Ouch...

...that hurt.

Alfonso Soriano will miss six weeks after breaking his hand tonight. Soriano was hit by a pitch thrown by Atlanta's Jeff Bennett.

Looks like Micah Hoffpauir will be called up for sure, and maybe another player as well, before interleague play starts.

Wouldn't be surprised if it's Eric Patterson rather than Matt Murton.

Goatriders has some statistical analysis as to who should get the call-up. I agree with his sentiment that whoever it is, it will still be a huge drop-off from Alfonso Soriano.

I disagree, however, that Hoffpauir has the least talent of the three (Hoffpauir, Murton and Patterson). I saw Hoffpauir a lot this spring in Arizona (he played in every spring training game) and the guy can swing the bat. Better than Thunder Matt, in my humble opinion. Plus, he'd be a lefty joining a righty-dominant lineup. And, he can spot Derrek Lee at first base (since Daryle Ward won't be ready).

Z as a DH? Don't think so...

The talk has already started (end of third paragraph) that the Cubs should use Carlos Zambrano as a designated hitter when they play an interleague game at an American League ballpark.

While you have to love Z's stats on the surface (.364 avg, 1 HR, .523 slg), here's one stat that might make you think twice:

44 at-bats

14 strikeouts

0 walks

Carlos strikes out 32% of the time he comes to bat. For comparison's sake, the free-swinging Alfonso Soriano strikes out 22% of the time (45 Ks in 208 at-bats).

Don't get me wrong...

...I definitely think Zambrano is the best hitting pitcher in the game who is not named Micah Owings.

...and I definitely think Lou should continue to use him as the first pitcher off the bench when the team runs out of pinch hitters.

...and I love having him in the No. 9 spot on the day he pitches, because there's added pop at the bottom of the order.

But I don't think he's a better alternative than Daryle Ward or Micah Hoffpauir when the Cubs head to an American League park. Especially not with his potential for rally-killing strikeouts.

Squeeze Bunts...

* Out on the farm in Iowa, Rich Hill had to leave his last start. Team says it was back stiffness. The way Hill has pitched down there (1-2, 3.38 ERA, eight walks in 13 1/3 innings), I don't see him back in the bigs any time soon.

I love Lou's quote about Hill though: "Let's not make it too serious. It might not be serious at all."

Sounds a little like wishful thinking to me. 'If I don't think it's bad, than it can't be bad!'

* Lou says Daryle Ward is likely heading to the disabled list with a bulging disk. And his replacement on the roster? Not Matt Murton, but Micah Hoffpauir. The spring training star is recovering from his early-season injury and will probably get his first chance in the majors.

* Nice to see Sean Gallagher's first win, after pitching six innings of one-run ball against the Pirates. Really fascinating story on the Cubs' website about Gallagher's weight. Apparently Kerry Wood is the next Jenny Craig.

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!

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

Observations from the Ballpark (Part II)

Caught the Cubs-Royals today in Suprise, Arizona. Cubs were flat-out dominant. Won it 13-1. Out-hit the Royals 21-2. Looked like the varsity against the JV. And the scary part is that the Royals played most of their regulars!

Here are my observations:

Offense:

Awesome. The Cubs scored in every inning except two and did so without the need for the long ball. Eric Patterson hit a two-run homer late, but for the most part, the explosion came mostly from line drives ripped into the gap.

Daryle Ward was unstoppable. Went 4-for-4 and every single hit was powdered. Felix Pie and Patterson shot balls into the gap a few times, and Alex Cintron, Alfonso Soriano and Matt Murton hit balls hard as well.

I really like Micah Hoffpauir. He won't make the team because he's behind Derrek Lee (and Ward and Mark DeRosa can back Lee up), but he hits a ton. Might be valuable come September as a late-season call-up when rosters expand.

Defense:

Pretty much perfect. Team made every play it needed to. Only play of note was a double by Alex Gordon; Sam Fuld played the ball off the wall extremely well.

Pitching:

Ryan Dempster started and his numbers will look pretty good (4 innings, 1 hit, 1 run) and he didn't pitch badly. But I did find one thing worrisome and I'll get to that in the "concerned me" section.

Otherwise, the bullpen was filthy good. Kerry Wood looked unhittable in an inning of work. Carlos Marmol closed the game with a 1-2-3 inning. Even Michael Wuertz and Neal Cotts worked scoreless innings. Kansas City looked overmatched.

Impressed me: Pie and Patterson, two players who look like they may have turned the corner. Patterson looks very comfortable both at the plate and in the field (he played nine innings at second base today). Kid brings a lot to the table.

And Pie is a different player from last year. Much more under control at the plate. Shorter, more compact swing and it's making a huge difference. He's crushed the ball at every game I've been to.

Depressed me: Kansas City, as a whole. What a terrible team.

Starting pitcher Brett Tomko got lit up like the Fourth of July. But it didn't help that the defense behind him was wearing iron gloves. They dropped a couple flyballs and did nothing to pick Tomko up.

Particularly bad was former Cub Mark Grudzielanek. Dropped a flyball, made a throwing error, had the ball fall out of his hand on a relay-play. Atrocious.

Intrigued me: It's clear that Lou Pinella and Jim Hendry are going to have some tough decisions to make... and that's ideal. I've now seen three of the four pitchers battling for two spots (I've only missed Jason Marquis) and they've all impressed me. Picking between Jon Lieber, Sean Marshall, Ryan Dempster and Marquis aint going to be easy.

Nor will it be easy to say goodbye to either Cintron, Ronny Cedeno, Mike Fontenot or Patterson. They all can't make this team, but each is hitting a ton and playing solid defense.

Concerned me: All right, here's what worried me about Dempster. He was in control for the first two innings. But then, in the top of the third inning, the Cubs sent nine hitters to the plate. It was a long inning and I was anxious to see how Dempster would react to the long layoff. He reacted, well, horribly. Walk. Double. Hit batter. Hard-hit groundout. Walk. Double play. He completely lost command and got bailed out by a ground ball hit right at someone.

In a tight race between four pitchers, it's the small things that will make a difference... and that seemed like a big deal to me.

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.