Cubs on the All-Star team?

According to All-Star voting, which closes in just a few hours, Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome and Geovany Soto will likely make the starting line-up for the National League in the All-Star game.

It's interesting that this trio will get starting nods, while Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez do not. Although it's important to note that the competition at Lee's position (Berman, Pujols, Fielder) and ARam's (C. Jones, Wright) is fierce.

I do hope Aramis makes the team, though, as a reserve. He deserves it. I wouldn't be surprised if D-Lee was left off the club however.

Beyond those two, I don't see any of the other hitters making the squad. Mark DeRosa probably has the best shot at second base (he trails only Chase Utley in the voting). But Florida's Dan Uggla is having a better statistical year and probably deserves the spot.

As for the pitchers, I would expect Carlos Zambrano to be on the team, and Kerry Wood will likely be one of the closers, unless Clint Hurdle needs to get a representative on the roster from some of the weaker teams and goes for their closers (Rauch from Washington, Capps from Pittsburgh, Wilson from San Francisco).

What A Series!

What a phenomenal series for the Cubs against the Diamondbacks!

* Beat a great baseball team three games in a row

* Showed some real mettle in all three games

* Got solid starting (and relief) pitching

* Came up with clutch hits from a number of different people

* Overcame deficits and bad weather

My favorite moment had to be Daryle Ward's game-winning two-run double in the 6-4 victory on Sunday.

I love the Cubs' stars. Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Zambrano are easily my favorite players because I love the way they carry themselves (Lee's class, Ramirez's workmanlike attitude and Z's exuberance). But my sentimental favorite is Ward.

Looks more like a softball stud than a major leaguer. And he can't run or play much defense.

But he sure looks like he's having a blast out there, and, boy, can he hit. I saw him play a few games this spring. Honest to God, he never got out once when I saw him. He was something like 10-for-10.

Very glad to have him on this team and loved seeing him get that ovation after his clutch hit on Sunday. Deserves it.

Ten Things, after the 7-2 Cubs win over D-Backs...

1) Could it be that Alfonso Soriano is finally breaking out of his prolonged slump? He went 4-for-5, scored twice, drove in a run, and provided a spark with some aggressive baserunning.

Still, not to be a downer, but there are reasons for concern:

* Fox monitored his total pitches against how many he swung at. I think it finished at 17 pitches seen; 12 swings. Not exactly ideal for a leadoff man (haven't we been over this before?)

* He doesn't look healthy running. He looks like he's compensating when he runs, so it feels more like a hopping lumber, rather than a smooth sprint.

2) Solid effort by Dempster. Give the guy credit. I didn't buy him as a starter this year (and I know I wasn't alone), but he's been a solid No. 3 man.

However, what is up with his glove during his wind-up? Is it just me or is his left-right-left freakout with his glove way, WAY more pronounced this year?

3) Hard-luck no-decision for Arizona's Max Scherzer. But the kid's a future ace. If the D-Backs can lock up Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, Micah Owings and Scherzer, they'll be a contender for many years to come.

4) How bad was the Cubs' baserunning today? Aramis' late jump from third on the Soto grounder was brutal. Reed Johnson was out by a day-and-a-half on D-Lee's potential sac fly. And Soriano's 'aggressiveness' was also inches from being FOUR baserunners thrown out at the plate in this game.

5) Carlos Marmol's stuff is flat-out nasty. He's going to be one heck of a closer one day. Soon.

6) Sure, he's been inconsistent on the hill. But it's nice to have Jason Marquis in the rotation, if for nothing more than he's a serviceable pinch runner and Lou doesn't have to burn someone else on the bench to save Daryle Ward from plodding around the bases.

7) You ever just get the feeling that a pitcher's style/wind-up/stuff is going to get crushed by a specific batter? I got that feeling when Brandon Medders was facing Aramis Ramirez. Just had this hunch A-Ram would hammer Medders. Result: RBI single smacked to right-center.

8) Randy Johnson goes tomorrow for the D-Backs. He's never, NEVER lost to the Cubs (12-0 lifetime). I sure hope that changes and that the lanky lefty gets lit up like the Las Vegas Strip. If for nothing more than he strikes me as a TOTAL TOOL.

9) How sweet would it be to sweep baseball's best team?

10) Before the series, Wrigleyville predicted the Cubs would take 2 of 3 from the D-Backs. Now I hope he's wrong!

Cubs 7 Mets 1

What a truly satisfying 7-1 victory over the New York Mets on Monday. Even though the team has been playing wonderfully so far this year, this particular game was validation to me that the team's for real. Why?

Beat a good club.

Beat a good pitcher.

Came through in the clutch.

Did the little things better than the opponent.

Things I liked:

1) Z's outing. Carlos Zambrano, although a bit jumpy, was lights-out. Great observation by Orel on the ESPN broadcast, pointing out that Z was hitting his spots so well that it was "either ball or black." You'll win a lot of games that way.

2) Aramis Ramirez is going to power this team. Any illusions that Aramis was slumping are over. His swing looks sharp and, more importantly, his plate discipline is back.

3) Clutch, CLUTCH at-bats in the eighth inning. Kosuke Fukudome's marathon at-bat against Aaron Heilman was a thing of beauty. Ronny Cedeno's rip into centerfield was impressive, especially given the tense situation. And Felix Pie's rocket into right was exactly what everyone wants from Pie: a smooth, compact swing. Pure magic.

4) Smart aggression. With Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado struggling, it was pretty obvious that David Wright was the hitter in the Mets' lineup that could have beaten the Cubs. But instead of nibbling and pitching around him, Z hit his spots (and they were smart spots) against Wright and registered a strikeout and a double play. Awesome.

Great to be a Cub fan right now!

The good, the bad, and the (very) ugly...

I have no idea what to make of Monday's game in Pittsburgh.

There was plenty of good:
* Winning a tight, extra-inning ballgame on the road
* Scoring 10 runs (including six in one inning), socking 13 hits and having the patience to draw 11 walks
* Derrek Lee and Kosuke Fukudome continuing to pulverize the ball
* A splendid outing from Jon Lieber out of the bullpen, showing everyone why he's valuable as a long reliever

And plenty of bad:
* Ted Lilly struggled again, not being able to hold down a seven-run lead or finish five complete innings
* Alfonso Soriano looks lost. Still.
* Felix Pie is starting to look like Corey Patterson. Over-swinging. Swinging at fastballs over his head. Not coming through in the clutch.
* With runners at second and third in the 10th inning, both Lee and Aramis Ramirez failed to put the ball in play, both striking out off Matt Capps (although Lee's called third strike was a horse manure call)

Plus, the ugly:
* Crucial errors by all of the infielders: Ramirez short-hopped a throw to Lee that allowed two runs to score, Ronny Cedeno air-mailed a throw that might have actually gone into the upper deck and Mark DeRosa booted a grounder that allowed the tying run to score
* Carmen Pignatiello might have sealed his ticket back to Iowa. Faced two batters Monday. Walked them both. On four pitches each. "Hello, Iowa, it's Jim Hendry. Is Sean Marshall there?"
* Awful fundamentals --

1) Leadoff double by Geovany Soto (a bright spot with three hits) and all Ronny Cedeno has to do is hit a grounder to the right side to get him to third. What does he do? Grounds out...to short. Soto stays put, doesn't score.

2) Leadoff walk to Ryan Theriot in the 10th inning. Can Soriano bunt him to second? No, of course not. But after Theriot steals second, at least Soriano can get him to third, right? No. Strikeout. Theriot doesn't score.

Again, I have no idea what to make of Monday's game in Pittsburgh. I'm thrilled the Cubs won. But I also know that truly great teams... don't let that game almost slip away.

Cubbies in Fantasyland

According to Yahoo! Fantasy, Kosuke Fukudome is the most valuable Cub right now in terms of fantasy production.

Kosuke Fukudome
Overall Fantasy Rank: 6th in MLB

Derrek Lee
Overall Fantasy Rank: 20th in MLB

Mark DeRosa
Overall Fantasy Rank: 157th in MLB

Geovany Soto
Overall Fantasy Rank: 187th in MLB

Aramis Ramirez
Overall Fantasy Rank: 212th in MLB

Ryan Theriot
Overall Fantasy Rank: 707th in MLB

Felix Pie
Overall Fantasy Rank: 752nd in MLB

Alfonso Soriano
Overall Fantasy Rank: 999th in MLB

Yes, Soriano, 999th. Almost one thousand players have been more productive than you so far this year. Perhaps you might want to work on that...

Observations from the Ballpark (Part III)

Snuck over to Mesa to catch the thrilling 7-6 Cubs' victory over the Rangers on Monday. Yeah, I know, it's spring training. But it was still a trip to see a walk-off victory for the Cubs. Eric Patterson had the game-winning single, driving home Felix Pie in the final frame.

Here's what jumped out at me:

* Ryan Dempster, just named the No. 3 starter, looked very hittable. Lacked command and gave up a number of hard-hit balls. I really don't like him in the rotation.

* Felix Pie has been the biggest (and most pleasant) surprise of the spring. Went 3-for-3 today, including a nifty bunt single and some hard hit gappers. He's played awesome since getting his testicle un-twisted and deserves the starting spot in center. His triple in the ninth (setting up Patterson's single) was a thing of beauty.

* Jon Lieber is enjoyable to watch. His philosophy: 1) Here 2) Hit it. He'll give up a two-run homer every now and again (which he did today), but he's going to throw strikes and eat up innings. Wish he had been the No. 3.

* Impressing me with their bat: Aramis Ramirez, Daryle Ward (who has never been retired in games I've attended), Patterson

* Concerning me with their bat: Derrek Lee, Mike Fontenot, Matt Murton

Thoughts on the 'Fantasy' Cubs (Part I)

Analysis of the Cubs hitters from a fantasy baseball perspective:

Alfonso Soriano - have him as the second-best outfielder available (behind Matt Holliday). But I do think people get a little scared off by his meager RBI totals last year and his leg problems (which might cripple his stolen base output). I've already turned down a Soriano-Bedard for Holliday trade because I was worried about those things.

Derrek Lee - have him in the second-tier of first baseman (along with Justin Morneau, Lance Berkman, Mark Teixeira and Travis Hafner and behind Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, David Ortiz and Ryan Howard). I've always wanted D-Lee on my team, but he's invariably picked the pick right before I want to make him my choice. Probably fell from the top-tier because he hasn't been hitting for the same kind of power as he did during his near-MVP season.

Aramis Ramirez - second-tier third baseman, sixth overall, behind Alex Rodriguez, David Wright, Ryan Braun, Miguel Cabrera and Garrett Atkins. If only he could run...

Kosuke Fukudome - seems to be going in the mid-to-late rounds in most drafts. Not bad to take a flyer on, but he probably won't be a great fantasy player because he likely won't hit for a ton of power and takes a lot of walks (worthless in fantasy).

Ryan Theriot - some people like his 30+ stolen bases. Then they see his .260ish batting average and re-assess.

Mark DeRosa - not drafted in most 12-team leagues.

Geovany Soto - lot of people have him as the seventh- or eighth-best catcher this year. I'm not willing to do that after just a couple dozen at-bats last year. I've been sticking to some proven catchers in late rounds at a position I don't particularly care about anyway.

Felix Pie - undrafted.

Live Blogging (Cubs v. Brewers) - Part 4

* Decent little outing for Tim Lahay. Pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings (including a big two-out strikeout to clean up Rich Hill's mess).

He and Carmen Pignatiello are making a bit of a push to make the team in the 'pen.

* Les Walrond has not. I don't expect him to last the week. And I don't see him ever making much of a contribution at the major league level.

* I really like how Aramis Ramirez looks. He looks very well built and in shape to start the season. (Plus, he just lined his second double off the wall in left-center).

Live-Blogging (Cubs v. Brewers) - Part 1

* Watching the Cubs-Brewers on the 'net right now. 3-0 Cubs already in the first. Good start, with hits from Ryan Theriot, Aramis Ramirez and Josh Kroeger (Spider-man had a walk).

* Mark DeRosa grounded out in his first spring training at-bat. Glad to have him back from his heart issue...

* Len and Bob were talking about Jason Kendall hitting ninth in the Brewers order (with the pitcher hitting eighth). Tony La Russa is apparently leaning toward doing the same thing with St. Louis this season (he's tried it before).

I don't understand why you would do this. You want your best hitters to bat as many times as possible. That doesn't happen using this strategy.

And while I understand the (marginal) benefit when you turn the order over (by not having pitchers commit the Dusty Baker sin of "clogging the bases"), I don't think it outweighs the rally-killing possibilities of having your pitcher in the No. 8 spot.

The Importance of Roberts...

The more and more I think about it, the more I am convinced the Cubs need to trade for Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts. Trading for Roberts would accomplish at least three things:

1) Give the Cubs a true leadoff man to set the table for Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Kosuke Fukudome, and...

2) ...Alfonso Soriano, who Lou Pinella can then move down to fifth in the order, where he belongs.

3) Put Roberts at second base, move Mark DeRosa over to shortstop, and make Ryan Theriot the super-sub (a role, I feel, he is more suited for than starting at short and batting second).

A Q&A with Dan Connolly from the Baltimore Sun predicts it will take Sean Gallagher, a top pitching prospect, and others to get a deal for Roberts done...

The Best Moments of 2007 (#1)

A-Ram's walk-off bomb deflates Brewers, launches Cubs. June 29, 2007. This is when I knew the Cubs might have something. After Rich Hill gave up five runs to Milwaukee in the first inning, he and four Cubs' relievers then combined to shut out the Brewers for the rest of the game.

Meanwhile, Chicago's offense chipped away at the Brew-Crew's early lead, setting up Aramis Ramirez with two outs in the ninth and the Cubs now trailing by one.

Len Kasper had the brilliant call:

"The pitch to Aramis. There's a drive. Deep left-center! Cubs win!! They win it!! Ramirez, two-run shot. Ohhhh, baby!!! Can you believe it???" UNBELIEVABLE."

The victory was the seventh-straight for the Cubs. The homer became an instant classic. It was also the #1 moment of the year.

Here's a little of the celebration...

The Best Moments of 2007 (#5)

#5 Mark DeRosa finishes 5-for-5 day with walk-off single against the Reds. September 17, 2007. All great things invariably happen in the ninth inning. This is one of them.

With the Cubs trailing Cincinnati by two runs in the final frame of a game they had to have (Milwaukee was just a game back in the NL Central), things went like this: Theriot, walk; Lee, single; Ramirez, double, scores two; DeRosa, walk-off single, scores one, caps 5-for-5 day.

The celebration was crazy. The rally was crucial. The atmosphere was awesome.

Comebacks in Cubland: rare. When they happen: perfection.

Watch DeRosa's winner here...

The Best Moments of 2007

Starting a new series today at Holy Cowbell: The five best Cubs moments of 2007.

Today, we'll start with the honorable mentions. You'll get No. 5 tomorrow.

* Cubs clinch division. September, 28, 2007. Behind seven scoreless innings from Carlos Zambrano and homers from Alfonso Soriano and Derrek Lee, the Cubs nailed down the Central Division (with the help of San Diego's victory over the Brewers). Perfect finish to an electrifying regular season.

* Aramis Ramirez's go-ahead double against the San Fransisco Giants. July 16, 2007. A-Ram's double, propelling the Cubs to another win, seemed to solidify Chicago as a contender. They did everything in this game that good teams have to do. They rallied to win. They fought. They scrapped. (They beat rookie phenom Tim Lincecum). I loved Ramirez's reaction too, after lunging to pulverize a hanging curve ball into left field (see picture, top left). Even though the ball wasn't out of the park, he still raised his arms in truimph, knowing he had given the Cubs the lead.

* Daryle Ward's walk-off single against the Washington Nationals. May 6, 2007. Ward lofted a ball to left field to the win this early-season contest with a walk-off single, prompting a raucous celebration on the field. But the classic moment of this come-from-behind game was Ryan Theriot's 9th-inning at-bat against Washington closer Chad Cordero. Theriot fouled off numerous 2-2 pitches before singling to right to drive in the game-tying run. Awesome Cubs victory.