Or: The One Where We Gloat a Little

Cub fans are so fickle.  Derrek Lee spent the majority of the '08 season -- and the '07 one, for that matter -- delivering quality defensive plays coupled with the occasional offensive burst, resulting in statistics that probably placed him at just above the middle of the pack.  And yet Cub fans wanted to ice him.  Especially after the '08 campaign, in which he grounded into a ridiculous number of double plays -- as if that was some kind of empirical data that proved he was on a rapid statistical decline.

What was true about '07 and '08 D.Lee was that he shouldn't have been batting third in the lineup.  His numbers were more those of a #5 or even a #6 hitter -- 20-odd homeruns, 30-odd doubles, good AVG, good OBP, the Pre-'09 Lee was born to protect. 

Worse, we wanted to be rid of him in favor of a guy who was the picture of a journeyman minor leaguer, Micah Hoffpauir.  The Hoff came along and had a ridiculous '08 season -- at the age of 28, and in his third attempt at Triple A -- and, thanks to one game in which he hit 2 homeruns, his numbers in 73 at bats in '08 weren't bad at the major league level either.  Factor in Lee's 8-figure contract and his 27 double plays, and that was all she wrote from the fans' perspective.

Thank God Cub fans do not run the organization.  Now, the ironic thing was that, in calling for his dismissal, some fans actually were suggesting that the Cubs could deal him to San Diego (Lee would probably enjoy playing there, despite having once engaged in fisticuffs with a pitcher from that team) for their younger, less expensive, more talented first baseman.  It's sort of like how Boston beat writers used to lambaste Ted Williams before suggesting he be dealt to New York for Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra. 

But while Hoffpauir shockingly* struggled in '09, Derrek Lee had the second best season of his career.  Lee delivered 35 homeruns - the second most for him ever - 111 RBI - a career best on a team with a struggling offense - 36 doubles, and he batted .306 - third best for him - with a second-best .972 OPS. 

(*may be dripping with sarcasm)

In other words, wow.  It's too bad Lee wasted such a great season on such a mediocre Cubs team, but at least he was surrounded by better players than in '05 when he should have won the MVP award. 

Does that mean, then, that fans will be calling for his trade this winter?  So far not yet.  Yet this is probably the time to make that trade if it's at all possible.  Lee has only one year left on his current contract, he will not match his totals from '09, and odds are he will also not be brought back due to his age.  If -- big if -- the Cubs can capitalize on his current value, perhaps they should consider swinging a deal.

Still, despite his success this past season Lee probably doesn't have a ton of trade value, and he continues to hold the ace-up-his-sleeve of the no-trade clause.  Therefore, it's safe to say that my wife's most-beloved Cub will be back for one more year.  Odds are, he will not hit 30 homeruns, or drive in 100 runs.  But if he can provide reliable defense and consistently put the ball into play, then he'll be worth his contract -- and he'll also be a hell of an improvement on the no-names who followed Mark Grace and proceeded Lee back in 2004.

Find low prices on Cubs tickets at Wrigley Field

Or: Derrek Lee: the best Cubs first basemen of our lifetimes

Think for a minute about what the Cubs first base situation was like before Derrek Lee came along.  They'd spent the previous season, the '03 season, turning to spare parts and future busts before eventually making a trade for a bad-pitch slugging sausage hitter.  In 2003, the Cubs had gotten 365 at bats from the well-liked but past-his-expiration date Eric Karros (.286 AVG, .340 OBP, 16 doubles, 12 homers, .786 OPS), along with 202 at bats from the hole-in-his-swing-the-size-of-Ohio prospect Hee Seop Choi (.218 AVG, .350 OBP, 17 doubles, 8 homers, .771 OPS), and then, at last, 110 at bats from The Big Sausage Randall Simon (.282 AVG, .318 OBP, 3 doubles, 6 homers, .804 OPS).  That basically equates to 36 doubles, 26 homers, and 3 roster spots.

The previous two seasons had the Cubs relying on Ass-Eatin' Fred McGriff, Matt Stairs, and Ron Coomer.  I'm pretty sure that nobody here will contest that Lee was better than those jobbers.  But this is where the premise of this article gets tricky.

Ending in the 2000 season, and starting way back in 1988, the Cubs had a single first baseman -- a guy who'd spend more time playing at first base than any other Cub in a century, Mark Grace.

Grace was a guy who'd lead the team in the clubhouse, and who spent the entire decade of the 90's outhitting -- and out-doubling -- every other active player in baseball.  He'd be consistent, reliable, and he'd leave the Cubs with a career .308 AVG.  The only problem was that he wasn't really insanely productive, which is sort of a must-have for a first baseman.  He'd never, ever drive in 100 runs in a season -- although any stat geek could tell you to blame the guys batting in front of him (primarily Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg and later Sammy Sosa in his prime, but I digress).  As you may recall, not too long ago I was told that the apparent best way to measure the success of a hitter is through the wRC stat, and while Grace had 90 or more 10 times in his career with the Cubs (out of 13 opportunities) he only exceeded 100-or-more 5 times (1993, 108.8, 1995 109.7, 1997 108.5, 1998 112.9, 1999 111.1). 

Derrek Lee, meanwhile, is soon-to-be in his 7th season of having 100-or-more wRCs, with his best years coming in 2005 (151.8 ), 2007 (113.4), and soon-to-be this year.  Lee also surely would have been able to add 2006 to his totals, but he missed a lot of time.

But looking at the more traditional numbers, Lee has a career .919 OPS as a Cub while Grace never once reached that number, not even in his best season.  Lee is also a slugging first baseman who, in six seasons with the Cubs has already hit more homeruns than Grace did in his career there. 

And this is all ignoring that one of Lee's six seasons was spent primarily on the DL.  (F**k you very much, Raffy Furcal.)  It's true, though, that next year is likely to be Lee's last with the Cubs.  It will be his 7th season in Chicago, he'll turn 35 before the year is over, and it seems probable that the Cubs will look to go younger at first base.  But still, it's either a testament to Lee's ability as a player or perhaps the Cubs' inability to field a competent first baseman that Derrek might be the best to wear a Cubs uniform since Ernie Banks made the switch back in the 60's. 

And no matter how you look at it, Derrek Lee kicks serious ass, especially this year. 

Jeezus!  Derrek Lee is apparently serious about having an incredible 2009 season, even while the Cubs hopes continue to fade into dust.  For the second time in two days, Derrek hit 2 homers in a game -- again being responsible for the bulk of the team's offense, and elevating his season totals to 31 homeruns, 96 RBI, and a .298 AVG.  On top of that, Lee has only hit into 9 double plays so far this year.

That means that, with more than 20 games still remaining, Derrek has now come within 1 homerun and 2 RBI of his second-best production not only as a Cub, but in his major league career.  But he's still a long way off from the MVLee year of 2005.

I would, again, like to take this time to focus on the man-love that many of you were feeling for Micah Hoffpauir at this time last year.  The Hoff, you wanted to note, was a classic masher.  He'd had an amazing season in Iowa, he'd had a good 70-or-so at bats in the majors, and many of you were ready to crown him the heir to Derrek, who was a washed up hack, a double-play hit-into-er*, whose power had evaporated and defense was overrated.  Derrek was done for, Hoff was the wave of the future, and you took plenty of opportunities to express that opinion.

(*may not actually be a word)

It was almost as if many of you had never before seen a mediocre player have an explosive year before, or something.  It was a fool-me-twice scenario, and many people played the fool.  Even then, I -- that's right, me, baby! -- suggested you exercise caution.  I pointed out that there was a long history of first basemen having huge minor league years in their late 20's, and none of them turned into MVPs -- and few ever managed to turn into MLR's (Major League Regulars).  I noted that if Hoff was such a hot commodity, some crazy GM would have been blowing up Hendry's phone all winter long to pry him away.  I pointed out that Derrek's double play madness was a tremendous fluke and he'd be unlikely to fall off the offensive cliff in 2009.  And still people wanted Hoffpauir. 

Well, my friends, I am hardly a baseball genius.  I may not be a statisticals expert, or a master of baseball strategy, but I do think I generally have a helpful heaping of common sense, and it just made absolutely no sense on any world that Hoffpauir would be a better player than Lee.  Looks like I may have known what I was talking about ... this time, at least.  I also thought that Alfonso Soriano would bat north of .250 and Milton Bradley would be just the slugger the Cubs were looking for.  Turns out I'm a moron after all.

Speaking of being wrong about stuff, I'd also been annoyed back before '07 when from the confines of his hospital bed Jim Hendry signed Ted Lilly to a big deal.  I'd thought Barry Zito was the way to go.  Laws, I was wrong.  Lilly has gone on to be perhaps the best free agent pitcher signing the Cubs have ever made, and he demonstrated some of that ass-kickedness** today by tossing 6 innings while striking out 7 and allowing only 2 hits, 3 walks, and 2 runs to score.  And amazingly enough, the bullpen would follow suit and shut down the Pirates.

(**also not a word, but probably should be)

So, there we have it.  An easy win for the Cubs.  As mentioned earlier, I think Rob is in Pittsburgh.  Hopefully he'll find the time to contribute about the game, assuming he saw it.  Either way, Derrek Lee is a golden gawd.

Felipe Paulino (2-6, 6.96 ERA) vs. Ted Lilly (9-8, 3.35 ERA)

Story Lines

Today we continue with our look at the Cubs in 2010. This list is not the end all, be all, but it is a quick look to take our minds off the 2009 version.

Starting Pitcher - First base (Derrek Lee)

Contract 2009: 13.25 Million

Contract 2010: 13 Million

Stats 2009: .294/.373/.545 with 26 HR, 30 2B and 88 RBI.

Lee is easily turning in his best season since 2005 for the Cubs. Too bad that it is also another where the Cubs are probably not going to make the postseason. So, maybe we need to D-Lee to struggle to get there? Well, anyway....Lee has played better than anybody could imagine, including all those Micah Hoffpauir lovers out there. I've been using this one site for contracts, and it says that Lee is actually getting a pay decrease next year. I'm not sure if that is correct, but at least he will probably not get a huge raise. Still, he is going make another 13 million next year, and it will leave the Cubs with little contract flexibility.

He's also entering the final year of his deal, so maybe he is due for one last monster season. Then, he can lead the Cubs to....well you get the picture. I don't see any problems bringing Lee back next year, because the Cubs really don't have another option. Jake Fox? eh..Micah Hoffpauir?...Aaron Miles....Ok, I'm joking about Miles, but still the Cubs could do far worse at 1B as long as his neck holds up next year.

Running Totals
2010 Payroll: 57.8 Million

2010 Average: 11.5 Million (Five Players)

Who's Hot

Koyie Hill - Hill has five RBI during his last five games to go along with his .438 average (7-for-16). Geo get used to the bench the rest of the year.

Mike Fontenot - Wow, another member of the underachieving club is moving up with four hits in his last 11 at bats.
 
Who's Not

Ryan Theriot - It's the end of the year, so Theriot is wearing down a little. He's only got six hits in the last six games, which is good for a .207 average.

Conclusions

Labor Day is almost here, so do yourself a favor and have a good time over the next few days. These games are actually winnable, so the Cubs might be fun to watch.

Well, that was fun.

A lot happened in last night's game. Working backwards: Soriano saw time at 2nd and 3rd in the 10th inning; Derrek Lee hit his 21st home run in the top of the 10th inning, after Kevin Gregg blew a three-run lead despite getting two outs and two strikes on the third hitter; of Carlos Marmol's first 17 pitches in the 8th inning, three were for strikes (he would get two strikeouts from that point); and Jeff Samardzija gave up three notable runs in 1.2 innings pitched in relief of an injured Carlos Zambrano.

Oh yeah, and the Cubs won.

This was a pretty wild game, a game that puts the Cubs in a bit of a bind today. With almost everyone in the 'pen having gotten some serious work, it seems like we can almost guarantee appearances from Jeff Stevens and Sean Marshall in today's game.

Speaking of guarantees, I can also almost guarantee that Jeff Samardzija will be sent to Triple A Iowa as soon as the Cubs add newly-acquired SP Tom Gorzelanny to the active roster. Furthermore, I hope he stays there for the rest of the season and figures out how the hell he's supposed to pitch. It's clear that this kid is not ready for the bigs, and in that case, why is he here?

Other storylines we'll need to keep an eye on going forward: what's up with Big Z's back? Zambrano left last night's game after three innings with back tightness. He claimed it wasn't serious at the time, but who knows what effect this will have on an already thin rotation?

Another injured Cub in last night's game was Aramis Ramirez. Rammy got dizzy after being hit in the "meaty part" of the forearm with a pitch. The dizziness thing sounds more like exhaustion or dehydration than anything serious, so we'll see if he plays in today's game.

Ideally, Ryan Dempster pitches seven innings today, Stevens and Marshall close it out, and the offense scores a bunch of runs. For some reason, I have a feeling it'll be a little more exciting than that.

Go Cubs!

^{Javier Vasquez (5-7, 3.05 ERA) vs. Carlos Zambrano (5-5, 4.09 ERA)}

Story Lines

Tonight we were supposed to have a rematch of June 22nd, a night that the Cubs would like to forget. Vasquez blanked the Cubs for 6 2/3 innings, despite giving up nine hits and two walks. That was until Ryan Dempster went and broke his toe.  Those were there old Cubs. The new Cubs are much more dangerous (Ok, I know this is a reach, but they have won 6 of 8 ).

The Cubs pulled within two games of the Cardinals last night, and have a chance to gain ground or at least catch the Brewers with a victory over the Braves. The Cubs did not have a lot of scoring chances late last night, so it would be nice to see the offense pick up a little more tonight and put the game away early. The Cubs have played four less games than the Cardinals, which makes up for the 2 games in the standings.

Big Z will go on short rest now that Dempster was moved to the DL. It looks like Kevin Hart will start the series final tomorrow afternoon now. Now sure how long Dempster will be out, but hopefully he will only miss the one start and the Cubs can reshuffle the rotation after the All-Star Break.

Who's Hot

Derrek Lee - Lee isn't quite the 2005 version, but he has been better than everybody else. He cranked his 16th HR last night in the first inning. Hopefully, Lee can keep it with Aramis Ramirez coming back.

Kosuke Fukudome - It sure looks like the move to the top of the lineup has helped Kosuke for the time being. He picked up two more hits last night, 1 run and 1 RBI.

Who's Not

Aramis Ramirez - What have you done for me lately? He misses two months and goes 0-for-4. Can we please trade him right now? Seriously, he's washed up. It would've been great to see him get a hit, but I'm sure he will be back hitting soon.

Conclusions

Watching the Cubs this season hasn't been easy, but they have been able to hang around. Now is the time for the Cubs to make a move to the top of the division.

Let's face it Cub's fans this season has been a disappointment thus far. There is a good chance the Cubs may need more than Aramis to get out of this funk. After last season, I thought the Cubs needed to add some pieces to prove they truly deserved the title of World Series contender.                                                   

Their most tradable player was Mark DeRosa. There was a huge belief that he peaked and it was very unlikely that he would not match last year's output. I agreed with that belief. A player who never hit more than 13 home runs in the season and before the age of 30 didn't hit double digit home runs in his career was probably would not to have season that matched '08. In hindsight, the reason why they traded DeRosa made some sense. The Cubbies also dumped Jason Marquis (somehow one of the leaders in wins.) Chicago was trying to gain the pieces to trade for Peavy. Given Zambrano's emotional and recent physical issues, it was understood that Hendry felt the Cubs needed a true ace. 

Another incredibly more important issue Hendry had to answer was the Cubs need for another bat.  His belief that the Cubs lineup was too right handed bought in Aaron Miles and the infamous Milton Bradley. Here is where things go really interested. In addition to these acquisitions, the Cubs let go of Jim Edmonds, Daryle Ward, and Hank White. Jim Edmonds was crucial for the Cubs last season. He had two clutch home runs against his former team; the hated St. Louis Cardinals. He also brought a number of exciting catches with him. However, he was at the end of the road, and there was no way the Cubs were going to resign him. Daryle Ward had a number clutch hits, but Micah Hoffpauir and Jake Fox more than replaced him. Henry Blanco on the other hand was the only man in history who could pull of a feathered mullet and tattoos. He was Big Z’s countryman. He gave guidance to Carlos. Unfortunately, he would have asked more money than the Cubs were willing to give him.

Essentially, Milton Bradley or “board game was brought into replace DeRosa’s bat in the lineup. Ideally, Fontenot would have replaced Edmonds production. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Fontenot instead of living up to the nickname of “Little Babe Ruth” has turned into “Mini Mickey Morandini” (or Mini Morandini for short). Kosuke Fukudome was expected to be much better than last year. So far, his fall has come sooner than last season. Based on last season, Milton Bradley was a great acquisition. He put up great numbers in Texas. He lead the AL in on base percentage and OPS. He even lead the majors in OPS+ which takes ballpark into consideration. One problem with Bradley was that he played more than 120 games in season only twice in nine seasons. Everyone knew about Milton being a head case. This season has only given further proof of his jackassery. In Zambrano’s own words, Milton is the living embodiment of a “screw.” Worst of all, this season he really stinks. To put things in perspective, Scott Podsednik was taken off the trash heap and he has a higher batting average, more RBIs, and only two less home runs. This is while playing fewer games than “Board Game”. I realize this is beating a dead horse, but if he played better we would probably forgive his idiocy.

Now, it is unfair to blame all of the Cubs problems on Milton and Hendry, but they have to take a huge chunk of the blame. The assumption was that the combo Bradley and Fontenot would make up 40 home runs and 136 RBIs. Fukudome was asked to bat 40 points higher than last season and produce more runs. Neither of these has happened. In my opinion only Fukudome’s hitting was the only thing that could be expected. One can say that the loss of Aramis was huge. Yes, his injury was huge loss, but it did not cause Soto bat around .220, it didn’t cause Fontenot to resemble former Cub Mickey Morandini. Soriano is a hacker that rarely thinks about pitches, so how would Aramis’ presence made any difference in his performance?

At the beginning of the season, I felt the Cubs would win 88 games and win the division. Hendry really didn’t improve the team. In fact, the team has taken a step back talent wise.

Sure, Edmonds was old and on a downslide, but it would have made more sense to find someone who could play in right field who could replace his power numbers. Everyone and their dog knew there was no way the Cubs could do anything but continue to play Fukudome. They had no choice but to platoon him with Reed Johnson.

Last season, there were a number of wins by the Cubs where they had problems against the starter but were able to light up the other teams relievers. That is what we saw against the Indians. This season starters have gone further against the Cubs. This team needed another bat, not a replacement for DeRosa. If Bradley was supposed to be a left-handed replacement for DeRosa, then he was a clearly more expensive one. If they wanted another leftie in the lineup, they could have started Fontenot and still moved DeRosa to right field. That would have been a cheaper alternative for the same result. You don’t have to overburden your lineup with lefties if they are mediocre or bad. The Phillies’ lineup is an anomaly. There is no point trying to emulate the Philadelphia lineup. The Cubs were a good team. Still, I wanted to see the Cubs sign either Ibanez or Abreu(I was leaning towards Abreu). If Hendry had more patience, he would have be able to snag either for a decent cost, but here we are overpaying for crap the next few years.

The wonderful thing about blogging -- all your words are as immortal as your domain registration and hosting contract.  That means that in the years GROTA has been around, we've said plenty of really stupid things that time proved us to be totally wrong about.

For example - I was wrong about Mark DeRosa.

When the Cubs let DeRosa go for some young pitching that very well prove me right in the end about the DeRo deal, I said it was no big thang.  After all, the Cubs had a tremendous hitter in Mike Fontenot who could bat lefty and would probably put up numbers equal-to or better-than the '09 DeRosa.

I said DeRo would revert.  He'd had a career year in 2008 and, at his age, career years don't get duplicated. 

I said that Fontenot was a better defensive second baseman.  (Actually, this one still might be true, he hasn't gotten to play there a whole lot.)  And with the addition of the versatile backup Aaron Miles, DeRosa's ability to play multiple positions would not be missed.

Hell, it's June 22nd.  We're well on our way through the 2009 season.  And the evidence to the contrary about my bold opinions is staggering.

Mike Fontenot is not cutting it as a starter.  Actually, the amount of doubles and homers he's on pace to hit are fine and dandy.  The problem is his .230 AVG.  Strike that, the problem is his .121 AVG against lefties. At the very least, Fontenot needs somebody to spell him against south-paws.  Even Aaron Miles would be acceptable -- BAM! is batting .259 against lefty pitching, which is better than the next-to-nothing that Lil' Mike is delivering.

Then again, DeRosa is a near-.280 hitter so far this year, on pace to hit 31 homers, drive in 118 RBI, and post an OPS of .819.  And he is killing lefties. 

On a team starving for offense there is no denying that the Cubs would've been better off with DeRosa on the roster.  So, big-time screw-up for Hendry, and admission of being wrong from me.  But before you get on my case too much about it, be honest about how fast you gave up on Derrek Lee -- many were sticking forks in him back in October 2008.

Now, lately one of our writers has taken a significant amount of flack -- even from some of our other writers -- for being harsh on the players on this team.  He said Lee was toast about a month ago, he's called Soto fat and lacking ambition, he's declared to be embarrassed for ever having advocated Fukudome, and so-on.  Well, Rob, I'm callin' you out.

At one point this season, Lee was batting .194 with 3 homeruns and 15 RBI.  (That was on May 13th, by the way).  In just over a month since then, Lee has been batting .374 with 8 homeruns and 20 RBI.  The point being that, in baseball, nobody's done until after they've taken their last at bat.

As for Soto, this has been a strong point of disagreement between Rob and the rest of us.  He thinks Geo grew fat on his laurels.  I don't know for sure that he gained weight over the winter, but I do know that he started the year with a sore shoulder and a screwed-up swing.  At his low point, April 30th, Soto was batting .109 with 0 homers and only 2 RBI.  Since then, he's hitting .264 but more importantly with 5 homers and 17 RBI.  Geo's not out of the woods but he is definitely, undeniably hitting the ball better.

Fukudome, on the other hand ... eh, it's hard to say.  After starting the year with a .338 AVG in April, Kosuke batted .277 in May with only 1 homer and 5 RBI and is batting .180 in June, even after Saturday's 4-hit assault.  I'm prepared to give this one to Rob, but not until we see where Fukudome is by mid July.

Oh -- and Milton Bradley.  I don't recall that Rob has given Bradley too much flack for his crappy 2009 season, but I just wanted to note to everybody that Don't Wake was batting .097 on April 29th.  Since then, he batted .268 with 3 homers and 12 RBI in May and is batting .286 but with only 2 extra base hits in all of June.  Still -- he's improving. 

The point is that nobody really knows.  We can guess, we can trust our gut, we can follow projections and detailed statistics, but until the games are played we're just rolling dice and making bold declarations that we hope nobody will bother to remember.

What I will say is that the difference between a good team and a bad one appears to occur in inches.  The Cubs team we've followed through the start of June was indescribably awful.  They failed to get big hits, they couldn't win close games, they surrendered late leads, and on a whole they were just painful to watch. 

Probably they are still that team, at least a little.  But with the Questionable Quartet coming around, we suddenly have a team getting huge hits late in games, often coming from behind to win on their last at bat, with a bullpen that still appears to be shaking off the cobwebs but has been able to hold down small leads.  It's the same team, the same personnel, and suddenly they don't look like they're going to lose 90 -- instead they appear as if they just might win that many games.

All I can say then, to Rob and many others, is that this to me is proof that nothing can be assumed or taken for granted.  We live in a Cubbie Bubble where we see the worst and assume it doesn't happen to any other team -- or maybe we assume it means more because these are the Cubs, for gawd's sake.  But I wrote a while back about the Superlative Season in which if we aren't rewarded with a perfect year of baseball we think the team has no chance at all of winning imperfectly. 

On the contrary, I still think the Cubs are playoff bound.  I still think it will happen in spite of the managing.  I still think this team is immensely talented.  And I absolutely believe that in October, this team -- already so beset by adversity -- will be prepared to shrug off at least some of the pressure they will feel to win it all.  At this point their talent will almost certainly be bigger than their wins total, and in October talent wins out.

Of that I am certainly not wrong.

Jeremy Sowers (1-4, 5.14 ERA) vs. Randy Wells (0-3, 2.55 ERA)
For those of you who missed yesterday's GameCast -- or even noticed that it never got published -- blame me.  I forgot it was such an early game and I had to leave early to do some important, pre-wedding, oh-s-word-we-haven't-bought-rings-yet-and-the-wedding-is-next-weekend stuff.  Anyway...

Story-Lines
The Cubs -- who have performed dramatically below our expectations this season -- have won three games in a row, all in their last at bat, often in unexpected and unlikely ways.  Consequently, while they are only 2 games over .500 they're also only 2.5 games out of first (and share a tie for the lead in the loss column). 

Earlier this week, bloggers* started calling for the termination of Cubs' skipper Lou Piniella.   Maybe it should've been done sooner based on the completely unrelated results.

(*Well, at least one blogger did)

Who's Hot
Derrek Lee - Oh, how I remember the attitude of Cub fans dating back to last October.  Lee was washed up.  The Cubs should've traded him -- despite his no-trade clause -- and let Hoffpauir start.  And do you remember how he started out in '09?  Fuel to the Hate 6-4-3-Lee Fire.  And yet, here he is, carrying the Cubs on his wide shoulders.  In the month of May he batted .313 with 4 homers, 9 RBI, and a .955 OPS.  Since June started, he's turned it up a notch and is batting .375 with 6 homers, 16 RBI, and a 1.155 OPS.  Not bad for a guy past his prime.

Milton Bradley - In the past week, Milton is batting .333 with an OBP of .391.  Hey, maybe the Cubs should bat him 2nd?  Just a thought.

Geovany Soto - 5 for his last 14, batting .357 with an OPS of 1.256.  Not bad.

Kosuke Fukudome - 4 his last 13, batting .308 after a long, long slump.

Who's Not
Mikey Fontenot - Even I think he's done as a starter.  At the very least the Cubs need to evaluate his splits and keep him on the bench full time vs. lefties.  Against righties this year he's batting a still-bad-but-good-enough .253 with an OBP of .350 and OPS .768.  If only the Cubs had somebody who hit well against lefties that could play third base...

Carlos Marmol - in his last 4 appearances he's surrendered 3 hits in 3.2 innings, while walking 5.  Time for Larry to earn his pay -- fix what's wrong with this guy already!

Conclusions
Randy Wells is so overdue for a win that it's kind of ridiculous.  The problem has long-been an inability to drudge up offensive support mixed with the failures of the bullpen to keep a lead.  Well, minus Marmol, the bullpen has been outstanding the last week or so and the offense appears to fnally be clicking.  This could be the day.

Who knew that, when Kerry Wood left the Cubs to join the Cleveland Indians this past season he would still contribute two wins to the 2009 team?

Friday night's victory, achieved through a walk-off homerun by Derrek Lee against Wood is like nothing compared with today's, in which Wood imploded on the mound giving the Cubs the victory in the 13th inning.

For the record, before the start of June the Cubs had played in three extra inning games.  Since June, they've played seven long games out of fifteen possibilities.  That's kind of nuts.

It would never have happened without Derrek Lee and Kerry Wood.  Lee hit another homerun today, this time a 2-run shot, which put the Cubs on the board in the 5th.  That was followed with a homerun by Micah Hoffpauir in the 6th, which briefly gave the Cubs the lead until Carlos Marmol came undone in the 7th (his 3rd straight appearance, by the way), which is how the game would look until the 13th.

Amazingly, the Cubs probably should have lost.  They had 12 total hits and 6 walks, failing to score on 19 separate opportunities, and to add insult to injury Dave "Bonus Baby" Patton served up the go-ahead homer to Luis Valbuena in the top of the 13th.  (Valbuena had 2 homeruns himself today against the Cubs.)  That's when Kerry Wood came into play.

Wood came in and promptly surrendered a single to Fukudome but was able to negate a potential hit-and-run by striking out Three Finger.  The only problem was that Fuku managed to steal second anyway and, thanks to a bad throw by Kelly Shoppach was able to advance to third.  At that point Andres Blanco singled home Fooky, reached third on an Aaron Miles single, and scored on a Wood wild pitch.

Thanks, Kerry.  You managed to let yourself get beat by two of the worst hitters on the Cubs roster, and a third Cubs hitter who hasn't so much as scratched the ball since the beginning of May.  If you were still a Cub we'd be livid.

Actually I'm being a little unfair to Kosuke.  He had a 4 for 5 day against the Indians pitchers and also drew a walk.  But still -- getting beat by Blanco and Miles is sort of like losing a boxing match to your 120 pound girlfriend.  Moy embarassing.

The Cubs play for the sweep tomorrow.  Hey, I'm not one to complain or anything but ... maybe they can try to win before their last at bat of the game for once?  Just a thought.