JOET...I live in New Orleans, (nee' Great Lakes...navy brat). I've been pulling for the Cubbies since I was 5. EVERY YEAR, as soon as they start winning, I tried to keep my mouth shut, so as not to "jinx" it. THIS YEAR is completely different, and I am as vociferous as I can be to my friends, who since all we have down here is the Zephyrs, the Mets' AAA affiliate, don't give a lick about baseball. Except for my ex-roomate who roots for the Brewers...just to spite me. I told her I wouldn't forgive her if she rooted for the Cards. ANYWAY...I feel ya, man. I'm tired of being afraid that they'll lose in the end. This is it. It's gonna happen.

Dont forget the Easter Bunny JOET.

Whoa! Space Bar man.

I feel ya though. I keep tellin myself this is that T.O.D. The team of destiny. I hope to God that I am right!

YES SIR BABY! THIS IS OUR 51ST WIN IN 85 GAMES. GALLAGHER VS LINECUM FOR GAME 86. I AM PSYCHED FOR THIS MATCH-UP. THIS WILL BE A GREAT TEST. CUBS WILL WIN THIS GAME BY A SCORE OF 8-4 WITH A TIE-BREAKING SLAM IN THE TOP OF THE 9TH BY DERREK LEE. LEE IS DUE TO PRODUCE BIG TIME FOR US. HEY FELLOWS, I LOVE YOU. THIS WILL BE OUR TURNING POINT IN THE SEASON. I HOPE I'M WRONG ON THE SCORE. I HOPE WE WIN LIKE 16-0, SCORING 7+ IN THE 1ST INNING OR SO. CUBS ARE #1 IN BATTING AVERAGE LAST I CHECKED AT LIKE .283, WHICH IS .004 AHEAD OF #2. WOW! AM I ON PINS AND NEEDLES FOR GAME 86. I HAVE ALWAYS SAID THAT THE FIRST WEEK IN JULY SEEMS TO BE THE MOST CRITICAL POINT IS ANY TEAM'S SEASON. CUBS ARE IN TOP 5 IN ALMOST EVERY CATORGORY. WE WILL COME FORTH AS TRUE CUBS TOMMOROW. ON THE ALL-STAR I VOTED FOR ALL THE CUBS AND BAD PLAYERS ON THE AMERICAN LEAGUE, WHICH IS WHAT EVERY FAN ON THEIR LEAGUE SHOULD DO TO HELP PRESERVE HOME FIELD FOR THE WORLD SERIES. THIS WAS A HUGE WIN, ESPECIALLY FOR WOOD AFTER HE STRANDED A MAN AFTER A 2-OUT TRIPLE. BACK TO THE ALL-GAME GAME. IS BUD SELIG SCREWED UP OR WHAT! DECIDING HOME FIELD FOR THE WORLD SERIES IN AN EXHIBITION GAME. IF THE AL WINS, I'LL BE PISSED OFF. WE COULD STILL WIN THE WORLD SERIES WITHOUT IT, BUT MAN WOULD I LOVE TO HAVE HOME FIELD!, ESPECIALLY IF WE FACE THE RAYS. DAMN, THEY LOOKED AWESOME AGAINST THE RED SOX! THE RAYS ARE THE ONLY TEAM THAT SCARES ME, DUE TO THEY'LL BE PRIMED UP AGAINST A CUBS VS RAYS WORLD SERIES. I KIND OF HOPE THE RAYS FADE, BUT YOU GOTTA BEAT THE BEST IF YOU WANT THE ULTIMATE GOAL. THE CARDINALS DON'T LOOK LIKE THEY SHOULD BE THIS CLOSE TO THE CUBS IN THE STANDINGS. I THOUGHT THERE WOULD BE A 2-TEAM RACE, THAT BEING THE CUBS ARE BREWERS. BREWERS ARE AS GOOD WITH THE STICK AS OUR CUBS, BUT I'LL HATE TO SEE THEM GRAB SABATHIA. WE NEED ANOTHER STARTER DEFINTELY TO BE A COMPLETE TEAM! I KNOW SOME OF THE POST COMMENTERS WILL CALL BE CRAZY. BUT BE REALILISTIC, NO TEAM IS INVINCIBLE. WE NEED A 1-2 PUNCH. I WOULD LIKE A.J. BURNETT. I SEE HIM AS A LONG TERM POSSIBILITY WITH THE CUBS SAYS MAYBE FOR MURTON IN A TRADE DEAL. THERE WILL BE VICTORY IN THIS CITY COME OCTOBER. I AM ROOTING FOR MY 2 FAVORITE TEAMS, THE CUBS AND THE WHITE SOX. I KNOW THERE ARE SOME HATERS OF CHISOX, BUT I ALWAYS ROOT FOR CHICAGO. I DON;T GET CARRIED AWAY IN THE SMACK TALK BACK AND FORTH OF THE CUBS. CUBS ARE #1 FOR ME, AND SOX ARE #2. I PRAY TO GOD THAT CHIP CARAY IS NOT CALLING TBS IN THE PLAYOFFS. HE IS SO BIASED TOWARDS THE YANKEES AND RED SOX, AND SUCKS AT COMMENTATING. LEN CASPER IS MY FAVORITE, BUT BOB IS GREAT TOO! BROTHERS, WE ARE HULKED UP FOR A GREAT OUTCOME FOR AT-LEAST THE NEXT 7 TO 8 YEARS. LETS BRING HOME PENNANT #17 AND TITLE #3. THIS IS THE YEAR! EVERYDAY THAT I WAKE UP, I AM JUST IN AWE OF VICTORY. I CAN'T HELP IT. THESE PEOPLE ARE WONDERFUL. SO ARE OUR BROTHERS ON THE FIELD. WE ARE SCORING NEARLY 6 RUNS PER GAME ARE HAVE OUTSCORED OUR OPPONENTS BY A TOTAL OF 101 RUNS THROUGH 85 GAMES. BROTHER, IS THIS AWESOME OR WHAT. GOD HAS TO BE SMILING DOWN ON THE CUBS THIS YEAR. I JUST WALKED OUTSIDE AND THERE WAS A CALM WIND BLOWING AND I HEARD CLEARLY THE LEAVES ON THE TREE SAYING "THE BATTLE IS IN THE WILL, THE GODS WILL PAY THE BILL". DAMN, WAS I SCARED TO DEATH! I COULDN'T HELP BUT TO TRANSLATE IT AS 1 OF 2 POSSIBLE WAYS FOR MY BROTHER COMMENTATORS. EITHER #1. CUBS MUST HAVE THE WILL TO WIN AND THEN THE GODS WILL BE WITH US TO CELEBRATE. OR #2. CUBS, WIN OR LOSE, YOU'RE STILL GREAT. I PROMISE YOU THAT THIS HAPPENED. IT HAS PERIODICALLY HAPPENED ABOUT 5 TIMES SINCE APRIL 19TH. TWICE A MONTH, SOMETHING IS HAPPENING TO ME. PLEASE HELP ME RELATE IT TO MATT HAGGARD, MARIO C, NEIL, BARON AND ALL THE REST OF OUR BROTHERS OF THIS GREAT SITE. I HOPE ALL OF YALL EXPERIENCE WHAT I AM EXPERIENCING IN MY LIFE. YES! YES!

WE WON THE GAME MARK!!!

Momentai!

Thankyou. Kerry.

Man I miss Alfonsito,Aramisito and

Carlitos. Badly.

Fuku please come back, thank you Edmondsito

and Fontenotsito

What the F.......how hard is it to freakin beat the Giants? It's like we don't wan to win! I'm getting really nervous for the weekend series vs. St. Louis.

Kerry Wood 1

Fred Lewis 0

Fred Lewis probably feels lousy right now, but not as bad as I did that time I watched that indescribably lame "Peter Cottontail" movie with my boys.

I just threw up in my mouth a bit thinking about it. Thanks for the memories, Easter Bunny.

Boy!!! I'm worn out.... this was a HUGE win.

Fonten-Yes... does it! Whodathunkit?

Big, big win!!!

Phew!!

CUBS WIN!

I admit, I was worried.

man that looked rly good consistently hitting 98-99 and then throwing that slider which is devistating. way to see the cubs battle back after marmol continues to struggle lou should put him in some less stressful situations till he gains his confidence. big win with the brewers and cards winning

That a boy Woody.

Cubs Win!!!!!

Jason....the only problem is there is nowhere on the roster for him to be insurance...and I doubt he would linger in AAA waiting to see if he is needed. Reed swings the stick from the right side which makes him more needed than Kenny. I think the Cubs sole focus should be pitching....starters and bullpen.....

Alright Kerry.

Mow em down!

please Kerry...take us to the Paradise City.

We need a hero tonight.

please Kerry...take us to the Paradise City.

We need a hero tonight.

This pitching staff needs a shrink. Marmol

is not tipping anything he just needs to throw

damn strikes and not think...like he used to.

He is my favorite Cub but he needs to stop

hanging out with Rich Hill

Joe S,

I suggested Lofton as injury insurance for Edmonds, plus Lofton is a lefty. He may be out of a job, but he hit .290 in almost 500 at-bats last year, with over 20 SBs and a .350+ OBP. Reed Johnson would be lucky to be so washed-up.

Baron...great idea but from what I have read the Twins are still very high on him.

Jason B.

Been keeping up with the Brian Fuentes rumors?

Jason....probably not until 2009 for Guzman. Jose Ceda is tearing up Double-A right now

Hey Neil,

I just thought of something.... A guy who dropped off the radar... but if the Cubs need a starting pitcher....

what about Francisco Liriano from the Twins??? Hes in their minors and though he has struggled --- could maybe ne the next Edmonds type diamond in the rough

These announcers for the Giants are spending an extraordinary amount of time on the crowd in a one run game... BUT they're probably used to the games not being close.

I picture Gary, drooling a bit on his pillow, obliviously sleeping through this SF comeback...

I hope Lou and everyone just leaves Marmol alone...we don't need another Rich Hill mental case. Let's give the guy some space, and keep putting him in pressure situations, showing him we have confidence in his abilities. If there is something wrong with his mechanics, then I wish we had a pitching coach that knew what to do about it...instead Larry will just hand him a towel.

Steve Stone was on the radio yesterday, talking about Marmol. He didn't bring up any mechanical or injury-related reasons for his recent struggles. Instead, he reminded everyone that Marmol is a converted catcher, and is on pace to pitch more innings than he every has before, and that his arm may simply be a little behind the rest of his body right now.

Who can we look at, via trade, or from our farm, to step into the bullpen and provide some innings to reduce Marmol's workload? What is the timetable on Guzman's return?

FONTENOT!!!!

Patterson has to take a pitch there. What was he thinking? The pitcher just gave up a home run....

FONTENOT!!!! Little scrapper comes through!!

Holy Cow, Mighty Mike!!

Sneaky Power Pocket Rocket!

Catchy, huh?

WHOOO!!!

I am going to age 5 years this season....

I bet Mike Fontenot likes Easter...Suckers

St Louis could be 1 1/2 up tonight, with a REAL stud up tomorrow in Lincecum and a series at Busch upcoming... These next 2 innings are SO ENORMOUS

Jason...Frosty the Snowman, fun to hang out with?!?! Dork. Nothing like three big piles of Snow.

Abby...GFY...Easter is AWESOME. But Peeps to suck.

Marmol..really?

Could it be that Marmol is tipping his pitches? He's being hit hard recently....quite a few home runs...they sit on the sliders and seem to know when the fastball is coming

What the heck would the Cubs need Lofton for? With Edmonds producing as the left handed stick in CF there is ZERO need for Lofton. Soriano in Left Edmonds in CF and Fukudome in RF. Reed Johnson the back up OF with De Rosa able to handle the corners as well. Not even a place for him let alone we dont need another washed up has been.

After a season of free passes...I gotta rail on Senor Nasty.....

That 2 out walk was complete nonsense....

A 2-out walk after throwing 6 strikes....Ray Durham's 3rd of the year. WOW!

Well, lets get the bats going again. Two out walks will get ya every time.

and the circus act continues

What does Demp have to do to get a road win?

Boy...Marmol started out with 2 strikeouts on 6 pitches...and then allowed them to tie it at 5

Damn..With 2 outs...

Pesky Giants..

yeah...honestly...Easter is like the time of year that candy manufacturers are able to unload the crap that nobody wanted to eat in the Summer, Fall, or Winter. So suddenly we have to eat crap in the Spring?

Easter candy is the equivalent of being thirsty at a neighbors party when you were a kid, and opening the cooler to find "creme soda" or that generic non-name brand cola crap. wtf...

On a sad note...STL won in the bot of the 9th 8-7, and MIL has just taken a 4-3 lead in the top of the 9th inning.

I know Lou was upset with Patteron's OF defense the other night, but he is a converted 2B, so I would cut him a little slack.

Given that he was swinging a decent bat, why isn't he at 2B, while DeRosa plays at 3B?

If Hendry and Lou don't think EPat is better than Fontenot at this point, then shouldn't he be traded immediately?

Also...what is Pie up to these days?

It is a shame Rich Hill is hitting bottom right now...Hendry blew this one, by always labeling him as "untouchable" the past few years. I will always trust Sean Marshall over Rich Hill, even if Hill can have an incredible outing every now and then...at least Marshall should consistently keep us in the game. If we continue to give him innings/starts, I think he will only get better. Not sure if he will be given that chance, while Marquis is still on the roster.

With 100 at-bats for the Cubs, Edmonds is producing the equivalent of a 35-40 homer season. I still think it makes sense to pick up Kenny Lofton.

Edmonds has an injury history...what happens if he gets hurt? Pie doesn't seem ready, Fuld is not an MLB option... I suppose you could move Fukudome to CF.

The DBacks just lost Eric Byrnes to a hammy injury...I remember thinking that the DBacks should go and get Lofton...hopefully the Cubs will grab him first!

Jason,

Don't forget about peeps.

Seriously, who eats those?

Soto with the big 2-out single, 50th RBI of the season.

GEO!!

SOTO!!

GEO!!

SOTO!!

Nice Job Geo!!!!

Soto!!!! Way to go! 3 run lead is back!

Shitty baseball?

I see a good ole fashioned pitchers duel.

Thanks for the HOllywood explanation Matt...

Too many HBPs against the Cubs...conspiracy theory? lol

Drilled the hell out of Ryan.

all these cute chubby military babies.... puts good and shitty baseball into perspective....

Cmon Cubbies...hand on to the lead.....

I think Edmonds needs a new nick name.... "oppo" for all his LF field homeruns.....

Edmonds has just always been a flamboyant personality.

Colorful.

Hes also from Cali and played many a years with 'Anaheim Los Angeles Angeles of Orange County California'.

Dear Easter Bunny,

You always were the lamest fictional holiday character.

The tooth fairy brought me money.

Santa Claus brought me presents.

Frosty the Snowman was a lot of fun to hang out with.

At Thanksgiving, I get turkey (with gravy), mashed potatoes (with gravy), and stuffing (with gravy).

When you were around, all I ever got was a shitty ham.

Then I had to sit there and color eggs, and then, later, I had to go look for those same eggs, which I had already colored. I will never get those wasted hours of my life back, pal. Yeah...I got some candy, but you couldn't hold a candle to Halloween, and it wasn't like Mom didn't already have ice cream in the freezer anyway.

You suck.

-Jason

I don't know how I missed it but why is Edmonds referred to as Hollywood?

Better come back Gary.

Edmonds' blast is looking huge.

Gosh....

Yes, Jimmy! now I can go to bed. I'll trust the Cub's pitching staff can hold down the NLs 13th ranked offense and losers of 16 out of their last 21 at home. Man, these weekday west coast tripps are killer for us east coast guys.

Nick...I am right there with you.

He is a Chicago Cub.

At the begining of the season I would have never guessed that we would actually be cheering for Edmonds. But man has he been huge for us so far.

Nice Edmonds...

That Aaron Rowand is quite the guy in center too.

Nice catch. Gotta give some glove props.

hell yeah, HOLLYWOOD!!!!! thatta kid....nice

Jim Edmonds!!!!

HOLLYWOOD!

EDMONDS!!!!!

YEAH___ JIM EDMONDS!!!!! YAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

Also. The 5.00 ERA's are partially due to the Giants piss poor defense. It has to count for something.

These pitchers are good. Remind me of the 2002 Cubs staff.

Thanks Joe.

GEO!!!

Sa-weet!

Great AB

The team that is tipping their caps is the 2006 Cubs.

A DP-Lee rather than MV-Lee.

Theriot, Cedeno and Murton.

We're without Ramirez and Soriano.

I guarantee you the full strength 2008 Cubs wont tip their caps in this situation. We have to cheerlead until we get healthy.

Matt I 100% agree with you, the season is half way over, we are in first place, we have the best record in the NL (almost in all of baseball), and we are winning now, and I am pretty sure we still have the number 1 offense in baseball (not going to look it up right now, well, cause I don't want to) but yet some people still aren't satisfied.

Yes this team has holes, but someone please tell me what team in baseball doesn't?

but seriously Easter Bunny....I always respect everyone's opinions on here, and put in my two cents....i tend to think ahead....yes, we're 16 games above .500, but unless it was a few years ago when the Cards got in, it's going to take more than that to win our division this year....and I think it's pathetic that teams make excuses for missing players....boo frickin' hoo...no team is going to take sympathy on you, so why should you seek it. I've heard it all the time out of player's mouths, Piniella, Hendry, etc., and all that does is have a damning psychological effect on the team, where they're like, "damn...____(fill in blank) is out...how are we going to make up for his production."----all it does is make everyone try too hard and tey can't meet the production.

Now, I know other teams do it, but I also know some teams that make no excuses in those situations.

So I realize 16 games above .500 seems like a good amount to most Cubs fans, but in most normal years, it'll take more than that to win a division. It's true last year and '03 we we between 8 and 14 games over, but in '98, in a wild card, we were 17 games over, in '89 we were 24 games over, and in '84, we were 31 games over!!! Also, in '69, we finished in second place at 22 over.

Simply because the Cards are down only 2 1/2, and the pesky Brewers are right behind them leads me to believe that it'll take more than 16 to win the division and get the wild card for that matter should the unfortunate happen

What? Do the Cubs have to just "tip their cap" to another sub .500 pitcher with an ERA around 5.00?

So what are all you cheerleaders out there saying? When the chips are down don't expect much from the Cubs? Oh, now there's the mark of a true champion.

Nick The hats are for military night in Frisco...and I understand that all teams will wear them on the 4th.

Dempster is throwin great... like even Marquis did last night... but our leadoff hitter is now 3 hitless AB's away from falling below the MENDOZA line on the road more than halfway into the season

I would hope not, I am a bunny. That would be wierd. You're not only positive but really funny. You might get some extra peeps in your basket Aaron.

LOL! I was switching channels to watch the score on the Mets/Cardinals and the Crowd was Booooing a guy dressed in Cubbie blue celebrating as the Mets took a 7-5 lead! The announcers said that it was the preview of things to come in the next series...

We're leading guys!

Come on! Keep the faith!!!

Weve got our momentary ace on the mound, and these Giants hitters havent been lively all series either y'know!

Its an honor, Easter Bunny.

touche'

that cute baby on mlb.tv made up for this DISGUSTING, PATHETIC offensive show

you wouldn't make my team

Yes Matt I am real..Hi.

Aaron if I wasnt a giant furry bunny with three fingers and a thumb..I would love to pitch for you. I bet it would be fun.

Wow, this guy is unhittable. He has sucked all season, but was waiting in his AAA costume till the Cubs arrived because he said 'Wait till them Cubs arrive -- I'm gonna be lights out'. He was right.

We are just facing too many stud pitchers these days. What r u gonna do?

GAH! YOU ARE REAL!

I KNEW IT!

Neil, good point...thanks for the research....that's kind of interesting that we improved...hmmmmmm

Jim (TP),

92mph, RH (wish I was LH), but the reason the Pirates wanted me was b/c of the 12-6 hoook I had, which I wish I never had---it was the main cause of my shoulder injury....no regrets though, everything happens for a reason, and now I'm a D-II college pitching coach

Dempster really came up huge there, that was a great comeback

Neil, thank you for being positive...but unfortunately some people in this world cant fathom to think about the positives in life.

I mean when a team loses its top players for an extended period of time, there are going to be some hicups. With that being said, I will take the divsion lead going into the break with one of the BEST records in the game. But there are some people that can find something to complain about ALL the time.

But not me....the Easter Bunny.

Jim (Tinley) I used to be a stud in the Little League minors...I threw about 16mph. But that doesnt make me an expert or disgruntled that I didnt get a cup of coffee. Hence the reason why I became the Easter Bunny.

Way to get out of it Demp.

Neil:

He did walk the pitcher, followed that up with a double to Durham, then he walked Wynn, then he k'd Rowand.

Someone please tell me Dempster did not just walk the pitcher?!?!?!

Right now, we're leading.

Thats what we want, right?

Lets keep it up!

Aaron....this has been a rough stretch for the Cubs, but their record on May 31st was 35-21, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Cardinals....before tonight's game, 50-34, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Cardinals.

With all of the injuries, the Cubs have improved to 16 games over .500 with the high mark on the season being 20 that they reached twice.

On a game note...way to go Dempster with the shutdown inning.

Aaron:

In the past you have mentioned that you used to pitch. Are you RH or LH? How hard did you throw?

JP...side comment to that as well, about him already having a chance.....

I am completely dumbfounded by Jake Fox's struggles. I saw him in Spring Training 2 years in a row, and also in Iowa, and that guy scorched everything...sure, he didn't run well, but he also didn't hit wimpy grounders like Murton does. I would think that if Fox didn't struggle early on, they would've brought him up instead of Murton. I also know that Fox, impressed the hell out of Piniella in Spring Training last year when he came up to him and asked for more playing time, and then went out and produced big time.....but, coulda, woulda, shoulda....we'll never know

What is up with the hats tonight?

I'd rather have Ward in LF than Murton, Murton is only good for a few doubles against a LH pitcher. he's useless against a RH.

Dont know if the Cubs broadcast caught it but the Giants broadcast caught Dempster's zipper down on that last at bat...kind of funny....

Well, at least Murton hit his weak GIDP to the right side. If he would hit it to the SS or 3B there was a chance that Edmonds could have froze.

JP, couldn't agree more....we've had far too many of those of the last 2 years...GIDP's absolutely kill any chance you have at a rally....in most cases, they end innings for us, and the main culprits are Lee, Theriot, and DeRosa....Murton, when he's up is on that list too, simply because 99% of the balls he puts in play are ground balls, so it's bound to happen