im sick of lou putting howry in in clutch situations....the guy has shown over and over he cant handle the pressure and hitters just sit on his fastball i would much rather see someone else out there like gaudain

In 2 recent games against Matt Cain, the Cubs scored 0 runs on 5 hits with 19 Ks in 15 innings. In contrast, last night the Brewers had 7 hits, 3 runs, 5Ks in only 6 innings against him.
The Cubs are 2 games under .500 over the last month and that length of time is enough to consider this a an unwelcome trend. I hate the "just wait until Soriano the savior to gets back" attitude. It smacks of a team that is standing around waiting for someone else to be the hero. Pitching will prevail in the playoffs, but offense gets you there. I have the Extra Innings package and I can make comparisons to the Cubs almost nightly. You want to see what a team possessed and on a mission? Check out a Brewers' game once in a while.

Last night was a wake up call. They're get it together and win 2 out of 3 here. Then I predict a sweep of ARI but a split with Florida. They always beat us.

Gary, I just bought the mlb.tv package, and I wholeheartedly agree with you, and have been saying the same things on here for quite awhile now, but everyone was saying, "we have the best record in baseball", and I'd keep throwing up evidence, like our 10-game records throughout the year, and comparisons to other teams. The fact is, the first two months have simply carried this team, and we've done virtually nothing since...just a little over .500 actually I believe...I, too, am tired of hearing, "once we get Z back...once we get Soriano back." For crying out loud, people are like, "Harden, when healthy, is one of THE best pitchers in the game." Fact is, I could give two shits...The guy throws once every 5 days....ONCE every 5 days, guys!!

CC Sabathia is already 3-0 with a 1-something ERA, has bashed a homer, and Harden has made one start for us, and got a rude awakening of "Cubbie-occurence". He was lights out, better than Sabathia, BUT, if memory serves correctly, I believe Sabathia has like two complete games already for them. WOW!!!!!!!

I'm in totally agreement with Gary about the Brewers...I could care less about the Cards, except they have the best manager in the game in LaRussa, so that's always going to be their wildcard.

We play a TON of baseball against the Brewers and Cards to round out the season....let's hope Hendry grabs us a big bat....plus, if any of you are hoping for a Soriano "savior"-like performance, I think you better review Lee's performance after his hand injury, and Soriano's performance earlier this year coming back from injury. It's a HAND injury. I even saw footage of Soriano taking BP yesterday. Anyone else see him wince a little in there? Truthfully, I know you all hate him, but I'd trade Pie and a few other prospects for Dunn. I'd love his monster shots at Wrigley, and we'd then have a healthy, bona-fide slugger in our lineup every night....let's face it, gone are the days of Lee and ARAM hitting anywhere close to 40 home runs. I believe we can expect averages of 25-30 for them from here on out. That doesn't really put fear into anybody. ARAM's an "RBI machine". Oh, really...is he?!? I think since Sosa left the Cubs, everyone's been RBI deprived in Cubbieland. Here's his RBI line since joining the Cubs in 2003:
103, 92, 119 (best season, and what I'd personally consider "RBI machine material"), 101, and 66 thus far, with 70+games remaining...Now, if ARAM can continue at a clip that puts him in the 115-125 RBI threshold, then you can consider him an RBI machine...but I don't know where you guys get the stuff you say sometimes....Every team in the majors has a guy that has 100 RBI's almost every season. Jeromy Burnitz had 110 RBI's with Colorado....I bet hardly any of you on here would consider him an "RBI machine" (also, let's not forgot ARAM's average of approximately an OBP of .350)....which I might remind you guys, has kind of been our MO this year, and why we had such good early season success----Adam Dunn's average OBP is .381!!!!!Plus, he averages 100 walks a season, and his home run totals the last 4 years are: 46, 40, 40, 40, and now 27, well on his way past 40. And he's averaged 96 RBI's on very bad teams...Imagine what he could do with runners on base?

Just saying...I know you all loathe his defense, but you also do Soriano's....I think we put Fukudome's weak bat on the bench, or in CF, and move Dunn to RF. Edmond's and Fukudome can split time in CF, and Johnson can be a late inning defensive sub anywhere in the OF

A team with this much talent should not struggle on the road like this...period. Very concerning. They better get their heads out of their lower region.

The way CC Sabbathia is pitching is most worrisome...so far he has been lights out and taking pressure of the weak Milwaukee pen. This will be a dogfight through the end of the season with hopefully two playoff tesms coming out of the central.

The Cubs decline on offense I think has some connection to the struggles of Fukudome. Soriano will not be effective for some time and may actually take something away from the offense for another month.

The team must start getting serous and tough on the road and winning some of these close games. They have the hitters they just need more intensity at the plate and on the bases.

While a dangerous veteran patient hitter with some pop and speed would be a welcome addition, the team needs another dependable arm in the pen given the short work for Harden, the risk of injury to Wood and the inconistency of both Wood and Marmol.

Aaron, Dunn in right field at Wrigley would be horrible....just horrible. Ask Reds' fans about his defense and they will tell you he has cost them more games in the field than he has won at the plate.

I did see Soriano last night and that was concerning.

Okay, you don't like the power Lee and Ramirez give the Cubs, or lack thereof, but you like Adam Dunn...we get it. But you failed to mention that Aramis missed time in 2005, played in only 123 games, and totaled 92 RBI's.

Who do you call a RBI Machine at 3rd base in the majors? A-Rod? Since 2004, Rodriguez has driven in 568 runs and Aramis has knocked in 481.

Dunn would be nice ... but it's not gonna happen. Realisticaly, we need (and should hope for) a left handed bullpen guy. I doubt we'll see much more than that.

Aaron, I appreciate your passion for the Cubs. You remind me of myself 20 years ago. However, as a form of self preservation, I have divested myself from some of that intensity.
I was considering what you said about adding another bat to this lineup. I would love to add Xavier Nady(but dream of McClouth) and move Fukudome to center. To be honest though, I would take Edmonds' bat over Fukudome's right now. Could Matt Holliday Play center?

Limiting playing time for sake of freshness, resulting in higher productivity while on the field:

Utilize 5-man rotation (with a twist) in the following manner to keep everyone sharp--
Pitch Harden every 6th day. Take turns to allow one guy in the rotation to skip a start and use Marshall in that role for replacement. Go with the best four or five to finish the last 10-games of the season depending on how close the race is.

Soto, Fukudome, Edmonds, Theriot should not exceed 5-games per week. Don't forget DeRosa came up as a shortstop.

Lee and Ramirez should not exceed 25 games per month.

Marmol was simply overused in the first half. The best pickup the Cubs could make now would be a reliever with an ERA under 3.25 - preferably a lefty.

Another bat is not needed. Who would be replaced?

Rich Hill pitched for the Daytona Cubs last night and it looks like he will be down there for awhile longer. Here is the story from http://www.daytonacubs.com/:

Rich Hill started the night solid striking out four of the first six batters faced. But in the second, Garret Olson got a 2-out RBI single, driving in Wilson Ramos, who walked to lead off the inning. The Cubs led 3-1 after two innings complete.

Hill ran into some trouble in the fourth inning. With one out, Wilson Ramos singled to jump start the Miracle offense. Eli Tintor followed with a double and Steve Singleton drove Ramos in with an RBI single cutting the Cubs lead to just one run. Hill continued to labor into the fifth, allowing back to back singles to Yangervis Solarte and Danny Santiesteban. Solarte scored on a sac fly RBI by Juan Portis, tying the game, 3-3.

Mike Phelps came on with one out in the fifth to relieve Hill and walked in one run. Then, Steve Singleton delivered the devastating blow by driving in three on a triple. Phelps continued to struggle by hitting Olson. Then, Solarte pounded a three run homer. The Miracle ended up with eight runs on five hits and three walks in the fifth, taking a 10-3 lead.

6 earned runs in 4.1 innings in Single A is just not acceptable.

Steven, that's an interesting scenario. I love the idea of Harden every 6 days...I doubt that it would be too much rest, and would really allow his goofy mechanics to not hurt his arm.

This talk of adding a big bat is just silly to me. Aaron, Adam Dunn would be the biggest mistake we could make at this time. If you want a bat from the Reds, go get Griffey! Shaky defense, but one of the sweetest swings this game has ever seen. But I digress.

We already have a big bat with shaky defense. His name is Micah Hoffpauir. Maybe you didn't notice it but he just got called up. He only hit .400 when he was up last time. Use the damn farm the way you're supposed to. Play him in right if you want to, he could replace Dome's left-handed bat.

We need another stud in the pen, left handed. Period. And Howry has got to go somewhere, anywhere but Chicago.

IMO everyone needs to re-consider what some choose to feel are our harsh realities (with implied doom) and others consider to be our opportunities full of post season promise. For all intents and purposes and maybe excepting a move or two of the "tweak" kind, WE HAVE OUR TEAM. It may get the job done that we all want or it may not. There is not much purpose served to piss and moan that our pieces are defective. There's something to be said for being full of good cheer and fostering hope--even while airing and criticising poor play by individuals and team funks.

If you think JH has put together a pig, put some lipstick on her and send her out onto the field. If you think that we are better than last year and have a shot, expect the best possible result.

And those wondering how we match up with top competition in this era of increased parity and team depth that comes down to the health of your stars, here's our division comparisons to date. Runs: Cubs 508, Cards 463, Brewers 449. RBI's: Cubs 479, Cards 440, Brewers 434. Home Runs: Brewers 126, Cubs 108, Cards 108. We are at least highly competive offensively looking to the final 66 games. I don't have the stats, but I think we are superior to the Brewers on defense.

Yesterday on the IF-OF topic, I gave an opinion about two keys for our getting to the World Series. One is for Lee, Rameriz, and Soriano to combine for the same 45 HR and 144 RBI in the last 72 games that they had in the first 90 games. The second key is for Z, D, Harden, Marmol and Wood to turn in very strong second halfs. One or two others might step up to greatness and others will make positive contributions, but crunch time is the time for stars to step up. WE HAVE OUR STARS, WE HAVE OUR ROLE PLAYERS, WE HAVE OUR MANAGEMENT, WE HAVE OUR CHEMISTRY. It's time mostly for cheering them on.

I recommend that we assume we have a good chance, that we criticise poor play and effort when it happens, that we applaud good or great play when it happens, and I hope that we will all see much more of the latter from our team. And I think our chances of getting to the post season and succeeding there are very good.

Jim, you bring up good points, and I would say that most people are exactly what you describe. We (mostly) cheer great play by the ballclub, and (mostly) bemoan weak effort, but not to the point of despair or perpetual negativism.

But I also don't think it's out of the question to think JH is going to get another piece of the puzzle if he can, in the form of a LH pitcher for the pen. It's been mentioned in articles in the past few weeks, and by the big beat writers to I would imagine it has some legs.

We *do* have our team, by and large, and I think it's a damn good team. In fact, I think it's the best team I've seen the Cubs put on the field since 1984. And, barring serious injuries, I think we're going to win the division (although it will be tight the whole way), and I think we're going to make the WS. I really do.

There are a few around here that are pessimists. True fact. But the majority of Cub Nation are feeling the same way you are.

Personally, whenever I feel the black clouds of negativity forming, I make a fat cocktail and get happy.

With all due respect to JimK and others, optimism towards the team you root for, is earned through wining. The Red Sox' fans were as pessimistic as the Cubs'. There's was cured with 2 World Series wins, including the greatest playoff comeback in team sports history. The Cubs' recent history? Squandering 2 game series leads in 84 and 03.
It's OK not to be satisfied with the team you see and root for. It's OK to want them to go above and beyond what one might think it would take to win it all. Why not try do build a dominant team that leaves little doubt, instead of one that "could" win? Complacency breeds apathy and last night I saw the offense produce one of the most apathetic games in my life. What do the Cubs' runs scored stats mean, other than they ran up the score on some bad teams, while playing at home. It's all about the wins and loses. To that end, all I have seen is mediocrity for quite some time now. What's their head to head record against their potential playoff opponents the Brewers? The Rays?

JimK...point taken....I think I'm a very very sore loser...I can't take it when we get blown out, but I especially cannot handle it when we lose WINNABLE games, like last night...it's most concerning, given that WS-caliber teams have excellent records in close games...

Scott, I could use a cocktail...I could've used one last night too...my wife did though. She even commented when Howry came in the game---and doesn't even know all the players very well, but she said, "this guy always blows it", and sure enough, he did.....man, even freaking two year olds that don't even know names of players, and can't even speak in full sentences, could probably tell the game was over if they'd watched the Cubs before...it's a broken record, just as it was last year.

Again, though, Neil stated long ago (at least I think it was you Neil) that relievers are such a crapshoot. All you need to do is consider Fuentes lost the closer's job last year to Corpas, and now he's supposedly the hottest reliever on the market. Lidge imploded several times, and lost his closer's role...ditto Wagner...ditto Isringhausen, JJ Putz, Gagne....I mean, these guys were once the hottest commodities on the market, and they all imploded. You can't forecast that like you can a hitter. The shoulder and elbows of pitchers are way too delicate to predict. One day they might be throwing gas at 96-99 mph, and the next, barely hitting 90 mph.

I only threw 92-93 mph, but averaged 88 mph as a starter, and my arm was toast for the next 5 days. My coach wanted me for more games, so he thrust me into the closer's role, and I consistently was in the 92-93 range, but at the same time, the arm does NOT change, and I was still toast, in terms of maintaining the 92-93 velocity.

It's just a crapshoot is all I'm saying....I had to develop other a nice changeup to compensate on the days when I didn't have the velocity. Wuertz had one pitch---a slider...his fastball didn't move, and wasn't in the high 90's, so I don't count that as a second pitch. Howry is kind of the same way. His fastball sits in the low 90's now, and his slider leaves much to be desired. Marmol and Wood have EXCELLENT breaking pitches and fastballs. Marshall has wicked off-speed stuff, an average fastball, and he's a lefty to boot.

WHo the hell would we get for the pen.

Neil, have any ideas? Ascanio's an interesting case. He's been dominant at times, especially in the minors, and he's almost like Marmol with an excellent fastball and above average slider, but every time he comes up, he turns into Rich Hill 2 years ago. Samardzija has pitched very well at AAA, and Ceda has been lights out in AA...both struggled mightily though in AA and high-A respectively. Obviously Petrick is unavailable, and I haven't heard anything about Angel Guzman lately. I wonder if he might be a September call-up. Anyone know?

As for offense...I agree with the stats that were presented. Who can argue stats like that? However, please keep in mind that we posted mind-boggling numbers in April and May in terms of offense, and have fallen far short of that production in June and July.

I LOVE the idea of Nady...who can play both LF and RF...I don't know about CF, but he seems athletic enough. I, too, would probably send Hendry a personal Thank You note, and express my regrets for criticism if he's able to do that, or land McLouth. Perhaps we could swing a deal for both Nady/McLouth and Marte. I'd probably DFA Eyre, or try to trade him before that. I'd probably offer Colvin, Jake Fox, Marshall, and Wuertz for that tandem. Both Marte and Nady don't figure in their future, so it makes sense. I think it might even just take Colvin and Marshall actually. We still have Hill as a wild card though, as I believe he'll return to form, and he's got a better fastball than Marshall, which is huge.

I loved the Harden deal, save for Gallagher, as it got rid of spare parts that were blocked in the majors---Murton was blocked, Patterson was blocked, and Donaldson was blocked. I understand including Gallagher as Beane probably required one major league ready starter. Therefore, getting rid of guys on the 40 man and replacing with highly productive players in the lower rungs of the minors that are producing so they can be called up in September makes a lot of sense.

That's precisely why I'd trade Jake Fox, Marshall, Harben, Pignatiello, Wuertz, and Eyre, and place Chad Fox on the 60-day to free up spots for DuBois, Torres, Scales, Ceda, Atkins, Doug Deeds, and Wellington Castillo...and if you don't want to put Castillo on the 40-man, you could always throw in Veal.

Obviously, September call-ups will provide a HUGE boost to our pen, with Samardzija, Ceda, and possibly Atkins contributing. But that is in September, and we need to think about help for now. As mentioned, Nady and Marte could potentially solve all of our problems in one deal, and then some other minor deals should clear 40-man spots for September call-ups.

Anyway, what do you guys think?