The Start

Greg Maddux looked good today, but I have not heard anything about his condition so far. Probably the play of the game was Lee's grab at first with a runner on third. The Cubs repaid Oswalt with a 3-1 loss with the help of Moises Alou, who hit his 13 HR of the season.

Another good sign was the bullpen work of Farnsworth, Hawkins and Borowski. They pitched really well, even if I was a little worried about Everett made contact against to end the game.

Looks like the Cubs will be 2.5 games back if the Reds hold on.

We Are Expanding

I am happy to say that Mike Wilkinson will be join us here at the Yarbage Cub Review. You may remember Mike from his own blog Out in the Bleachers. Look for a post from Mike really soon.

Well, We Have Had Better Days

I did not see the games yesterday. I am glad for that fact. I drove back to Alabama from San Antonio after doing the job search thing. I checked my phon a couple of times and after I saw the Grand Slam, well the drive got a little worse. The Bullpen had been really strong over the past few games, but not yesterday.

The Cubs look to rebound today with Sergio Mitre on the mound. The Cubs are 2.5 games behind the Reds and a game behind the Astros after this 4 game losing streak, but it is not even Memorial Day.

The Catcher Effect

There has been a lot of talk about 3B over the years for the Cubs, but another big hole has been the Catcher. For years the Cubs got low market players and they played below average during those years. So lets look at the past. The Cubs might have a steal in Michael Barrett.


His numbers through Tonight:

.293 AVG. 7 HR 21 RBI .858 OPS

He is well on pace to break all his career highs. His best season would either be his 1999 or his 2002 season, both are very similar.
1999:
.293 AVG. 8 HR 52 RBI .781 OPS
2002:
.263 AVG. 12 HR 49 RBI .750 OPS

This compared to Damian Miller
This season
.291 AVG. 2 HR 11 RBI .745 OPS
2003:
.233 AVG 9 HR 36 RBI .679 OPS

So far this trade has worked wonders, but will it keep up is the key. Barrett has played better than anyone could expect, but his career numbers suggest that it could end.

I went looking for the last time a Cub Catcher had at least what I would call ok numbers. Lets look at the 1996 Cubs.

Scott Servais
.265 AVG. 11 HR 63 RBI .711 OPS

This is not what I would call a monster year, but it was the last time a Cub Catcher had over 60 RBI. This with the monsters like Todd Hundley coming to play for the Cubs.

The best season as a Catcher in the 90's would be Rick Wilkins
1993:
.303 AVG. 30 HR 73 RBI .937 OPS

Barrett probably will not match Wilkins numbers, but if he hits:

.280 AVG. 20-25 HR 60+ RBI .800+ OPS

These would be ideal numbers for the Cubs. The season still has many more games to come, but the start looks good.

I Hate Fox

It looks as if today I was screwed like much of the nation in watching the Braves play L.A. It always seems to happen to me because of my region. I could care less about the Braves, but I get to keep watching in. At least I get to see tomorrows game. On a side note, the Cubs are in first place with the Astros and Reds. With many more games against the Central to come it is still very important time of year.

The bench continues to play well, and more Cubs hit the DL as Mercker went on the DL.

The Cards Get One Today

The Cubs were lucky to be in the game today, but that still makes the 7-6 loss even more heart breaking.

The game was highlighted by Barrett's two home runs and a 3 run shot by Alou, but it was Sergio Mitre that led to the Cubs demise. He gave up 7 runs after getting rattled. The main problem with all the DL stints for Cub Pitchers, there is no end in sight for Mitre until early June when Prior returns.

The Cub are on national TV the next two days so enjoy.

The Season Really Starts Today

The Cubs are hurt,but that means these games in May are even that more important. They have to pull it together and start winning some series. This was not the way the season was supposed to go, but it has showed me how important an improved bench is.

I'M Back

Sorry Fans of this site in the past two months, but graduation took a little more time than I thought. Now that is done and I am unemployed to start off, I should have plenty of time to write about the Cubs. Thanks to my brother for posting a few things in the past two weeks. As for last night. I was unable to see the game on MLB Extra innings, I believe this is the first game all year not on the package, but it must have been one hell of a pitching preformance. Look for more later.

MADDUX

Maddux once again puts on a great performance. Mad Dog went eight innings giving up only 5 hits and one earned one on only 88 pitches. 88 pitches- that is one of the most amazing factors to the outing. The only reason Maddux did not pitch a complete game is because Baker believed that he might have tired after running through a stop sign in the bottom of the eighth. This is the Maddux I love to see. Now he is only eight away from the magic 300th win. Hopefully he will be able to reach it in eight starts.

Sosa tied Mike Schmidt on the all time home run list with his 548th career dinger. Patterson also helped Maddux out with a home run. It's nice to see the Cubs once again score runs. With this win the Cubs pulled themselves within a game of the Astros for the lead of the central division.

On another note Kerry Wood dropped his appeal of his suspension and will start serving it. This is not bad news because they planned on him skipping his next start anyway with his right tricep acting up. This actually works out very well for the Cubs. Now instead of putting him on the DL and missing a game and then serving his suspension he now just spends his time getting better during his suspension.

It's ALIVE!!!!!

The bats once again made their presence know. The Cubs beat the Diamondbacks 11-3 with 15 hits in a well pitched game by Clement. He gave up three runs on 7 hits, four walks, and struck out six. While not as stellar as his last few outings it got the job done. Derek Lee's bat is now turning around also. He went 5-5 against the Diamondbacks with five RBI"s. Sosa also contributed with 2 RBI's. With Alex Gonzalez out for at least six weeks with a fractured wrist, the Cubs are calling up Damian Jackson. Roman Martinez will be the everyday shortstop for Alex.

Zambrano is starting tomorrow against Colorado. So hopefully the Cubs can go on another win streak and take over Houston for first place in central which we are two games back now. Go CUBBIES!!!!!!

Got our number

Arizona seems to have our number. With the Cubs bats in a slumber lately things are not going well. Good news though is that Kerry Wood pitched a pretty good game. He gave up 2 runs on 3 hits with 8 strikeouts through 7 innings. I know our bats can not stay asleep for much longer with the lineup that goes out there. Hopefully tomorrow Clement will have another good start like he's been having and the offense will support him so the Cubs can get the win.