Cubs News

"What would you trade for Brian Roberts now? It's usually not fair to judge a trade only in 20-20 hindsight. But what about a trade that didn't get made? Barely six weeks after the Baltimore Orioles publicly declared talks of a trade of their leadoff hitter to the Cubs dead, the Cubs still aren't getting anything from their leadoff spot. But that doesn't mean a deal for Roberts would've put them in any better position through 34 games than they're in now."

"How good are the Cubs? How bad is the baseball they're playing right now? They're about to find out quick. In a much-anticipated series -- perhaps much more anticipated in these parts about two weeks ago -- the Arizona Diamondbacks bring the best record in the major leagues to Wrigley Field, looking to pile on against a team they swept out of the playoffs last October."

"Does this series mean anything? Of course it does. It's only early May, but at what point do you stop dismissing every series as unimportant? The Cubs need to do something to remind themselves they're a good ballclub. Winning two of three against the Diamondbacks would go a long way in the recollection department. The Cubs also need to remind themselves they have huge goals this season. What better route to self-awareness than through a good performance against the Diamondbacks, who are the best team in baseball right now?"

"You don't talk about playoff previews in May, especially not in Chicago. You do get the occasional rematch, however. The Cubs have themselves one of those this weekend at Wrigley Field. There's one big catch that could get in the way of the Cubs enjoying the visit from the Arizona Diamondbacks, who buzzed through them in a startling three-game sweep in the first round of the 2007 playoffs. It's the young Diamondbacks, not the veteran Cubs, who are playing with the confidence of an emerging force with staying power."

"Cubs Chairman Crane Kenney said Thursday the proposed renovations to Wrigley Field would be partially funded by "incremental" sales tax and amusement tax increases at the ballpark. The Cubs are hoping to sell Wrigley Field to the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority separately from the team but have had difficulty gaining political support."

"Those changes manager Lou Piniella mentioned Tuesday may come sooner than expected if the Cubs don't snap out of their recent stretch of nine losses in 13 games. That could spell bad news for Felix Pie, who may be headed back to Triple-A Iowa to work on his swing."

"Carlos Zambrano was ecstatic Wednesday in Cincinnati after learning he would be facing Randy Johnson in Sunday's series finale of the playoff rematch between the Cubs and Arizona. Power pitchers love facing power pitchers and young pitchers love facing legends, so "Big Z" eagerly anticipates his second career matchup against the "Big Unit." "Sweet," Zambrano said."

"Jon Lieber became only the second pitcher in Chicago Cubs history to give up four homers in an inning, and Joey Votto connected three times in all as the Cincinnati Reds powered their way to a 9-0 victory on Wednesday. Votto started a four-homer second inning off Lieber (2-2), who was making his first start of the season. Adam Dunn and Paul Bako also had solo shots, and Jerry Hairston Jr.'s two-run homer completed the history-matching rally. Votto and the Reds weren't even close to finished for the afternoon."

"The seven home runs were nice. The seven shutout innings from Edinson Volquez were great. Joey Votto's three-home run game was sweet. But the thing the Reds were happiest about Wednesday was winning the series. The 9-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs before a crowd of 28,418 at Great American Ball Park gave the Reds the series, two games to one."

"Derrek Lee is looking in the mirror when it comes to what went wrong on the Cubs' 2-4 trip to St. Louis and Cincinnati. But it's a group picture that's staring back out. ''We haven't swung the bats like we came out of the gates doing,'' Lee said. ''I had a terrible road trip. That's the biggest thing: The offense just stopped scoring as many runs and put a little bit more pressure on our pitching.''"

"Unless Wednesday's two-inning start by Jon Lieber plays a bigger role than expected during internal discussions the next two days, the Cubs won't carry 13 pitchers on the roster when they activate reliever Scott Eyre from the disabled list Saturday, general manager Jim Hendry said. Lou Piniella said this week he wouldn't rule out the possibility of keeping an extra pitcher, and if the club decides rookie Sean Gallagher should start next week against San Diego, that might yet be an option. But more likely a pitcher, possibly Gallagher, will be sent down to make room for Eyre (elbow), who was to make his final minor-league rehab appearance Wednesday."

"''It's a little frustrating. You don't want to give back what you've gained,'' said first baseman Derrek Lee, whose Cubs were jockeying with Arizona for the best record in baseball barely two weeks ago. Since then, it has been a 4-9 tailspin during which they've lost four straight series, including two against important division rivals, and had every area of the game break down at some point -- bottoming out, so far, with a 9-0 loss at Cincinnati on Wednesday in which the Reds clubbed seven home runs."

"Chicago Cubs fans who love Wrigley Field's name and historic character will find their passions protected by the state if it swings a deal to buy the North Side ballpark from Tribune Co., former Gov. James Thompson said Wednesday. "We certainly would want the name to stay Wrigley," said Thompson, who is chairman of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, the state/city agency that is in negotiations to purchase the park. Asked whether the authority would sell partial naming rights so that the Wrigley Field name would be linked to another corporate moniker, he said, "I presume there are people out there who think so highly of Wrigley Field that they would want to be associated with it and therefore would be willing to pay for that privilege."

"The mood in the Cubs' clubhouse turned from sweet to sour in a few hours Wednesday after their 2-4 trip. "It's not very good," losing pitcher Jon Lieber said. Manager Lou Piniella didn't want to discuss the upcoming series against the Diamondbacks after the 9-0 loss to the Reds, preferring to get this one out of his system before starting a 10-game homestand. "I haven't thought about it yet, my friend," Piniella said. "Nope. We'll worry about Phoenix, or Arizona, Friday. Right now I'm going to take a nice shower and I'm going to enjoy a good day off." In Louspeak, whenever the term "my friend" is used, it usually means he would like the news conference to end."

" Alfonso Soriano got the day off Wednesday, except for a pinch-hitting appearance in the Reds' 9-0 blowout, depriving fans of seeing the two leadoff men with the lowest on-base percentage in the one-hole in the National League. Coming into Wednesday's game, Corey Patterson's .259 OBP leading off was the worst in the league, followed by Soriano's .268. General manager Jim Hendry said he's comfortable with manager Lou Piniella's decision to keep Soriano atop the order."

"The seven home runs off three Cubs pitchers in Wednesday's 9-0 loss to Cincinnati traveled more than a half-mile and threatened to increase the hole in the ozone layer. Reds rookie first baseman Joey Votto smacked three home runs himself as Cincinnati bombed Jon Lieber in his first start since he replaced Rich Hill in the rotation. "He got hit pretty hard," manager Lou Piniella said in the understatement of the day."

"The glimpse of offensive gumption the Reds showed Monday was nowhere to be found Tuesday. Chicago Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano shut out the home team and the Reds mustered only four hits in a 3-0 defeat at Great American Ball Park before 21,153 fans. The Reds snapped a five-game losing skid Monday night but returned to the "L" column once again after stalling at the plate. They dropped to 13-21 overall."

"With the roster he has, he probably maxed out the options Tuesday, with Felix Pie in center field and Cedeno at second. Aramis Ramirez was back in the lineup at third after missing three games because of a wrist injury. That sent Mike Fontenot, who committed an error Monday in what looked like an ill-advised effort to rush a double-play try on a grounder, and Mark DeRosa, who committed one two innings later that led to two runs, to the bench."

"The Cubs don't have a powerhouse team, they don't have as soft a road to the playoffs as a year ago and they don't have the luxury of being able to make mistakes and still expect to win, says their manager. But they do have Carlos Zambrano, and the Cubs' ace made a lot of their recent troubles go away for one night in Cincinnati with three-hit pitching through eight innings -- so good he covered for another low-scoring night and another pair of errors to win 3-0."

"Cubs hitting coach Gerald Perry expects to hear soon from Major League Baseball disciplinarian Bob Watson about a possible fine for his ejection from Monday night's game. Perry was ejected in the second inning when he questioned umpire Tim Welke's strike zone following a called third strike on Mike Fontenot. There once was a time when managers and coaches could disagree with an umpire's calls without the fear of being tossed, but those days appear to be long gone."

"What concerns Piniella the most is the Cubs' fielding. They committed two big errors Monday night that contributed to five unearned runs in a 5-3 loss to the Reds. Both of the guilty parties, Mark DeRosa and Mike Fontenot, were out of the lineup Tuesday. "That's an area that definitely needs improvement, and it's my job to put people out there who can catch the ball," Piniella said. "I can't do it in every position, but I'm going to do it in as many positions as I can.""

"Fukudome is the best defensive right-fielder they've had in many years, perhaps since Andre Dawson, so moving him to center isn't the way to go. I agree he could handle it, and that Cedeno should get in the lineup more often, but leave Fukudome in right, where he feels most comfortable."

"With the Cubs in the middle of their annual May malaise, it was left to Carlos Zambrano to right the ship Tuesday night at Great American Ball Park. Zambrano did exactly what Lou Piniella needed him to do, throwing eight shutout innings to lead the Cubs to a 3-0 victory over Cincinnati."

"The Reds' five-game losing streak did not die easily - not easily at all. The Chicago Cubs loaded the bases twice against closer Francisco Cordero in the ninth inning but did not score as the Reds hung on 5-3 before a crowd of 20,289 at Great American Ball Park. "It got a little edgy at the end," Adam Dunn said. "But I don't care how we do it as long as we win.""

"Since Wood tied Roger Clemens' major-league record with 20 strikeouts against the Houston Astros on May 6, 1998 -- in just his fifth big-league start -- nobody else has done it. In fact, when he struck out 13 in his next start against the Arizona Diamondbacks, it gave him the outright two-game record. The game carved a place for Wood in Cubs lore, established him as the next Clemens or Dwight Gooden and remains the definitive moment that makes all the injuries, comebacks and setbacks that filled much of the last 10 years so heartbreaking and inspiring to Cubs fans -- and Wood himself."

"Trying to solve some of their recent pitching problems, the Cubs might carry a 13th pitcher temporarily, manager Lou Piniella said. Left-hander Scott Eyre, who has been on the disabled list with an elbow injury since spring training, is expected to return from a rehab assignment this week, possibly by the end of the series in Cincinnati. That will allow the Cubs to stretch out Sean Marshall -- currently the only lefty in the bullpen -- in preparation for a possible start in the wake of Rich Hill's demotion to the minors over the weekend...A 13th pitcher likely would mean a demotion for struggling center fielder Felix Pie to continue work on mechanics changes Piniella and the staff are trying to make with him."

"You couldn't blame this one on the pitching. But that doesn't mean the Cubs don't have problems. You can add a few more to the list after a 5-3 loss Monday night in which the Cincinnati Reds didn't score an earned run and the Cubs reached base 15 times on hits, walks and hit batters -- and came away empty in the ninth after loading the bases with one out."

" Ryan Dempster suffered his first loss Monday in five decisions, 5-3 to the Reds, despite allowing only four hits while striking out seven in a six-inning outing. "It's still a loss, that's the biggest thing," Dempster said. "I had a chance to pick some of my teammates up and make a big pitch and get out of some situations, and I didn't do it. It's frustrating. We had chances to get back in it, but unfortunately it didn't happen.""

"Cubs manager Lou Piniella will rearrange his rotation again next weekend when the Cubs take on red-hot Arizona in a rematch of last year's NL division series. Jason Marquis had originally been on track to pitch Saturday, but Piniella decided to push him back a few days after Marquis' lackluster outing Sunday in St. Louis. Thursday's off day gave him the chance to skip Marquis. "We're going to pitch our top three starters and work around the other two," Piniella said before Monday's game. "Which basically means [ Ted] Lilly will start the series on Friday, followed by [ Ryan] Dempster and [ Carlos] Zambrano, and then Marquis and [ Jon] Lieber (will pitch next Monday and Tuesday against San Diego).""

"After ripping Cubs fans last month, Reds announcer Marty Brennaman proved he's an equal-opportunity offender, proclaiming during a loss to Atlanta on Sunday that Cincinnati "may never win another game." But the Reds proved him wrong Monday night with a 5-3 win over the Cubs before 20,889 at Great American Ball Park, scoring five unearned runs off Ryan Dempster."

"Perhaps the most amazing aspect of Kerry Wood's record-tying 20-strikeout game of May 6, 1998, was that the 20-year-old rookie didn't really cash in on his newfound fame. That's almost unheard of in this day and age, when even the smallest accomplishment by a professional athlete is often treated as the impetus to a big payday. "I just tried to stay focused on what I had to do and limit all that stuff off the field," Wood said on Monday night, the eve of the 10th anniversary of the game of his life."

"Jon Lieber has been a team guy in the early part of the season as he began the year in the bullpen. He's adopting the same approach now that he has taken Rich Hill's spot in the rotation. Hill was demoted to Class AAA Iowa on Saturday. "I feel good, physically and mentally," said Lieber, who starts Wednesday at Cincinnati. "I necessarily don't like the circumstances it revolved itself around. I want to see Rich get back here as soon as possible.""

"There was an interesting development Sunday during the Cubs' early workouts: Ronny Cedeno was taking flyballs in center field. "I don't know, but Lou told me," Cedeno said, referring to manager Lou Piniella. Cedeno is a middle infielder by trade, but he's stuck behind Ryan Theriot at shortstop and, for the most part, Mark DeRosa at second base. During winter ball, Cedeno played some center field, and the Cubs ran him out there a few times in spring training."

"Tony La Russa has stumbled upon a new definition for "damage" in the No. 2 spot in his batting order. Its name is Adam Kennedy. The Cardinals second baseman, without a home run since last Aug. 7, became a painful pebble in the Chicago Cubs' cleats during Sunday night's come-from-behind 5-3 victory before 44,969 at Busch Stadium. The Cubs never found a way to retire Kennedy. As a result, the Cardinals secured the three-game series with the benefit of one extra-base hit, Todd Wellemeyer's five-inning start and a four-man bullpen tag team."

"A recent breakthrough in gene therapy at the University of Pennsylvania is doing more to fire up Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee than a hanging curveball. For the first time doctors have been able to use the process to restore limited vision in patients with the rare degenerative disease that afflicts Lee's young daughter: Leber's congenital amaurosis (LCA). ''It's exciting. It's huge,'' said Lee, who has raised awareness and hundreds of thousands of dollars for research through his ''Project 3000'' since his daughter was diagnosed late in 2006."

"''When things start to go out of whack, you've got to have some areas to cover yourself with,'' he said. ''Nobody goes 162 games with a 25-man roster or a 12-man pitching staff.'' A few hours later, the Cubs made the GM's point when up-and-down Jason Marquis (1-2) hit one of his down notes in an ugly start against his old team, blowing an early 2-0 lead in an eventual 5-3 loss at Busch Stadium."

"It was midafternoon just a couple of blocks from new Busch Stadium and a Cubs fan was leaning out the passenger side of a vehicle, flaunting the Cubs logo on his shirt. On the corner a legalized ticket-seller yelled at the passing car: "We love the Cubs. Y'all bring us money." Less than a block away, a fan wore a Cardinals red T-shirt with the taunting question, "Got rings?" in obvious reference to the 10 owned by St. Louis since the Cubs last won in 1908."

"ESPN analyst Joe Morgan asked manager Lou Piniella during Sunday night's telecast if he had contemplated moving Alfonso Soriano down in the order. Piniella didn't chide Morgan but pointed out that he has been asked about it "for quite a while." "I played with Bobby Bonds in New York, and we traded for him from the Giants for Bobby Murcer," Piniella told Morgan. "And we put him in the 4 hole, and boy, he floundered..."I think Soriano is the same type of player as Bobby Bonds.""

"Finding a way to get Ronny Cedeno's bat into the lineup hasn't been easy for Cubs manager Lou Piniella, who already has a reliable double-play combination in Ryan Theriot and Mark DeRosa. But with Cedeno taking fly balls in center field four hours before Sunday night's game at Busch Stadium, it appeared Piniella might have found a solution."

"Sunday night's game at Busch Stadium began as a virtual carbon copy of Rich Hill's first-inning implosion two nights earlier, only this time it was Jason Marquis playing the role of struggling starter with no clue about the strike zone. And like Friday night, it ended with the Cubs losing 5-3 to St. Louis, leaving them with three consecutive losing series as they head to Cincinnati."

""We won it a couple years ago, and we're horse[bleep]," Guillen said sarcastically before the Sox (14-15) lost to the Blue Jays 4-3 and fell below .500 for the first time since April 3. " The Cubs haven't won in [100] years, and they're the [bleeping] best. [Bleep] it, we're good. [Bleep] everybody. We're horse[bleep], and we're going to be horse[bleep] the rest of our lives, no matter how many World Series we win. "We have the worst owner (Jerry Reinsdorf). The guy's got seven [bleeping] rings, and he's the [bleeping] horse[bleep] owner.""

"During a mini state-of-the-stat chat Saturday, Cubs manager Lou Piniella urged fans to look at the big picture instead of just the snapshots. "One thing that I've learned about Chicago is that you're either really up or you're really down," Piniella said before Saturday's 9-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. "I've come to learn that in a very short period of time. You've got to stay a little more even, especially here earlier in the year as you're sorting things out." Piniella cited the areas he felt need to be addressed. The Cubs took care of one of them Saturday by sending left-handed starter Rich Hill to Class AAA Iowa."

"Last year's rule resurfaced Saturday as this season's exception. An out-of-control inning left the Cardinals and their starting pitcher out of position to deal with the Chicago Cubs. For three innings, Kyle Lohse was good enough to tease with what one teammate described as no-hit stuff. The fourth became a frustrating maze made up of six runs and six hits, including three for extra bases, that allowed the Cubs to even the teams' three-game weekend series with a 9-3 decision."

"The Cubs have declared a cease-fire in the latest battle of a war with rooftop club owners that got downright ugly a few years ago. It happened after holdout club owner Tom Gramatis agreed to honor a 2004 agreement that requires the clubs to share 17 percent of their profits with the team in exchange for the right to cash in on their bird's-eye views of Wrigley Field. The profit-sharing agreement covers a pair of Gramatis-owned rooftop clubs at 3617 and 3619 N. Sheffield. "

"Reed Johnson wasn't thinking about the inevitable crash when he was flying toward the wall. The only thing on his mind was the ball. And when he caught up with it while nearly simultaneously colliding headfirst with the outfield wall, his adrenaline was pumping too fast for him to realize what a great catch he had made. It wasn't until later, when he was able to see it on video, that Johnson, who was playing center field at the time, realized what the fuss was about. But his favorite part of the catch wasn't the catch; it was seeing his teammates' reactions to the catch."

"Cubs cleanup hitter Aramis Ramirez missed the game Saturday and is questionable for tonight's game after getting hit on the wrist by a pitch Friday night. ''It's a little better, but I can't play,'' said Ramirez, who initially feared the wrist might be broken. X-rays showed it was not, but he had trouble with his grip Saturday."

"Barely a month into what some expected to be a breakout season for Rich Hill, the struggling Cubs left-hander was optioned to Class AAA Iowa to find the command that's been missing since at least his playoff start last October. Despite indications the move was coming, Hill seemed caught off-guard by it but vowed to take a constructive approach to his demotion and return quickly. ''Obviously, it's difficult to go down there,'' said Hill, who became emotional at times during a brief talk with media. ''I haven't been right since the beginning of spring training.''"

"Piniella spoke less than an hour after the Cubs sent struggling starter Rich Hill and his 18 walks in 19 2/3 innings to Class AAA Iowa to work through command problems that have plagued him since the start of spring training. Then it was time for the Cubs' other struggling left-hander to take a turn at some repair work. And Ted Lilly (2-4) turned in his longest outing of the season, seven solid innings, for his third straight quality start."

"Wood is no iron man. His limbs have been as bent as an auto crash-test dummy's. He is 30, but he must feel 35 or 40. Which is young for a normal guy but not for someone who was once a marvel and a superhero. A few days ago, Wood reminisced about the 10th anniversary of his amazing 20-strikeout game, which is coming up on Tuesday. He couldn't recall every detail but did quite a few."

"Rich Hill’s demotion to Triple-A Iowa was by no means a surprise after Lou Piniella telegraphed the move following Friday’s 11-inning loss to St. Louis. But any time a player enjoys much success as Hill has had in the second half of 2006 and in ’07, it’s difficult to believe that it’s actually happening. “He didn’t take it well,” Piniella said. “He understands, but he was more upset with himself than anything else. He’s a good kid, he really is. He’s been worrying a lot. He needs to relax and just go pitch. I think he’ll go down to Iowa, get a few starts and I think you’ll see him back here pitching well for us.”"