tonight or not who knows? At least, he's handled Pujols, Edmonds & Rolen well in his career. Besides, we aren't paying attention to how well Jerome is pitching -- we're too busy rending our garments over the injury to Derrek Lee. There is no positive way to spin the two-to-three-month loss of the best hitter on the team (and one of the best in all of baseball last year), so I'm holding on to two pieces of informational driftwood to try to survive this baseball shipwreck: 1. Todd Walker and Jerry Hairston should get more at-bats this way. The smartest thing to do is move Walker to first base, and have him play there every day (or, failing that, against every righty), with Hairston becoming the everyday second baseman. The word that Mike Restovich is joining the team makes me fear that's not going to happen, though -- why bring up a guy to play backup outfielder unless you're going to take your current backup outfielder (Mabry) and move him to first base? Mabry has more experience at first than Walker, and he has the advantage of being four inches taller, but he's not going to make us forget Lee's Gold Glove smoothness. Plus, the offensive drop will be more noticeable if Mabry gets Lee's ABs -- in my plan you essentially replace Lee with Hairston, which I think is better than replacing him with Mabry. Playing Mabry at first every day isn't the best thing the Cubs could do, but I certainly think it's better than trying to trade for a first baseman, especially someone like (as has been mentioned in the comments) Doug Mientkiewicz. That would result in a titanic drop-off offensively that wouldn't be made up for on the defensive side, and given that we're likely to see more Neifi now (as I doubt that Dusty will enact part two of my plan and just let Hairston play second every day) the Cubs can't afford to punt offense at two spots in the lineup for two months. 2. Will Carroll says he "fully expects" Lee to beat the timeline for his return and be back in less that two months. Based on what? I don't know, but I'll take it. So now we have to turn our attention to the Cardinals, who will be out for blood after getting swept at Wrigley. Sure would have been nice if Lee and his career 11-15 against Mulder could be in the lineup. But it can't, so let's try not to dwell on that to much and move on as best we can. Besides, how great would it be if the Cubs could march into New Busch and take two out of three from the Cards without Prior, Wood or Lee?

With Derrek Lee expected to be out of action for anywhere from 8 to 12 weeks, the Cubs have apparently selected 27-year old OF Michael Restovich to replace D-Lee on their 25-man roster. Although no official announcement has been made by the Cubs, Restovich was not in the Iowa lineup Thursday night in Albuquerque, and Iowa Cubs broadcaster Dean Ellis with KXNO radio in Des Moines reported tonight during the game that Restovich was no longer with the Iowa club, and that he apparently was set to join the Chicago Cubs in St. Louis. If so, he should arrive in plenty of time for Friday night's game at the new Busch Stadium. A right-handed hitting slugger from Mayo HS in nearby Rochester, Restovich was selected by the Minnnesota Twins in the 2nd round of the 1997 Rule 4 (June) Draft. He turned down a scholarship from Notre Dame to sign with the Twins. He spent seven seasons in the Twins organization, including 61 major league games in the years 2002-04. Baseball America had Restovich rated as the Twins' second-best prospect in 2000 and 2001, and as their third best prospect in both 2002 and 2003. BA also had him rated as the 37th best prospect in all of baseball as recently as 2003. Out of options, Restovich was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on March 31st of last season, and then was claimed off waivers again five days later by the Colorado Rockies. He was traded to Pittsburgh on May 11th, and spent the rest of the 2005 season with the Pirates. He played LF and RF, and also had 28 PA as a PH, where he went 4-27 (.148) with four singles, one walk, and 14 strikeouts. He was designated for assignnment by the Pirates on November 21st. In 132 MLB games, Restovich has hit .254, with a .333 OBP and .408 slugging %, including 3 HR and 6 RBI. He has 1 + 123 in MLB service time. Restovich signed a minor league contract with the Cubs on January 3rd, and received an invitation to Spring Training as a non-roster player. He had a mediocre Spring Training (he hit .222 and led the team in strikeouts) and was sent to Iowa on March 29th, but he has been on fire his last six games in AAA: .480 (12-25), .536 OBP .760 SLG 1.296 OPS with 1 HR, 7 RBI, 2 2B, 3B, 3 BB, 2 K. Although Restovich played some 1B in Spring Training, it was the first time he had played the position since high school. So expect Todd Walker and John Mabry to get most of the playing time at 1B until Lee returns, although Restovich could get some starts against left-handed pitchers. Restovich could also spell Jacque Jones in RF against a tough LHP. Because he will be out of action for anywhere from 8-12 weeks, it is likely that Derrek Lee will be placed on the 60-day DL, although either Mark Prior or Wade Miller (or Kerry Wood, but he's too close to returning) could be transferred to the 60 DL. Players on the 60-day DL do not count against the 40-man roster. Or the Cubs could recall Brian Dopirak (who is out of action at West Tenn with a broken foot) and then immediately place him on the 60-day DL. The problem with doing that is that Dopirak would immediately begin to accrue MLB service time, and would receive the MLB minimum salary ($327,000) instead of the $60,000-ish salary he is getting now per the "split contract." If Lee is placed on the 60-day DL or Prior or Miller is transferred to the 60-day DL, Lee would be eligible to be reactivated on June 19th, Prior would be eligible to be reactivated on May 26th (he was placed on the 15-day DL effective March 27th, and time spent on the 15-day DL counts toward the 60 days), and Milller would be eligible to be reactivated on May 31st.

If you still hold out hope that today is going to be a good day for you, don't read the rest of this post and stay away from the papers and news for the rest of the day. The Trib is reporting that Derrek Lee could be out 2-3 months. From the Trib:

He suffered a fracture of the distal radial bone and the distal ulna bones while trying to brace himself from Furcal, who was charging towards the bag while beating out a bunt.

WSCR and Comcast Sports have apparently confirmed the story as well. He should be in a cast for 6 weeks, then he'll have 2 weeks in rehab which is the standard rule of thumb for broken bones. There's is a small possibility that the bones will heal faster but don't hold your breath. I'm not even going to bother with potential replacements and how this will affect the Cubs for the time being. It's obviously not good and nobody in baseball that we can get is going to make up the difference. You just gotta hope some guys get hot at the right time and can pick up the slack. I expect Ryan Theriot to get called up as Neifi and Hairston split time at second base. Todd Walker will likely get the bulk of first base duty with the occasional start by John Mabry. As AZ Phil suggested in a previous thread, Michael Barrett should consider picking up a first basemen's glove and taking some grounders starting tomorrow.

This is the most content-free post you will probably ever see on TCR. Derek Lee flew to Chicago for test on his injured wrist after x-rays taken at Dodger Stadium were inconclusive, none of the papers have anything, and Will Carroll came up empty as well. I guess we have to wait and see. To quote David St. Hubbins, I'm sure I'd feel much worse if I weren't under such heavy sedation. I hope at least we'll see Todd Walker playing first and Jerry Hairston playing second for the next few days.

GAME 14 REVIEW

CUBS 5 DODGERS 4 W: Scott Williamson (2-0) L: Danys Baez (0-1) SV: Ryan Dempster (4) Recap | Box Score | Play-by-play | Game Chart| Photos

I made it out to Dodger Stadium once again and scored some nice tickets right behind home plate, second level, prime area for foul balls. (More on that in a minute). The AngelFan Wife and I got a babysitter and went to the game with a pal from work and his gal. He's a moderate Dodger fan, but was more interested in the Cubbies that were on his fantasy team performing well (Barrett & Ramirez). The Dodgers have two video scoreboards at the park, one basically consists of generals stats and what not, the other is the fancier color version with tidbits on the players. Here's what I learned from the Dodger information board: - Michael Barrett's cousin is Scott Fletcher - "O" is for Offense (that was for Olmaedo Saenz) - John Mabry was the Cardinals Rookie of the Year in 1995 - John Mabry is 9 home runs away from 100 (I'm sure the Mabry watch will be up on ESPN in no time) - Jacque Jones attended USC - Ronny Cedeno is the 3rd best hitter in the NL against right handed pitchers - Ronny Cedeno is the 2nd best hitter in the NL at night - Neifi Perez has played 2b, SS, 3B and Catcher in the majors (guess who our new emergency catcher is) Why do I mention all of these factoids? Cause the game isn't worth talking about. The Cubs played poorly and lucked into a victory. The Eyre/Lee bunt fiasco will hopefully turn out to be a whole lot of nothing, but to say the least I'll be on edge until I hear a definitive word (so far X-rays were inconclusive on Lee's wrist). While I'm sure most of you watching the game noticed all the dinks that fell for the Cubs, it was even worse at the ballpark as just about every ball hit by the Cubs had that wobbly wood sound of a ball that clearly missed the sweet spot of the bat. This game was the anthisesis of Monday's game, instead of well-pitched, well-defended, well-executed affair, it was luck and bad defense that got the Cubs win. I did get to witness Cedeno's first two walks of the season, although the first was one of the most extreme unintentional-intentional walks I've ever seen. Marshall was okay, his curveball will certainly be his defining pitch through his career. Batters were bailing at it all day and it appears he can throw it at 2 very different speeds (low 70's and mid 80's). And why Marshall gets pulled after 85 pitches and retiring 10 batters is a bit beyond me. I suppose we can't complain about Baker hurting young arms though. I pretty much missed most of Aardvark's inning as the AngelFan Wife was on a quest for an It's It Ice Cream, which apparently is no longer sold at the ballpark. Considering how cute she looks in a cap & jersey, I'll forgive her. Walker's "I Hope I Catch It" defense worked once, then it cost us a run later in the game, Jacque Jones saved another run on the same play with a good throw to home which pretty much ended up saving us the game. Well, okay, Baez and Repko saved the game for us, but whatever. Oh yeah, the foul ball thing....Bill Mueller, 2nd inning, screaming foul ball straight back just over the screen. Right at me and I cup my hands together for sort of a basket catch. BAMN!, right off the palm of my left hand and 3 rows back. Should of had the right hand over the left and tried to get my body in front of it. Humiliating and made more so by the fact that a buddy from work and the AngelFan Wife were there to witness it. I won't be able to live it down unless I catch the next one and who knows when that will happen. I'm honestly devastated, maybe that's why I'm so disgusted by the game. The Cubs won, makes the off-day more bearable and you need these kinds of win every once in awhile. The Redbirds are up next starting on Friday. Another series victory over them would really get me to start believing. That's unless Derrek Lee's wrist is broken, then I'm going to start believing that we actually may be cursed.

...with the series victory. GAME FOURTEEN IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] CHICAGO CUBS (8-5, 2nd, -1.5) AT LOS ANGELES DODGERS (7-8, 3rd, -2.0) Dodger Stadium, 9:10 PM CDT Weather: Clear, 71 degrees, wind out to center at 5 mph TV: CSN, DirecTV 741 Radio: WGN, XM 189

Brad Penny, RHP 2-0, 1.50 ERA, 18 IP 18 K, 1 BB, 2 HR	Sean Marhall, LHP 1-0, 7.71 ERA, 9 1/3 IP 4 K, 2 BB, 2 HR
*Juan Pierre, CF *Todd Walker, 2B Derrek Lee, 1B Aramis Ramirez, 3B *John Mabry, LF Jacque Jones, RF Michael Barrett, C Ronny Cedeno, SS *Sean Marshall, P	#Rafael Furcal, SS *Kenny Lofton, CF #Jose Cruz, LF Jeff Kent, 2B Olmedo Saenz, 1B Bill Mueller, 3B Sandy Alomar, C , LF Brad Penny, P
Cubs vs. Penny Aramis Ramirez: 6-15, 400/400/467 Juan Pierre: 5-16, 313/421/375, 3 BB, 2 K Todd Walker: 3-20, 150/150/300, 1 HR, 4 K Neifi Perez: 3-18, 167/211/222, 1 BB, 1 K Michael Barrett: 1-16, 063/059/125, 5 K

I mentioned that last night's game had the potential to be "a nice tight game," and both pitchers held up their ends of the bargain. Zambrano pitched out of trouble a bit (walking five and hitting one) but timely defense kept most of those baserunners from crossing the plate. Derek Lowe was just slightly better, blanking the Cubs and getting out of the only jam he found himself in, in the 6th. Tonight's starter, Brad Penny, has looked great so far this season. In his three starts he's truck out 18 and walked only one. He's given up only one earned run in each of his starts. Sean Marshall, on the other hand, has struggled. I've seen a number of articles talking about how well he's pitched, and his poise, and I guess that's true when you look at the fact that he has barely any experiece above A ball, but examined as major league starts, they're not that great -- he's given up nearly a run an inning. On the positive side, he's only walked two batters and he's keeping the ball down. After throwing 65 and 79 pitches in his last two starts, he should be available to be stretched out a bit, possibly up to the 90-100 pitch range.

I have to admit, I'm feeling the pull of unrealistic hopes and dreams that Trans talked about last night. Maybe that's why I'm on my way toward three posts in one day. Of course, it could also be because The Lovely Wife and (Not So) Tiny Baby are out of town. Whatever the reason, my increased output is your theoretical gain -- before I post the lineups for tonight's game, here's a look at the next seven days. First up, a trip to Chavez Ravine, home of the mellifluous Vin Scully. One of the nice things about the Extra Innings package is getting to hear Vin call some game throughout the summer -- I'm hoping tonight is one of those nights. Maybe I'll watch the game on the tiny TV in the bedroom so I can drift off to Vin's dulcet tones. I'll keep my eye out for Rob G. in the stands -- I imagine he'll be the guy who's still there in the 8th inning. Know Your Enemy: Dodger Thoughts, 6-4-2 Monday: Greg Maddux vs. Brett Tomko Tuesday: Carlos Zambrano vs. Derek Lowe Wednesday: Sean Marshall vs. Brad Penny The Dodgers will be without Jeff Kent tonight and possibly longer. They're already without Nomar Garciaparra (shocking, I know) and Eric Gagne, but still have plenty of weapons, like Cub Nation's winter mancrush Rafael Furcal, the currently-uninjured D.J. "J.D." Drew, and Bill Mueller, who just keeps hitting. By the way, Tueday's matchup ought to be interesting, as two of the biggest grounball pitchers in the game (Derek Lowe was 33 in the majors last year, Zambrano #14) face off. Could be a nice tight game, as long as Z keeps his emotions in check and Lowe lays off the sauce. After L.A., it's on to St. Louis, and our first look at new Busch stadium. Know Your Enemy: Get Up Baby, Cardnilly Friday: Glendon Rusch vs. Sidney Ponson Saturday: Greg Maddux vs. Mark Mulder Sunday: Carlos Zambrano vs. Jason Marquis Cubs.com has Jerome Williams scheduled for Friday, but I'd say it's more likely Williams will be skipped so that the rest of the starters can stay on normal. By Friday Albert Pujols' consecutive at-bats-with-a-homer streak could be up to about 15, and Izzy's blown save streak should be just about as high. Jim Edmonds is sitting out the current Pirates series after getting cortisone injections, but he'll be kind enough to return in time for the Cubs series.

I can't guarantee I'll be able to keep this up all season, but I went through all the box scores for the Cubs and all their minor-league affiliates and tallied who had started at what position, and how often. At the beginning of the season, before too many injuries, demotions, etc., this should give a good idea of who is considered the "starter" at each position and at each level. I will leave it to Arizona Phil to come along and add his interpretation and analysis; for now, here are the numbers: CHICAGO CUBS C: Barrett 8, Blanco 3 1B: Lee 11 2B: Walker 7, Hairston 3, Perez 1 3B: Ramirez 9, Perez 2 SS: Cedeno 11 LF: Murton 11 CF: Pierre 11 RF: Jones 6, Pagan 3, Bynum 1, Mabry 1 SP: Zambrano 3, Rusch 3, Maddux 2, Marshall 2, Williams 1 IOWA CUBS (AAA) C: Soto 8, Kopitzke 3 1B: Sing 9, Deardorff 2 2B: Fontenot 6, Theriot 4, Coats 1 3B: McGehee 9, Coats 1, Deardorff 1 SS: Ojeda 6, Theriot 5 LF: Restovich 4, Strong 4, Deardorff 3 CF: Pie 11 RF: Coats 5, Restovich 5, Theriot 1 SP: Ryu 3, Walrond 2, Valdes 2, Guzman 2, Hill 2 WEST TENN DIAMOND JAXX (AA) C: Richie 7, Reyes 2, Farina 1 1B: Hoffpauir 8, Dopirak 1, Lewis 1 2B: Patterson 10 3B: Moore 8, Lewis 2 SS: Rojas 7, Cates 3 LF: Montanez 7, Lewis 2, Hoffpauir 1 CF: Walker 9, Greenberg 1 RF: Greenberg 8, Montanez 2 DH: Lewis 3, Moore 1, Cates 1 SP: Mathes 2, Marmol 2, Wells 2, Mateo 2, Cash 1, Baez 1 DAYTONA CUBS (A+) C: Fox 8, Rick 2 1B: Craig 10 2B: Spears 8, Salas 2 3B: Spearman 10 SS: Simokaitis 10 LF: Jackson 5, Culpepper 4, Salas 1 CF: Fuld 10 RF: Harvey 6, Culpepper 4 DH: Jackson 5, Fox 1, Harvey 1, Rick 1, Wick 1 SP: Berg 2, Gallagher 2, Hagerty 2, Holliman 2, Johnson 2 PEORIA CHIEFS (A) C: Muyco 5, Reed 4, Morgan 1 1B: Norwood 9, Garcia 1 2B: Chirinos 9, Rivera 1 3B: Taylor 10 SS: Johnston 7, Rivera 3 LF: Valdez 6, Defendis 4 CF: Gregg 8, Ciaramella 2 RF: Ciaramella 6, Defendis 2, Valdez 2 DH: Garcia 8, Chirinos 1, Norwood 1 SP: Veal 2, Blackford 2, Billek 2, Yepez 2, Atkins 2

4-16-1957 Traded Ray Jablonski and Ray Katt to the New York Giants. Received Dick Littlefield and Bob Lennon 4-16-1938 Traded Curt Davis, Clyde Shoun, Tuck Stainback and $185,000 cash to the St. Louis Cardinals. Received Dizzy Dean 4-17-1976 The Phillies are down 12-1 in Wrigley after three innings, as Steve Carlton fails to escape from the second. Rich Reuschel, Mike Garman, Darold Knowles and Paul Reuschel can't hold the lead, however, and the Cubs trail 15-13 after the Phillies score 3, 5, and 3 runs in the 7th, 8th and 9th. The Cubs rally to tie the game at 15 in the bottom of the 9th, but the Phillies score three more in the 10th, including Mike Schmidt's fourth home run and 8th RBI of the day. The Cubs rally for one more in the bottom of the 10th, but the Phillies win, 18-16, while the Cubs set a National League record for the largest blown lead to lose a game. 4-17-1974 Newly acquired catcher George Mitterwald hits a double and three home runs, including a first-inning grand slam, with 8 RBI. The Cubs beat the Pirates, 18-9. Mitterwald finishes the season with 7 HR and 28 RBI

GAME 11 REVIEW

CUBS 7 PIRATES 3 W: Glendon Rusch (1-2) L: Ian Snell (0-1) Recap | Box Score | Play-by-play | Game Chart

We saw several encouraging things in today's game. Glendon Rusch pitched six strong innings, marred only by Craig Wilson's homerun. Aramis Ramirez seems to be getting locked in - he followed up yesterday's long double with a two-out RBI single in the first, and a two-run homerun in the sixth. Juan Pierre had three hits and scored two runs, hopefully a sign that he's coming out of his early-season slump. Cedeno continued to hit the ball sharply and gave a strong performance in the field. Finally, the mildly injured Jacques Jones made an appearance as a pinch-hitter, and drew a walk. But what's most impressive - and surprising - for me is Ryan Dempster. Admittedly, I was unable to follow the Cubs very closely at the end of last season. So while I knew Dempster was pitching very well, I didn't have a good sense for just how well. Pat Hughes tells me that Dempster now has a 28 and 1/3 scoreless inning streak, spanning 28 appearances, I believe. Is it premature (or perhaps, even over-due?) to talk about Dempster as one of the game's elite closers? As I write, the Cubs are 7-4, in a four-way tie for first place. They're there without Prior, Wood, and having had to start their 5th OF due to injuries. Feeling the pull of unrealistic hopes and dreams, yet?

GAME ELEVEN IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] CHICAGO CUBS (6-4, 4th, -0.5) AT PITTSBURGH PIRATES (4-9, 6th, -4.0) PNC Park, 12:35 CDT Weather: Cloudy, 58, Wind right to left @ 8 mph TV: CSN, DirecTV 743 Radio: WGN, XM 185

Ian Snell, RHP 0-0, 9.00 ERA, 10 IP 7 K, 5 BB, 3 HR	Glendon Rusch, LHP 0-2, 8.00, 9 IP 6 K, 3 BB, 6 HR
*Juan Pierre, CF *Freddy Bynum, RF Derrek Lee, 1B Aramis Ramirez, 3B *Todd Walker, 2B Matt Murton, LF Ronny Cedeno, SS Henry Blanco, C *Glendon Rusch, P	* Nate McLouth, CF Jack Wilson, SS Jason Bay, LF Craig Wilson, 1B Freddy Sanchez, 3B *Jeromy Burnitz, RF Jose Castillo, 2B Humberto Cota, C Ian Snell, P
	Pirates vs. Rusch Jack Wilson: 15-33, 455/500/667, 1 HR, 3 BB Craig Wilson: 14-26, 538/571/769, 1 HR, 2 BB, 5 K Jeromy Burnitz: 2-20, 100/217/250, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 K

Bynum #2 and Walker #5, huh? I think it would be smarter to put Walker #2, move Murton and Cedeno up, and bat Bynum #7. But, of course, Bynum is fast, therefore he has to bat at the top of the order. This could this be Rusch's last chance to keep his rotation spot, though more likely he'll stick around until Kerry Wood is ready, even if he's merely mediocre. But we can hope, can't we? The guy he's matched up against, Ian Snell, hasn't been too impressive this year either, but at least he hasn't given up six home runs. Angel Pagan's hamstring injury from last night is serious enough that he'll probably head to the DL. There's a chance Felix Pie will be called up, but Mike Restovich seems more likely. I haven't seen or heard an official annoucement yet. I'll post the transaction here as soon as I know it. And, of course, it's time for my annual MLB blackout rules rant. When I was living in San Diego, I didn't get to see the Padres, even though I was more than 60 miles from San Diego and the town I lived in did not carry the cable channel the Pads were on. Now that I live in Pennsylvania, I'm lucky enough to have four teams blacked out: Phillies, Nationals, Orioles, and Pirates. I get Baltimore, Philly, and Washington games either via the regional sports channel or over the air, but I'm too far away from Pittsburgh for DirecTV to give me the Fox Sports channel from Pittsburgh. So, no Pirates games to be found anywhere. It's just silly.

GAME 10 REVIEW

CUBS 1 PIRATES 2 W: Zach Duke (1-1) L: Jerome Williams (0-1) S: Mike Gonzalez (2) Recap | Box Score | Play-by-play | Game Chart

Ugh, a tough game to lose. Zach Duke returned to last season's form. After the Cubs had forced him to scuffle and struggle and throw pitches in the first two innings, the lefty settled down, pitching seven strong innings. The Cub defense let down Jerome Williams, aiding the Pirates in the only two runs they would need. Cedeno got charged with a throwing error on a difficult play in the hole, which allowed Craig Wilson to score from third. Bynum, (who replaced Pagan in right field after Pagan seemed to seriously injure his left knee while running to first) misplayed a Wilson drive off the right field wall, and then jogged after the ball while Wilson legged out a triple. (What was up with Wilson's wheels? He stole a base in advance of the Cedeno error, and eventually scored after his triple. Wilson hit one triple and stole three bases all of last year!) Williams also threw a ball away on a pickoff play, giving Cub fans everywhere a sense of deja vu. The Cubs had one golden scoring opportunity in the eighth, with runners at first and second, one out, Duke out of the game, and Ramirez and Barrett up; Ramirez popped up, Barrett struck out, and that was pretty much the game. If that's the bad news (and indeed, it's considerable), the good news is that Williams pitched quite well - certainly well enough to merit another start, while our horde of supposedly near-ready injured starting pitchers continues to recuperate. Murton kept raking, and Eyre looked good in relief. While I'm not sure that this really counts as good news, I'll also add that Aramis managed to not pull a leg or butt muscle, when he had to go from a walk to a sprint in a single step upon realizing that his 410 ft. double was not, in fact, going to be a home run. Congrats, Aramis.

GAME TEN IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] CHICAGO CUBS (6-3, 1st) AT PITTSBURGH PIRATES (3-9, 6th, -4.5) PNC PARK, 6:05 CDT Weather: Clear, 72 degrees, wind out to center 15 mph TV: WGN Radio: WGN, XM 186 -->

Zach Duke, LHP 0-1, 6.55, 11 IP 6 K, 5 BB, 3 HR	Jerome Williams, RHP 0-0, 3.60, 5 IP 2 K, 5 BB, 1 HR
*Juan Pierre, CF Jerry Hairston, 2B Derrek Lee, 1B Aramis Ramirez, 3B Michael Barrett, C #Angel Pagan, RF Matt Murton, LF Ronny Cedeno, SS Jerome Williams, P	Chris Duffy, CF Jack Wilson, SS Jason Bay, LF *Jeromy Burnitz, RF Craig Wilson, 1B Joe Randa, 3B Jose Castillo, 2B Humberto Cota, C *Zach Duke, P

After writing how the Pirates haven't been using Craig Wilson enough, we'll see him tonight in place of Sean Casey, who will be out 6-8 weeks with two fractures in his lower back after a collision with John Mabry last night. Yeowch. In other Pirate (and ex-Cub) injury news, Jody Gerut has been placed on the Restricted List after electing to have knee surgery against the wishes of the team. The Cubs made a roster move too, sending Michael Wuertz to AAA where he blongs and recalling the 100% valley-fever-free Roberto Novoa. Todd Walker gets four hits last night and sits tonight. Get used to it, Cubs fans. Jerome Williams makes his first start of the season tonight. As Kerry Wood, Wade Miller and Mark Prior inch closer to returning (Wood threw to hitters today and both Miller and Prior had 40-pitch sessions yesterday), Williams needs to establish himself if he hopes to stay in the rotation past May. Then again, he could always take Glendon Rusch's spot.