Pat Maholm (8-9,4.44 ERA) vs. Jeff Samardzija (1-3, 7.53 ERA) 
Story Lines

The official Wait until 2010 is underway, and I can't wait for it, because I'm sick of the 2009 bunch (except Derrek Lee). 

The Cubs looked terrible yesterday, but they get one more chance against the Pirates today. 

The Cubs are going to look at Jeff Samardzija one more time tonight. I would suspect he will get an extended look next spring, since the Cubs probably are not going to bring back Rich Harden. 

Who's Hot

Hopefully, the Cubs in 2010 

Who's Not

Kevin Gregg's rib - Looks like he's been pitching hurt for a little while.  

Conclusions

Enjoy the last couple games of 2009. I have a feeling the Cubs will make another run next year.

Ouch.  I guess the Cubs decided that they were successful in achieving their winning season, and so they decided to take the day off.  Either that or Pittsburgh really, really doesn't want to lose 100 games this year.

Either way, the Cubs got their asses kicked by a combined score of 12-2, with the Cubs' only runs coming in Game 2 thanks to the bats of Ryan Theriot and Mike "Death Rattle" Fontenot.  Cubs pitchers Ted Lilly and Carlos Zambrano were both shellacked for 4 earned runs, and the Moose is now facing his first ever single-digit wins total since he became a starter way back in the days when most of our male readers -- or female, for that matter -- were not yet able to grow a beard. 

Offensively, no Cub hitter managed to get hits in both games, while Pirates outfielder Lastings Milledge went 4 for 8 between both games.  The Cubs play one more against Pittsburgh, tomorrow, before wrapping it up against the Diamondbacks this weekend. 

So, back to Carlos.  I'm sure that the Big Moose is less than pleased with his performance this year -- in fact, he threatened retirement recently (for the second time this season) if he should happen to have as crappy a 2010.  I appreciate this competitive fire in him.  If Carlos is an ace -- and I will acknowledge after this crappy year that he's a poor man's ace at best -- then more important than his comradery, more important than his maturity, and even more important than the health of his arm is his desire to win and his ability to amalgamate that desire with his God-given talent. 

This desire -- something we've seen this year reflected in his frustration -- will hopefully lead him to condition himself better and to work harder at preparation before each start.  And, hopefully, to also remember his game-plan and mechanics even in the face of shitty defense and below-average offensive support.

I could be wrong about all that.  I fully admit it's less a theory and more a hope, but Zambrano's "I'll retire" rhetoric sure as shit beats Manny's "who cares if we win the World Series, there's always next year" line from a few years ago.

Game 1: Charlie Morton (4-9, 5.01 ERA) vs. Ted Lilly (12-8, 3.02 ERA)

Game 2: Jeff Karstens (3-5, 5.45 ERA) vs. Carlos Zambrano (9-6, 3.69 ERA)

Story Lines

Little did I know that Kevin Gregg has been shut down for the year. Wow, that is some exciting news for a team that clinched another winning season. For as bad as the Cubs seemed this year, they will probably end up with 85-87 wins. They actually would probalby win every game if they played the Pirates all the time.

Today, Ted Lilly tries to lower his ERA under 3, and Carlos Zambrano attempts to pick up his 10 win. IT looks like the Cubs will continue to shut down players this year. I find it unlikely that Aramis Ramirez gets many starts as he will need to rehab his shoulder for 2010. It will also be interesting to see how some of the other younger players react to the playing. Is Tyler Colvin the answer? I doubt it, but Jim Hendry's job will be on the line in 2010, so the Cubs should be active in the offseason.

Who's Hot

Derrek Lee - Can we get another year of Red-Hot Lee? He picked up two more RBI yesterday, and now has 111 on the season. Too bad it goes for nothing.

Sam Fuld - Fuld had three hits yesterday to raise his average to .302. Not bad for his longest stint with the Cubs.

Who's Not

The Cubs Playoff Hopes - The Cubs were officially elminated from the playoffs yesterday after the Rockies beat the Brewers. Well, I guess Next Year is the Year.

Conclusions

I haven't seen a game in about a week thanks to my moving, and dealing with floods in Georgia. I all I know is that I will be at Opening Day in 2010 in Atlanta. Who's with me? 

Ryan Dempster pitched a complete game shut-out last night against Pittsburgh, earning his 11th win of the season and putting him within reach of becoming the only Cubs pitcher in 2009 to throw in 200 innings.  Clownsevelt will likely have 1 more start against Arizona, and barring disaster should reach the milestone.

Taking a closer look at all the Cubs starters, we find a bunch of very talented pitchers with very good numbers ... if this was the end of July.  Just about everybody has thrown in 26 or 27 games, everybody has won about 10 games per, and everybody's ERA is in the 3.00-4.00 range with Harden topping out at 4.09.

Were it not for the numerous injuries, the bad luck, and the shoddy offensive performances, then this would be a very fun pitching staff to watch in October.  Still, the Cubs managed to win their 82nd game last night, meaning that they've achieved a first-in-my-lifetime accomplishment -- three consecutive winning seasons.  (Hurrah?)

Offensively, the Cubs capitalized on three Pirate errors, resulting in 6 runs off of 8 hits and 7 walks.  Derrek Lee drove in 2 more -- putting him at 111 on the season -- but Sam Fuld went 3 for 4 as he vies for a spot on next year's team as a backup.

Anyway, the Cubs play the Pirates today in a double header.  It should be a good time, had by all, although the GameCast will be very, very late (as in, probably not until after the first game has been played) unless Yarbage is available.

Go Cubs!

Kevin Hart (4-8, 5.38 ERA) vs. Ryan Dempster (10-8, 3.68)

Story-lines
The Cubs are down to their last seven games and if they wanted to finish things on a high note, then they couldn't have thought of an easier schedule to end the season -- they've got four against the 59-96 Pirates, and then 3 more against the 68-88 D-Backs.  Not that things have gotten any less weird in Crazyville.

On the pitching staff, Kevin Gregg has been mercifully shut down.  Like a scene from Holy Grail, Gregg tried his hardest to assure the Cubs that he wasn't quite hurt, that he felt like going for a toss now, but they overruled him nonetheless and have sent him home for the season -- and, hopefully, for his career in Chicago.  At the same time, Carlos Zambrano has threatened retirement because of his crappy season.  Think about it.  He might finish the year with 10 wins and a mid-3.00's ERA, or essentially the same numbers as Ryan Dempster and Randy Wells, and he considers it such a disappointment that he doesn't want to live through another ordeal of sucking that badly.

Damn.  Maybe he's got the ol' Ace Mentality after all.

Speaking of mentality, or at least of mental, we've been shocked to see Lou Piniella drop heavy hints that Milton Bradley's future in Chicago is a very short one.  Lou wants the Cubs to go out and pursue an RBI producer, citing his disappointment in Bradley for failing to live up to the team's expectations.  And before somebody throws out the whole "you can't drive 'em in if they aren't on base" line again, let's not forget that Milton Bradley batted something like .220 with runners on base. 

And finally, I've come up with the perfect solution for dumping Milton.  It seems certain that the Cubs'll have to pretty much pay for his contract no matter what.  I would like to officially propose that the team offer him on their dime to any independently-owned minor league team that would take him.  It would be the modern day equivalent of ruining a player's career by trading for and then benching him, and it would be only fitting for Bradley to get banished to baseball purgatory for his so-called mental disease.

Of course, this would only be a last-ditch option, if there are no big-league takers.  Still, I think it would be somehow fitting.

Overview
Fall Training enters its final week starting with a four-game set against the 4A Pirates. Day games, doubleheaders, and beating up on the Pirates. You got to love it.

Some guys need this week to make a statement about where they belong next season. Some guys need this week so their manager remembers their name come March. Some guys need this week just so they can save whatever dignity they have left (Single-digit wins for Zambrano? Seriously?).

But for us fans, we need this week just to have some effing closure. Many of us came to terms with the crappiness of this team months ago, but now we need a sign that a Milton Bradley-free 2010 Cubs team will give us something to look forward to on the other side of a bitter winter.

And if the Cubs can’t do well against teams like the Pirates and D-Backs…

The Matchups
September 29th – Kevin Hart vs. Ryan Dempster
Dempster has turned what looked like a disaster of a season into a something decent. His 3.68 ERA isn’t awful, but I think we can all agree that this isn’t the same pitcher we saw in 2008. Demp will be aiming to get to 200 innings pitched on the season. Hopefully he will be better conditioned for next season so he can do it again...but with a little thing I like to call "success."

September 30th – Charlie Morton vs. Ted Lilly (Game 1)
TRL has been by boy this year for one reason and one reason only: he does not walk batters. In his last start against the Cards, Lilly didn’t walk a single batter over 7 2/3 innings. That was the 10th time he has done that this season. 10th! Is there any wonder why he is the ace of this staff?

September 30th – Jeff Karstens vs. Calros Zambrano (Game 2)
It might have been a few months late, but Zambrano finally pitched like a guy earning big money in his last start. He went the distance and shut out the Giants (a team that had something to play for) on the road. That’s what an ace does. Too bad that will never be Big Z.

September 31st – Paul Maholm vs. Tom Gorzelanny
This will most likely be Tommy GoGo’s last start of the season. Based on his play since joining the Cubs, I would say Gorzo has probably earned the fifth spot in the rotation next season. Then again, who knows what’s going to happen with Harden, the Shark, and Zambrano. Either way, Gorzelanny will be on the 2010 roster.

Conclusion
Dear Cubs,

We have five months of freezing weather ahead of us. Please give me something to dream about while hibernating. Don’t suck. Thank you in advance.

Go Cubs,
Kyle

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Here's a sad fact for you -- the last time Carlos Zambrano won a game, Kevin Gregg was still the closer for the Cubs.

Since then, Gregg completely imploded (although some Cub fans probably wish he'd do us a favor and explode his way right off the team), Milton Bradley went totally insane (as did some of our readers), and the Cubs fell from contention.  Still, Chicago managed to sweep the Pirates, which is about as surprising as rain on a cloudy day.

It all happened primarily thanks to a Cubs offense that combined for 13 hits and 7 walks, including multi-hit days from 5 different players.  In particular, Micah Hoffpauir had a too-little, too-late performance to remember: he hit his 9th double and 10th homerun of the season while drawing 2 walks to boot.  After the game, Cub players were scouting nearby town houses with the hopes of moving into Pittsburgh permanently so they could tee off daily on the crappy Pirates pitchers.

Carlos, meanwhile, gave the Cubs 6 innings, allowing 5 hits, 3 walks, and 2 runs while striking out 8.  Naturally the bullpen held strong, except for one Kevin Gregg who served up a 3 run homer to Ronny Effing Cedeno.  Hey, Gregg, when you're giving up homeruns to that jaggoff, it's over.

The Cubs are off tomorrow before traveling back to Chicago where they get to take on the mediocre Reds.  Can you believe that Dusty still has a job there? 

Current Record: 71-67
Position in the NL Central: 2nd place, 11.5 games out
Best Possible Record: 95-67
Worst Possible Record: 71-91
Record needed to win 90: 19-5
On Pace For: 83-79

^{Carlos Zambrano (7-6, 3.80 ERA) vs. Kevin Hart (4-5, 4.67 ERA)}

Story Lines

The Cubs face their former mate today as they go for the sweep. The Cubs pounded the Pirates last night, but it is a case of too little too late.

Sorry for the quick post, but I have a meeting to get to at school.....more later.

The Pirates are a team I wish the Cubs could play at least 50 times a year.  They're the Mos Eisley of the baseball world, at least in the sense of being "wretched," and today the Cubs took some time to get to know them in the Biblical sense, as they started out the game with 8 straight hits to take a lead they wouldn't even come close to losing.

The end result is 9 runs, 8 against Zach Duke (anybody remember when he used to dominate the Cubs?  Yeah, me neither) and while Derrek Lee managed another two hits, this time none escaped the ballpark.  Instead the Cubs relied on a total team effort, collecting 14 hits and 4 walks against Pittsburgh, with 6 different Chicago players driving in runs -- and 3 of them drove in 2.

As far as Dempster goes, while he took a page from Kerry Wood's old playbook and knocked in a run as well, he wasn't exactly a model of superiority on the mound.  Clownsevelt made it into the 7th, but he surrendered 8 hits and 4 earned runs.  Still, it was enough for Dempster to collect his 9th win of the season, which means he's got about 4 chances to reach double digits.  Woo-hoo?

The Cubs play to sweep tomorrow.  We should be thrilled, I suppose.  I'm just happy to see the personal accomplishments ring up.  It is ridiculously important to me that Dempster and Zambrano both reach 10 wins, much as I would love to see Milton Bradley bat .275, Kosuke Fukudome bat .280, and Micah Hoffpauir reach 10 homeruns.  After all -- the Cubs are 7 games out of the Wild Card.  Christmas is canceled, the kitchen is closed... it's over.

^{Ryan Dempster (8-8, 3.96 ERA) vs. Zac Duke (10-13, 3.71 ERA)}

Story Lines
Well, it is about time to focus on the NFL and College Football, becasuse the Cubs just are not very interesting. It will be interesting to see if the Cubs have a few players that start to sit or are shut down for the year.

Who's Hot
Derrek Lee - This guy is going crazy right now, and we can only hope that he continues this onslaught next season and leads the Cubs to a title.

Geovany Soto - Don't look now, but Soto's hitting .429 in his last two games. I know it is not much, but it is a start.

Jeff Baker - The Cubs will proably try to find a new 2B next year, but Baker might earn a shot. He's up to .297 on the seaon, and over an .800 OPS

Who's Not
Aramis Ramirez - It's been a little rough for Aramis, who's hitting .174 in his last six games.

Ryan Theriot - Ouch! The Riot is 2 for his last 21, which is just about regular for a Theriot September.

Conclusions
I would have wrote more, but I was called into two meetings today at school. Enjoy some pressure free baseball.