Cubs get swept but magic number dwindles down to two

I know the Cubs have luck on their side when they are swept by the Florida Marlins and they're still up by two games in the National League Central with only three games to play.

The Chicago Cubs traveled to Florida and were absolutely manhandled by the last place team of the National League East. Steve Trachsel pitched for the Cubs and he was absolutely awful. He is the one pitcher that should be left off of the playoff roster adding a third catcher to our outfit. Besides laboring on the mound putting the viewer into submission between pitches, he left everything up and over the plate allowing the Marlins a huge lead in the early innings. Trachsel (7-11, 4.90 ERA) allowed five earned runs on five hits in five innings. He wasn't even timing his delivery correctly and it cost the Cubs dearly. If the Cubs took care of business like they should have, with Milwaukee dumping a few games our way, we'd be celebrating a post season birth right now. It truly befuddles me to see the Cubs playing this way realizing the usual non-Cubs fan's excuse, "But they're the Cubs" seems to be more real every day. Zambrano (17-13, 4.08 ERA) takes the hill Friday looking for his 18th victory of the season against Bronson Arroyo (9-14, 4.22). It should be a better matchup than the second game because we face Aaron Harang on Saturday who is an absolute Cub-killer.

The Brewers have to pretty much win out against the Padres to have hopes of entering the post season because they gave up their second game in a row losing Thursday night to the rejuvenated San Diego Padres, who have playoff aspirations of their own. The Pad rookie, Jack Cassel left the Brewers bats looking ridiculous tonight (Rickie Weeks did have two homeruns in the game) as the men from San Diego helped the Cubs out, just like St. Louis did the night before, beating the Brew Crew 9-5 sending Milwaukee to their second straight loss. The loss helps the Cubs take their magic number down to two with only three games to play. The Brewers also set this year's team record with five errors helping the Padres go into game two with Maddux (13-11, 4.50 ERA) on the mound. Ben Sheets misses his start with a bad hamstring so Yost (serving a one-game suspension on Thursday for sending McClung {appealed a three game suspension on Thursday} out to hit Pujols) will send Chris Capuano (5-12, 5.09 ERA) to the hill who basically has not received any offensive support from his team this year.

The bottom line is this; if the Cubs win tomorrow and then the Brewers lose, the Cubs practically back their way into the playoffs. This is what all Cubs fans are hoping for and their praying for it to happen on Friday.

I'm Clay Koenig and the Cubs are two games up on the Brewers (with three games to play on both sides).

Cubs magic number is 3!

The Cubs magic number is down to three despite losing yet again to the last place Marlins. Lou Pinella doesn't believe in curses but I will say the Cubs look nothing like the same team that went 5-1 on their last homestand.

Offense wasn't really a problem on Wednesday night as Derrek Lee kept the Cubs September homerun show going and DeRosa hit a double and triple, but our pitchers that have been nothing less than flawless over the past few months can't even hold a lead once we get one. The Chicago Cubs lose to the hapless Marlins as Florida's bullpen stymies the Cubs once again. They throw 5 1/3 innings of run free ball and our bullpen ace Carlos Marmol even gives up a two run shot to Cabrerra in the late innings. The Cubs were only 1 1/2 games up as of 10:05pm but about an hour later the final was a gift in Milwaukee as the Brewers lost to the banged-up Cardinals 7-3. Yost cuts his own throat and gets tossed for the third time in four games as he sends in his right hander Seth McClung into the game to drill Albert Pujols in retaliation for Fielder getting plunked in the beginning of the game. Tempers flare but so did the Cardinals bats as they deposed four runners across the plate in the 8th inning leaving Milwaukee, and their coach, searching for answers on how to topple the Cubs two games back with only four left to play.

The Cubs who are 0-9 versus the Marlins dating back to last year and have to gut it out to take at least one from the Fish in the series. Florida has the Cubs' number as it's the longest active streak in the majors of one team beating another in a row.

Steve Trachsel takes the hill tomorrow to finish the final series against the pesky Marlins tomorrow while Jake Peavy and his Padres travel to Miller Park to end the regular season against the Brewers in a four-game set. The Cubs finish their regular season travels as they fly to the Great American Ballpark taking on the Cincinnati Reds.

Cubs, do me a flippin' favor....Take care of your own business and play loose. This is ridiculous.

I'm Clay Koenig and the Cubs have a two game lead on the Brewers (with four games to play on both sides).

Day off leaves Cubs feeling flat

Dontrelle Willis didn't want to be part of the Cubs playoff hopes. He absolutely stopped the Cubs in their tracks pitching eight innings and giving up two runs on two hits. Craig Monroe, acquired from the Tigers to help against the Cubs' left hander woes, made his twelfth start a little memorable as he belted a two run homerun to right center field. The two runs couldn't help the Cubs as Ted Lilly, who has been our saving grace, gave up four runs in the bottom of the second inning. That was all the Florida Marlins needed as they went on to beat the Cubs 4-2.

Lilly got out of a little jam in the first as the fish left two men on base but in the second inning the Marlins hit four straight singles scoring one. Uggla sacrifices run number two of the inning with a deep fly to Matt Murton in right field, and then with men on second and third Jeremy Hermida belts a ground rule double scoring the last two runs of the inning. Ted Lilly looked a little flat at times as his breaking ball was moving too high across the plate. Wednesday Jason Marquis (12-8, 4.35 ERA) takes the mound against Daniel Barone (1-3, 5.40 ERA.

It looks as if Tony LaRussa continues to play Cub-killer, throwing the game for the Brewers as they now lead 7-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning against the dead St. Louis Cardinals. No matter how many runs the Brewers score the Chicago Cubs will lead the Central Division by two games with only five games left to play. It's doable but it certainly isn't probable.

The Chicago Cubs will regroup for tomorrow's matchup and start chopping away at the magic number, which is four.

I'm Clay Koenig and the Cubs are two games in front of the overrated Brewers (Five games to play on both sides).

Cardinals roll over for Brewers, LaRussa hates the Cubs

It's pretty darn apparent that Tony LaRussa doesn't want the Cubs in the playoffs. When you leave your starting pitcher in after giving up nine runs in five innings you've pretty much given up.

The Milwaukee Brewers gain a little ground, and confidence by smashing the hapless Cardinals 13-5. Yost gets thrown out of the game for the second time in two days after arguing balls and strikes with the home plate umpire but ultimately because the ump blew a call at the plate because he was in the wrong position.

I'm sure the Cubs turned off the game after the second inning because even though the Cardinals are pretty dinged up heading into oblivion after winning the World Series, T.R. has no intention of trying to end the season on a good note. The Chicago Cubs just have to take care of business with it starting on Tuesday night in Florida facing the Marlins. The Cubs look unstoppable and their magic number is down to four. This is in combination with a Cubs win or a Brewers lost.

Let the Brewers think they can come back, it makes for a good storyline. The Cubs will be in the NLDS. I firmly believe that.

I'm Clay Koenig and the Cubs lead the Brewers by three games with six games to play on both sides.

Cubs sweep it, Yost loses it, and Brewers blow it

When Lou Pinella was interviewed last week on what he thought about the upcoming match ups during the next seven days he said, "Next week will really tell a lot." His quote could not have been more right on.

The Chicago Cubs hit two more homeruns today (Derrek Lee and Ronny Cedeno) and swept the Pirates back to Pittsburgh beating them handily 8-0. They move 3 1/2 games up on the Brewers with six games to play and also have a traveling day (last day off) getting ready to face the 66-90 Florida Marlins on Tuesday. The Cubs will have to clinch the division on the road but the way the big hitters in the lineup are crushing the ball it will probably be during the Florida series. The Brewers can come back but they've lost their last six games against St. Louis and open up their final seven games at home against the Cardinals and then finishing up with the Padres. The Red Birds will play for pride, and the Padres are still vying for a playoff spot.
Carlos Zambrano (17-13) was at his "best" striking out six and only allowing three hits in six innings. He left before the first pitch of the 7th inning with forearm cramps and should be fine for his next start against the Reds. Big Z had not won at Wrigley Field since the end of July and he definitely had something to prove to the Chicago Fans. The Wrigleyville faithful gave him standing ovation after standing ovation showing full support to their newest contract-locked man. 17 wins is his new personal best and the way he pitched today,we'll see number 18 next week.
It was all offense today as the Cubs scored 8 runs on 14 hits. Get this, the series versus the Pirates the Cubs scored 30 runs on 45 hits. They set a record for homeruns (38) in the month of September (hitting .340 as a team in the month) and we still have six games to play. The Cubs have won the last 10 of 12 and go on the road to meet Florida.
There was another bonus game for the Cubs as the Brewers were in control in Atlanta taking a 4-1 lead into the 7th inning when the Braves finally came alive offensively scoring four runs in the seventh and then another two in the 8th to take the game, and take the series. With the final home stand starting tomorrow for the Brew Crew the Cubs can't go into Florida with less than a three game lead with six to play on both sides.
Ned Yost, who is known for his cool demeanor, absolutely went ballistic on the umpires for a call that had Francoeur diving head first back to second base after Teixeira beat out an infield single. He was ejected from the game and then really showed his colors berating the officiating of the whole series in the post press conference. He really showed Brewer desperation and was in no way rallying the troops like Pinella did on June 6th which was the absolute turning point of the Northsiders season.
Anything, and I mean anything can happen in this next week but the players have that "Cubbie swagger" back thanks to Pinella and he's done a hell of a coaching job this season. They've made it fun for the Cubs fan and now the post season is really in our grasp.

Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago what do you say, the Cubs are going to win today!!!

I'm Clay Koenig and the Chicago Cubs have a 3 1/2 game lead on the Brewers with six games to play.

Cubs begining to separate themselves from the Brewers

The Cubs pound the Pirates again after facing their second left-hander in the row. They have won the last 9 of 11 and a bonus was that the stellar closer (Francisco Cordero) from the Brewers gave up a two out homerun in the bottom of the ninth (Braves won in 11) so the Cubs now stand 2 1/2 games up in the National League Central with seven games to play.

Unsung Defensive Hero: Sam Fuld. This guy has some wheels and Cubs fans everywhere witnessed what he can do with his glove. In the 7th inning with the Nate McLouth standing on first Nyjer Morgan drove a ball fast and hard towards right field. Fuld, with total disregard of his body made a leaping catch against the ivy-covered wall and had the presence of mind to wheel around and make a great throw to Derrek Lee waiting on first to double up the men from Pittsburgh to end the inning. I'll go out on a limb and say it was the best defensive play of the year. This guy is an up-and-coming stud for the Cubs as well.

The Cubs can literally smell the playoffs and even though "these are the Cubs" their finding their power stroke at exactly the right time. The Cubs played 'small ball' for the first five months of the season hitting only 106 homeruns. They have hit 36 homeruns in the month of September alone and this was the second game in a row where the Cubs hit four balls out of the park. Soriano, finally showing his whopping $136 million dollar worth, belted two homeruns and has four dingers in the last three games. Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez added their own shots to set the Cubs up for the sweep tomorrow. The Pittsburgh Pirates have lost their season leading eight games in a row and if our Ace Carlos Zambrano gets his head together we could leave for Florida holding a three game lead over the Brewers with only six to play.

Changing of the guard(s)? Ryan Dempster came out in the 9th again in a non-save situation and gave up another solo-shot on Saturday. It seems to be a habit of late but Pinella continues to have confidence in our closer. I think teams would fear Marmol more, but Pinella doesn't want to mix things up. It's worked for us this far but it might be something to think about for next year.

Geovany Soto was behind the plate again on Saturday but Kendall hasn't been moved aside. The AAA stud went 1-for-5 in today's game and is hitting .375 since moving up from the minors. Next year it's going to be a tough decision to make. We still have Henry Blanco on the payroll for another two years (he might be left off of the playoff roster if we make it) and Kendall has already expressed his feelings about wanting to return to the Cubs next year.

Quit crying, it's Wrigley for pete's sakes! Adam Dunn, the big tub of goo from the Reds, commented negatively about the "pot holes" in the outfield from our charmed park last week and Pirates manager Jim Tracy echoed those same sentiments saying it was 'dangerous.' It's like hearing a football player crying about the elements before kickoff. The Park is a hundered years old for crying out loud. If those teams had beat the Cubs we wouldn't have heard a lick about it. Shutup and play.

Warm and fuzzies. The Chicago Cubs set an attendance record this year (2004 held the previous record) with one game left to play at home. 3,211,098 baseball fans have graced Wrigley Field this year so far.

Keep on singing! Dustin Eglseder, the 22 year old from Guttenberg, IA who was diagnosed with bone cancer this past March won the first ever 7th inning stretch contest held by the Chicago Cubs. The man can sing and hit every note. Here's to his health, and to his voice!

I'm Clay Koenig and the Cubs are 2 1/2 games in front of the Brewers with seven games to play.

9 games left (up by one and a half on the Brewers)

My Chicago Cubs are going to give me a heart attack...

I thought the Pirates were only going to send two lefties against the North Siders but now I have found out they will pitch left handers in all three games in the final home series.

The Cubs are 1-0 in this series in an absolute slug fest as the final went 13-8. It was a hazy day at Wrigley Field with the wind blowing out and Jason Marquis (named as the pitcher in a tie breaker with the Brewers at home if it should occur) was absolutely 'rocked' giving up 7 earned runs on eight hits, pitching only 2 2/3 innings. The bullpen brigade of Ohman, Hart, Eyre, Marmol and Wood pitch the rest of the game into the eighth holding the Bucks scoreless and only giving up two hits combined. Dempster came in on the 9th and did give up a solo shot to Xavier Nady but the Cubs already did the damage hitting four homeruns with Aramis Ramirez hitting two of them with three men on base each time.

I was nervous because the Cubs go up big in the first (Soriano hits the first pitch out again for a lead off homerun) and Ramirez hits his first three run homerun of the day. The end of the first the Cubs are up 4-1, then go up 5-1 in the second on Isturiz's error allowing Derrek Lee to score. In the third inning Jason Marquis absolutely lost it (hadn't looked good all day) allowing the Pirates to score five before he was chased away. Ohman comes in and the first batter he faces bunts over the pitchers mound to allow their seventh run of the day. The Cubs answer in the bottom of the frame with two runs of their own tying the game at 7. Three innings have been played and 14 runs already have been scored.

The Cubs bullpen this year (yes, even with the late addition of Kerry Wood) has been stellar this year and really picked it up for the Cubs this year. That's why their in this National League race going up two games on the Brewers. The boys from Milwaukee have their work cut out for them as they face the Braves and Tim Hudson tonight which is no easy task.

The Cubs wrap up the game with a five run inning of their own in the bottom of the sixth as Aramis goes 'tape measure' deep (another 3-run homerun) and then Soto, the surprise rookie catcher with an arm, goes deep for his third of the year.

The Cubs still have their work out for them playing their last six game of the year on the road but their against the Florida Marlins (66-87) and then finish against the "Griffeyless" Reds (70-83) Their schedule favors them to do something but it seems as if the Cubs come up big against teams with winning records and then falter with teams with losing records. Only eight games left and the Cubs need to continue to take care of business.

I'm Clay Koenig and the Chicago Cubs have eight games left and lead the Brewers by 2.