In a hot, sunny day at Wrigley everything went the Cubs way. The starting lineup knocked the Pirates' Kip Wells from the mound in the third inning. A flow of 5 singles in the row and a double plated 6 runs in the inning. Carlos Zambrano had another fine outing, pitching a strong eight innings of work, allowing one unearned run plus swatted a 2-run double. Derek Lee, Jeromy Burnitz, and Aramis Ramirez all homered. Michael Barrett added 2 hits and an RBI after returning to the lineup after a few days rest from a sore shoulder. With the 8-2 win Zambrano improved his record to (7-5). Nearly sweeping the series at Wrigley looms heavily in favor of the Cubs. Right now they need to win as many games as possible. I know they don't need to be reminded of this everyday. The young relievers Sergio Mitre and Will Ohman got some work in towards the end of the game. Thanks to the effectiveness of the rotation the bullpen has gotten some rest this week.
On deck next in the schedule are the Reds and Cardinals. Tommorrow Jerome Williams will start in Cincinatti. The hitter friendly surroundings of the Great American Park should satisfy the Cub hitters. Even though the Reds are in last place at the moment their lineup is stacked with power and excellent hitters. Adam Dunn is having another great season and can take a pitcher deep in a hurry. (Holds record for longest homerun hit at Great American Ball Park, over 500 ft.) The same goes for Ken Griffey Jr. who's production has slacked off a bit, but still possesses the pop in his bat. There are other young, budding stars like Austin Kearns and Willy Mo Pena the Cubs need to pitch careful to as well. Then the Cubs travel to St. Louis to face the Cardinals, where they will have a chance to fight for redemption and ground in the division. Derek Lee will be a prime factor in these games. If he goes on a tear maybe it will lead over to the other Cub hitters. I think if Dusty will move Aramis Ramirez behind Lee in the order the Cubs will score more runs. Ramirez is heating up, already with 21 homers and over 60 RBIs. He's been a big lift to the team.
Help may be on the way as Ben Grieve was activated from the Iowa Cubs(AAA). His bat and presence in the outfield is needed. With Grieve available a balance can be made with outfielder Todd Hollandsworth. Jerry Hairston will most likely remain in centerfield since the absence of Corey Patterson (deployed to minors- Iowa(AAA) earlier this month). With the expectation of a return soon, Nomar may be back in early August. The Cubs can't have too much offense. With their prized starting rotation, it will be essential in order to win games. The current situation looks gloomy, standing 13 games out of first, but they're much closer in the wild card race here in July. They'll have to wait back and watch the teams in the NL East beat the living crap out of one another and then slip in first place in late September. This is if there is no chance of catching the Cardinals. Time to outplay those Reds and storm into Busch Stadium and send a loud, clear message: Oh yeah, we're bringing it bitch!
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