7/7 Cubs (LILLY) @ Pirates (VAN BENSCHOTEN), 6:05 CT WGNTV

[swordsman]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the magic Game Tread on the magic day of 07/07/07!

 

Our boy Teddy

 

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/8656/ph1504041xl2.jpg

Ted Lilly

7-4, 3.84

 

vs.

 

some guy with a big 'ol pretentious name...

 

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/8797/ph4297241vl8.jpg

Van Benschoten

0-2, 4.35

 

Go Cubs!!!

[anabiono]

come on cubbies....COME ON

 

please

 

last night was no fun because i had a bad night at work and then found out that you got spanked by the scurvy bastards!

 

just win baby!

[C.C.]

I stopped watching in the 4th yesterday. I could just feel the loss. Hopefully I won't get the feeling again tonight.

 

 

 

Cubs lose 6-2 today.

[Fred Hornkohl]

Greetings one and all from beautiful Algonquin, IL !!

 

Worthless stats of the day for Saturday...........

 

CUBS are 8-5 on Saturdays

CUBS are 3-4 vs. Pittsburgh

CUBS are 16-17 vs. the NLC Division

CUBS are 12-10 when they've lost their last 1 game(s) in a row

CUBS are 22-19 when they've lost their previous game

CUBS are 16-20 at night

CUBS are 23-21 on the road

CUBS are 35-29 against right handers

CUBS are 21-18 when WGN broadcasts the game

CUBS are 31-12 when they get a quality start.... 12-30 when they don't

CUBS are 16-22 when the opponent gets a quality start.... 27-20 when they don't

CUBS are 34-17 when they score first in the game.... 9-25 when they don't

CUBS are 21-14 when they score in the first inning.... 22-28 when they don't

CUBS are 37-25 when they don't allow any runs is the first inning.... 6-17 when they do

CUBS are 34-19 when they score at least 4 runs.... 9-23 when they don't

CUBS are 33-6 when they allow fewer than 4 runs.... 10-36 when they don't

CUBS are 39-12 when they outhit the opponents.... 2-19 when they get outhit.... and 2-9 when the hits are even

CUBS have not hit a HR in their last 7 games

CUBS have 8 SFs in their last 9 games

CUBS have been HBP once in their last 13 games

CUBS have issued more than 3 BBs in 9 of their last 11 games

CUBS have caught 1 base runner stealing in their last 15 games

CUBS opponents have GIDP'd at least 1 time in 11 of their last 12 games

CUBS opponents have committed at least 1 error in each of their last 6 games

CUBS are on a pace to win 82 games this year..... compared to 66 last year and 79 in '05

CUBS are on a pace to score 738 runs this year..... compared to 716 last year and 703 in '05

CUBS are on a pace to hit 141 homeruns this year..... compared to 166 last year and 194 in '05

CUBS are on a pace to draw 486 walks this year..... compared to 395 last year and 419 in '05

CUBS are on a pace to strike out 1050 times this year..... compared to 928 last year and 920 in '05

CUBS are on a pace to steal 93 bases this year..... compared to 121 last year and 64 in '05

CUBS are on a pace to ground into 120 double plays this year..... compared to 135 last year and 129 in '05

CUBS are on a pace to commit 95 errors this year..... compared to 104 last year and 100 in '05

CUBS are scoring 4.55 runs per game...... compared to 4.42 last year and 4.34 in '05

CUBS are seeing 3.72 pitches per plate appearance...... compared to 3.68 last year and 3.61 in '05

CUBS are drving in 18.6% of their runners on base...... compared to 20.0% last year and 18.4% in '05

CUBS are scoring 0.360 runs per baserunner...... compared to 0.370 last year and 0.365 in '05

CUBS are getting extra base hits at a 33.7% rate...... compared to 32.3% last year and 35.8 in '05

 

CUBS are 8-9 when Lilly starts

Lilly is 10 of 17 in quality starts

Lilly's ERA pitching to Barrett is 3.53.... to Blanco it's 4.50.... to K. Hill it's 6.00.... to Bowen it's 3.86

CUBS score 4.55 R/G overall.... 4.65 R/G when Lilly pitches

CUBS hit 0.87 HR/G overall.... 0.65 HR/G when Lilly pitches

 

CUBS' offensive support of Lilly.....

 

04/02 - 07/06      AB    R    H   2b   3b   HR   TB  RBI   BB   SO     BA    OBP    SLG    OPS
CUBS w/Lilly      617   79  176   36    2   11  249   76   49  115  0.285  0.341  0.404  0.745
CUBS overall     2997  387  803  178   19   74 1241  368  255  551  0.268  0.327  0.414  0.741

 

Composite scoring in games started by Lilly.........

 

                  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16    Total

CUBS              7   3   4  13  12  10  19   8   3   0   0   0   0   0   0   0      79
Opponents         8  10   9   6   8   3   6  14   5   0   0   0   0   0   1   0      70

 

Lilly's starts this year (7-4)

 

Lilly                   IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PC  BB/9   K/9  HR/9  WHIP   ERA
04/04  vs. Cincy       7.0    3    1    1    1    9    0   101  1.29 11.57  0.00  0.57  1.29
04/09  vs. Houst       6.0    6    3    3    1    5    0    90  1.50  7.50  0.00  1.17  4.50
04/15  vs. Cincy       6.0    2    1    1    1   10    0   101  1.50 15.00  0.00  0.50  1.50
04/20  vs. St. L       7.0    4    2    2    2    6    1   100  2.57  7.71  1.29  0.86  2.57
04/25  vs. Milw        7.0    6    2    1    0    3    0   100  0.00  3.86  0.00  0.86  1.29
05/01  vs. Pitts       5.3    9    5    4    1    5    1    86  1.69  8.44  1.69  1.88  6.75
05/08  vs. Pitts       7.0    7    2    2    1    4    0   110  1.29  5.14  0.00  1.14  2.57
05/13  vs. Phila       8.0    3    1    1    1    6    0   108  1.13  6.75  0.00  0.50  1.13
05/18  vs. CWS         7.0    6    3    3    2    6    1   106  2.57  7.71  1.29  1.14  3.86
05/25  vs. L.A.        4.3    6    5    5    4    2    1    75  8.31  4.15  2.08  2.31 10.38
05/30  vs. Flor        7.0    7    6    5    1    9    3   109  1.29 11.57  3.86  1.14  6.43
06/05  vs. Milw        5.0    8    6    6    1    2    3    89  1.80  3.60  5.40  1.80 10.80
06/10  vs. Atla        0.7    0    0    0    0    2    0    10  0.00 27.00  0.00  0.00  0.00
06/15  vs. S.D.        8.0    6    1    1    1    3    0    92  1.13  3.38  0.00  0.88  1.13
06/21  vs. Texas       7.0    6    5    5    1   10    2   104  1.29 12.86  2.57  1.00  6.43
06/26  vs. Colo        6.0    6    4    4    5    5    1   113  7.50  7.50  1.50  1.83  6.00
07/02  vs. Wash        7.0    3    1    1    3    5    0   115  3.86  6.43  0.00  0.86  1.29

Home                  61.0   50   24   22   14   51    6   921  2.07  7.52  0.89  1.05  3.25
Road                  44.3   38   24   23   12   41    7   688  2.44  8.32  1.42  1.13  4.67

Day                   56.0   39   18   17    9   49    4   801  1.45  7.88  0.64  0.86  2.73
Nite                  49.3   49   30   28   17   43    9   808  3.10  7.84  1.64  1.34  5.11

totals vs. Pitts      12.3   16    7    6    2    9    1   196  1.46  6.57  0.73  1.46  4.38
last 5 starts         28.7   21   11   11   10   25    3   434  3.14  7.85  0.94  1.08  3.45
season totals        105.3   88   48   45   26   92   13  1609  2.22  7.86  1.11  1.08  3.84

 

CUBS' bullpen load during the last week.....

 

              06 Jul     05 Jul     04 Jul     03 Jul     02 Jul     01 Jul     29 Jun
             vs Pitts   vs Wash    vs Wash    vs Wash    vs Wash   vs Milw    vs Milw 
pitcher        IP Pit     IP Pit     IP Pit     IP Pit     IP Pit     IP Pit     IP Pit        IP Pit

Dempster                                                                                             
Eyre          1.0   9               1.0  19                                     2.0  52       4.0  80
Howry                    1.0  12               0.7  10    1.0  19                             2.7  41
Ohman                    0.7   4               0.3  10                          2.0  32       3.0  46
Wuertz        1.0  18    1.0   5                                                1.0  21       3.0  44
Marmol                   1.0  18               1.3  21               2.0  23                  4.3  62
Petrick                             1.0  14               1.0  15                             2.0  29
Cherry                                                                          2.0  33       2.0  33
Gallagher     1.3  30                                                                         1.3  30

Totals        3.3  57    3.7  39    2.0  33    2.3  41    2.0  34    2.0  23    7.0 138      22.3 365

 

CUBS' season series vs. Pittsburgh this year (3-4).....

 

Gm#    Date       Opponent         Score  Starter         Opp Starter
24  Mon 04/30  @ Pittsburgh    N   2- 3  Hill            Duke          
25  Tue 05/01  @ Pittsburgh    N   8- 6  Lilly           Armas         
26  Wed 05/02  @ Pittsburgh        7- 1  Marquis         Snell         
30  Tue 05/08    Pittsburgh    N   3- 4  Lilly           Snell         
31  Wed 05/09    Pittsburgh        1- 0  Marquis         Gorzelanny    
32  Thu 05/10    Pittsburgh        4- 6  Zambrano        Maholm        
85  Fri 07/06  @ Pittsburgh    N   4- 8  Marquis         Maholm        
86  Sat 07/07  @ Pittsburgh    N    -    Lilly           Van Benschoten
87  Sun 07/08  @ Pittsburgh         -    Zambrano        Youman        
141  Fri 09/07  @ Pittsburgh    N    -    Lilly           Gorzelanny    
142  Sat 09/08  @ Pittsburgh    N    -    Zambrano        Maholm        
143  Sun 09/09  @ Pittsburgh         -    Hill            Armas         
154  Fri 09/21    Pittsburgh         -    Marshall        Armas         
155  Sat 09/22    Pittsburgh         -    Marquis         Duke          
156  Sun 09/23    Pittsburgh         -    Lilly           Snell         

 

CUBS hitters vs. Pittsburgh this year.....

 

vs. Pitts          AB    R    H   2B   3B   HR   TB  RBI   BB   SO     BA    OBP    SLG    OPS  BABIP
Pagan               7    2    3    1    0    1    7    1    0    2  0.429  0.429  1.000  1.429  0.500
Soriano            31    7   14    2    0    3   25    6    1    6  0.452  0.471  0.806  1.277  0.500
Ward                2    0    1    0    0    0    1    0    1    0  0.500  0.667  0.500  1.167  0.500
Theriot            25    4   10    3    0    0   13    4    5    3  0.400  0.500  0.520  1.020  0.455
Lee                31    1   11    4    0    0   15    3    3    6  0.355  0.412  0.484  0.896  0.440
Barrett            22    1    6    2    0    1   11    2    3    3  0.273  0.360  0.500  0.860  0.278
Floyd               9    1    2    0    0    1    5    3    0    3  0.222  0.300  0.556  0.856  0.200
Bowen               4    1    1    1    0    0    2    0    0    0  0.250  0.250  0.500  0.750  0.250
Ramirez            27    1    5    2    0    1   10    3    5    3  0.185  0.303  0.370  0.673  0.174
Murton             17    1    4    2    0    0    6    2    0    1  0.235  0.235  0.353  0.588  0.250
Fontenot            4    1    1    0    0    0    1    0    0    1  0.250  0.250  0.250  0.500  0.333
Blanco              4    0    1    0    0    0    1    0    0    0  0.250  0.250  0.250  0.500  0.250
Jones              20    2    2    1    0    1    6    1    2    2  0.100  0.182  0.300  0.482  0.059
Pie                 6    1    1    0    0    0    1    0    0    1  0.167  0.167  0.167  0.333  0.200
DeRosa             17    0    2    0    0    0    2    1    2    3  0.118  0.200  0.118  0.318  0.143
Izturis            15    2    2    0    0    0    2    0    0    2  0.133  0.133  0.133  0.267  0.154
K Hill              1    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0  0.000  0.000  0.000  0.000  0.000

totals vs. Pitts  258   29   69   19    0    8  112   26   23   43  0.267  0.329  0.434  0.763  0.295

season totals    2997  385  803  176   19   74 1239  368  254  550  0.268  0.326  0.413  0.740  0.307

 

CUBS pitchers vs. Pittsburgh this year......

 

vs. Pitts            IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PC  BB/9   K/9  HR/9  WHIP   ERA
Eyre                4.3    3    0    0    2    0    0    57  4.15  0.00  0.00  1.15  0.00
Cherry              4.3    1    0    0    2    4    0    56  4.15  8.31  0.00  0.69  0.00
Howry               2.3    2    0    0    2    2    0    53  7.71  7.71  0.00  1.71  0.00
Gallagher           1.3    1    2    0    1    1    0    30  6.75  6.75  0.00  1.50  0.00
Ohman               0.7    0    0    0    0    2    0     7  0.00 27.00  0.00  0.00  0.00
R Hill              7.0    6    2    2    1    6    0   103  1.29  7.71  0.00  1.00  2.57
Marquis            21.7   15    7    7    3   13    3   304  1.25  5.40  1.25  0.83  2.91
Lilly              12.3   16    7    6    2    9    1   196  1.46  6.57  0.73  1.46  4.38
Wuertz              3.7    5    2    2    1    3    1    59  2.45  7.36  2.45  1.64  4.91
Zambrano            6.0    7    6    4    2    6    1   117  3.00  9.00  1.50  1.50  6.00
Dempster            2.3    2    2    2    2    1    0    52  7.71  3.86  0.00  1.71  7.71
Cotts               1.0    1    1    1    0    1    0    20  0.00  9.00  0.00  1.00  9.00

totals vs. Pitts   67.0   59   29   24   18   48    6  1054  2.42  6.45  0.81  1.15  3.22

season totals     767.3  693  362  337  284  649   93 12286  3.33  7.61  1.09  1.27  3.95

 

CUBS' last 21 games (14-7)..............

 

Gm#    Date       Opponent         Score  Starter         Opp Starter
65  Thu 06/14    Seattle           5- 4  Marquis         Weaver        
66  Fri 06/15    San Diego         4- 1  Lilly           Wells         
67  Sat 06/16    San Diego         0- 1  Zambrano        Young         
68  Sun 06/17    San Diego         3-11  Hill            Maddux        
69  Tue 06/19  @ Texas         N   5- 4  Marshall        Tejeda        
70  Wed 06/20  @ Texas         N   3- 7  Marquis         Loe          
71  Thu 06/21  @ Texas             5- 6  Lilly           Padilla       
72  Fri 06/22  @ Chicago (AL)      5- 1  Zambrano        Beuhrle       
73  Sat 06/23  @ Chicago (AL)      2- 1  Hill            Vazquez       
74  Sun 06/24  @ Chicago (AL)      3- 0  Marshall        Contreras     
75  Mon 06/25    Colorado      N  10- 9  Marquis         Francis       
76  Tue 06/26    Colorado      N   8- 5  Lilly           Lopez         
77  Wed 06/27    Colorado          6- 4  Zambrano        Hirsch        
78  Fri 06/29    Milwaukee         6- 5  Hill            Gallardo      
79  Sat 06/30    Milwaukee         4-13  Marshall        Sheets        
80  Sun 07/01    Milwaukee         5- 1  Marquis         Bush          
81  Mon 07/02  @ Washington        7- 2  Lilly           Simontacchi   
82  Tue 07/03  @ Washington        3- 1  Zambrano        Redding       
83  Wed 07/04  @ Washington        0- 6  Hill            Chico         
84  Thu 07/05  @ Washington        4- 2  Marshall        Bergmann      
85  Fri 07/06  @ Pittsburgh    N   4- 8  Marquis         Maholm        

 

Composite scoring during the last 21 games.........

 

                  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16    Total

CUBS             20   3  15   9  10  12   8   6   9   0   0   0   0   0   0   0      92
Opponents        17  10  10   3  18  14   3   4  13   0   0   0   0   0   0   0      92

 

CUBS' hitters during the last 21 games......

 

06/14 - 07/06      AB    R    H   2B   3B   HR   TB  RBI   BB   SO     BA    OBP    SLG    OPS  BABIP
Ward               15    3    7    1    0    0    8    2    1    3  0.467  0.471  0.533  1.004  0.583
Ramirez            47    7   16    5    1    2   29   12    1    2  0.340  0.340  0.617  0.957  0.326
Soriano            89   17   29    7    0    5   51   10    3   18  0.326  0.344  0.573  0.917  0.364
Fontenot           79   15   27    6    2    2   43   11    4   10  0.342  0.369  0.544  0.913  0.373
Barrett            13    3    5    1    0    0    6    1    0    1  0.385  0.385  0.462  0.846  0.417
Lee                69    9   22    5    1    0   29    5    9   11  0.319  0.415  0.420  0.835  0.379
DeRosa             65    7   21    5    0    1   29   16    8    7  0.323  0.387  0.446  0.833  0.351
Theriot            49    8   14    6    0    0   20    4    3    3  0.286  0.327  0.408  0.735  0.304
Floyd              46    6   12    1    0    1   16    6    7    9  0.261  0.358  0.348  0.706  0.306
Jones              22    3    5    4    0    0    9    1    1    4  0.227  0.261  0.409  0.670  0.278
Pagan              47    3   12    2    0    1   17    6    2   12  0.255  0.280  0.362  0.642  0.324
Izturis            32    0    7    4    0    0   11    2    0    4  0.219  0.219  0.344  0.563  0.250
K Hill             39    3    7    2    0    1   12    5    4    6  0.179  0.250  0.308  0.558  0.188
Pie                46    3    5    0    2    0    9    6    4   13  0.109  0.180  0.196  0.376  0.152
Bowen              27    3    2    1    0    0    3    2    4   11  0.074  0.188  0.111  0.299  0.125

last 21 games     716   92  194   50    6   13  295   89   51  124  0.271  0.318  0.412  0.730  0.313

season totals    2997  385  803  176   19   74 1239  368  254  550  0.268  0.326  0.413  0.740  0.307

 

CUBS' pitchers during the last 21 games......

 

06/14 - 07/06        IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PC  BB/9   K/9  HR/9  WHIP   ERA
Dempster            3.0    0    0    0    0    5    0    45  0.00 15.00  0.00  0.00  0.00
Cherry              2.0    1    1    0    1    2    0    33  4.50  9.00  0.00  1.00  0.00
Rapada              0.3    0    0    0    0    0    0     7  0.00  0.00  0.00  0.00  0.00
Marmol             13.0    9    1    1    4   23    0   207  2.77 15.92  0.00  1.00  0.69
Zambrano           29.7   13    5    5   13   34    2   464  3.94 10.31  0.61  0.88  1.52
Ohman               7.7    7    2    2    0    5    1   111  0.00  5.87  1.17  0.91  2.35
Petrick             5.7    3    2    2    1    5    1    86  1.59  7.94  1.59  0.71  3.18
Lilly              28.0   21   11   11   10   23    3   424  3.21  7.39  0.96  1.11  3.54
Wuertz             10.7   11    5    5    4   10    2   155  3.38  8.44  1.69  1.41  4.22
Howry              10.3   10    5    5    3   13    1   165  2.61 11.32  0.87  1.26  4.35
Eyre                8.7    9    5    5    5    6    0   158  5.19  6.23  0.00  1.62  5.19
Marquis            27.7   26   20   17   12   21    5   440  3.90  6.83  1.63  1.37  5.53
Marshall           17.7   22   13   12   10   11    3   290  5.09  5.60  1.53  1.81  6.11
R Hill             17.7   26   17   17    6   18    6   353  3.06  9.17  3.06  1.81  8.66
Gallagher           3.3    3    6    4    4    4    1    71 10.80 10.80  2.70  2.10 10.80

last 21 games     185.3  161   93   86   73  180   25  3009  3.54  8.74  1.21  1.26  4.18

season totals     767.3  693  362  337  284  649   93 12286  3.33  7.61  1.09  1.27  3.95

 

Percentage of baserunners driven in........

 

04/02 - 07/06      BDI  LOB   RBI%
Ward                 7   15  0.318
DeRosa              41  110  0.272
Floyd               26   80  0.245
Ramirez             36  114  0.240
Lee                 35  115  0.233
Fontenot            13   47  0.217
Pie                 16   62  0.205
Blanco               3   12  0.200
Theriot             22   91  0.195
Soriano             19   99  0.161
Jones               18   97  0.157
Barrett             19  113  0.144
Pagan                8   49  0.140
Murton               7   48  0.127
K Hill               4   34  0.105
Bowen                2   17  0.105
Izturis              8   78  0.093
Cedeno               2   21  0.087

CUBS               294 1285  0.186

 

Wild Card Race

 

Team             W       L       Pct      GB
Los Angeles     48      39     0.552     ---
Arizona         47      41     0.534     1.5
Atlanta         46      41     0.529     2.0
CUBS            43      42     0.506     4.0
Philadelphia    43      43     0.500     4.5
Colorado        43      43     0.500     4.5
Florida         41      46     0.471     7.0

 

Don't tread on me

 

 

Go CUBS !!

[Shilzzz]

yesterday didn't feel good. it was so distant from what i had grown to enjoy.

 

WIN!

[anabiono]

i love you jesus christ

 

jesus christ i love you

[otis89]

Win, por favor.

[Derwood]

tonight is the first (and probably only) cubs game i'll see live this year, so don't suck it up.

[Butterscup1679666578]

W plz

[killthegoat06]

Please win 2 out of 3 cobs.

[Guest]

¡oƃ sqnɔ oƃ

[killthegoat06]

¡oƃ sqnɔ oƃ

 

what he said

[Shilzzz]

i love you jesus christ

 

jesus christ i love you

 

:D

[Bruno7481]

Tonight's game is key. A win tonight sets the team up pretty well for Sunday with Zambrano on the mound. If they can take these final two games of the series I think it has to be considered a pretty successful roadtrip.

 

That would put them at 5-2 on the trip with an overall record of 45-42 heading into the break.

[Lockes Eye Scar]

Yeah, I was hoping for a 5-2 roadtrip as well... gotta win these next two

[IWU_CUBS_FAN]

JUST WIN!

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Just win, bitches!

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Game Notes

 

LOOKING TO REBOUND: Despite dropping yesterday’s game in Pittsburgh, 8-4, the Cubs have won 11 of their last 14 games and boast the best record in all of baseball since June 3 with a 21-11 mark (.656) in their 32-game span … Chicago is looking to avoid losing consecutive contests for the first time since June 20-21 in Texas … since then, the Cubs are 11-3.

 

The Cubs find themselves 4.0 games back of the N.L. Wild Card-leading Los Angeles Dodgers and 5.5 games behind the N.L. Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers.

 

After their loss on June 2, the Cubs were a season-low 9 games under .500 at 22-31 through 53 games prior to their current 32-game run.

 

KEY ADDITIONS: Ted Lilly ranks third in ERA (3.84) among free agent starting pitchers who joined National League teams this season … teammate Jason Marquis is second with a 3.67 ERA while the Mets Orlando Hernandez leads with a 3.22 ERA this season.

 

Lilly’s .636 winning percentage (7-4) ranks second among all starting pitchers who were free agents last off-season, behind only Boston’s Daisuke Matsuzaka (10-5/.667).

 

SINCE YOU’VE BEEN GONE: Since closer Ryan Dempster landed on the disabled list June 23, the Cubs bullpen has converted 6 of 7 save opportunities and has posted a 3.30 ERA (16 ER/43.2 IP) while limiting opponents to a .218 batting average.

 

Since June 23, Bob Howry has 4 saves and Will Ohman and Carlos Marmol have 1 apiece.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

More from the game notes...

 

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE: The Cubs have recorded at least 1 double in 13 straight games since June 23 … that’s 1-game shy of their season high, when they went 14 consecutive games with a 2-base hit from April 4-19.

 

Derrek Lee ranks fourth in the N.L. with 26 doubles while Alfonso Soriano’s 24 doubles rank tied for fifth.

 

GOING BATTY: After hitting .277 (270-for-973) with a .336 on-base percentage in June, the Cubs have batted just .245 (49-for-200) with a .288 on-base percentage in their first 6 July contests … Chicago has hit .244 (41-for-168) with no home runs on the current road trip to Washington (3-1) and Pittsburgh (0-1) after posting a .288 average (60-for-208) with 5 homers on their recent homestand against Colorado (3-0) and Milwaukee (2-1).

 

BREAK TO BREAK: Aramis Ramirez has recorded 118 RBI in 137 games since the 2006 All-Star break – that ranks third in the N.L. behind Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard (141) and Colorado’s Matt Holliday (126) … Ramirez’ .606 slugging percentage in that span is second in the N.L. only to Howard (.656) while his .318 batting average ranks fifth (Holliday is first with a .332 mark).

 

Carlos Zambrano’s 18 victories since the 2006 break rank second in the N.L. behind John Smoltz’ 19 wins and are tied for third in baseball with the A’s Dan Haren and the Yankees’ Chien-Ming Wang … the Twins Johan Santana leads all hurlers with 20 wins in that span

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

And even more from the game notes....

 

ABOUT THOSE SERIES: Chicago has won its last 4 series, going 3-0 against the White Sox, 3-0 vs. Colorado, 2-1 vs. Milwaukee and 3-1 in Washington … it’s the first time Chicago has won 4 consecutive series since winning 4 in a row from May 23-June 5, 2005 (vs. Houston, vs. Colorado, at Los Angeles, at San Diego).

 

The Cubs need to win their next 2 games against the Pirates to avoid their first losing series since dropping 2-of-3 in Texas, June 19-21.

 

D’OH! NO HOMER: The Cubs have gone a season-high 7 straight games without a homer, last connecting for a blast via Aramis Ramirez’ walk-off, 2-run homer June 29 vs. Milwaukee…this is the Cubs’ longest homerless drought since April 29-May 5, 2006, a 7-game drought.

 

The last time Chicago went at least 8 straight games without a long ball was April 25- May 3, 1999 ... the club went 6-2 in that stretch.

 

NOT A COINCIDENCE: Since June 3, Cubs relievers have posted a 3.09 ERA (35 ER/102.0 IP) and have stranded 32-of-35 inherited runners – the 91.4-success rate ranks first in the majors in that span (Texas is second, having stranded 85.4-percent of their inherited runners – 35-of-41).

 

Prior to June 3, the Cubs’ bullpen had produced a 4.44 ERA (75 ER/152.0 IP) in the team’s first 52 games of the season.

 

 

 

Last night, the Cubs had 3 sacrifice flies in a game for the first time since May 19, 2002 in a 5-4 win at Milwaukee … since 1957, the Cubs have had 3 sac flies in a contest 29 times, going 24-5 in those games.

[Skyballer]

Perfect lineup for today

 

Soriano LF

Fontenot 2B

Lee 1B

Ramirez3B

DeRosa RF

Theriot SS

Pagan/Pie CF

Hill/Bowen C

Pitcher

[Guest]

Perfect lineup for today

 

Soriano LF

Fontenot 2B

Lee 1B

Ramirez3B

DeRosa RF

Theriot SS

Pagan/Pie CF

Hill/Bowen C

Pitcher

Other than the better version of Bo Hart at 2B, a productive second baseman playing the role of a right fielder, a utility guy playing the role of a starting shortstop and a black hole behind the plate, I completely agree.

 

Oh yeah -- and the career minor leaguer masquerading as someone valuable enough to take away time in CF from the legit prospect.

[CubColtPacer]

I bet at least 1 of the 2 of Ward and Jones play tonight, and quite possibly both.

[TysonCBulls423]

Ward is probably gonna start in RF tonight so I'm betting on this lineup...

 

Soriano

Fontenot

Lee

Ramirez

Ward

DeRosa

Theriot

Hill

 

Cubs will homer tonight

[Mizzou]

 

LOOKING TO REBOUND: Despite dropping yesterday’s game in Pittsburgh, 8-4, the Cubs have won 11 of their last 14 games and boast the best record in all of baseball since June 3 with a 21-11 mark (.656) in their 32-game span … Chicago is looking to avoid losing consecutive contests for the first time since June 20-21 in Texas … since then, the Cubs are 11-3.

I've seen this a lot lately. Here's a question I have... who has the best record since June 2nd, or June 1st? Obviously not the Cubs, otherwise they would just say that.