Aiming to sweep the series the Cubs came up short yesterday and lost 9-2. Ted Lilly's struggles continue as he pitched 6 innings and allowed 5 earned runs on 6 hits and 3 walks. He caught a bad break as the Cub bats were silent for the most part. Reed Johnson slipped in 4 hits as the rest of the lineup produced just 5. Ken Griffey Jr. launched a 3-run homer in the 7th inning off Jon Lieber, who performs better as a starter. He has 2-1 record and 1.74 ERA which seems unusual for him to enter the game in relief. Unless the Cubs lacked arms in the bullpen I'd leave Lieber in the rotation and let him get his rest on off-days.
I like how the Cubs are kicking off the homestand. Winning 2-of-3 against Cincinnati showed that the offense is coming around. Derek Lee delivered with clutch hits in the last 2 series. His 6 homeruns and 13 RBIs fill the void a little with the Alfonso Soriano's absence. With a new temporary lead-off man in Mike Fontenont the Cubs must find ways to score runs early in games and cut down on stranded runners. Today they start a 3-game series with the Pirates at home. I'm looking for Ramirez to snap out of his slump soon. With the injury to Soriano the Cubs called up Eric Patterson to platoon in the outfield. The main thing now is building team chemistry and having players adapting to different roles.
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