Believe it or not – yesterday’s 5-4 win in 10 innings gave the Cubs their 1st 3- game winning streak of the 2011 campaign.  The Cubs were the last team to reach that mark this season.  What a joke…

Jeff Samardzija wasted another great outing from Matt Garza.  Garza allowed just 2 ER on 5 hits and 3 walks over 7 impressive innings.  He struck out 9 and lowered his ERA to 3.72 and his WHIP to 1.30.  He left with a 3-2 lead, but when Samardzija served up Carlos Lee’s go-ahead 2-run HR in the 8th inning, he was forced to take another no decision.

Fortunately, 3 straight hits allowed the Cubs to tie the game on Alfono Soriano’s single to start off the 8th inning.

And after Carlos Marmol survived a bases loaded, 1-out jam in the 9th inning, karma seemed to be on the Cubs side when Hunter Pence lost Marlon Byrd’s flyball in the sun to lead off the 10th inning giving Byrd a “gimme” triple.  After Geovany Soto struck out for the 1st out of the inning, the Astros walked the bases loaded intentionally.  And Jeff Baker came through with the clutch game-winning line drive single to left field that plated Byrd with the winning run.

Byrd had 4 hits and 3 runs scored.  Soto had 3 hits, an RBI and a run scored.

The Cubs are now 42-60 and they have opened up a “safe” 8.5 game lead over the Astros to avoid having the worst record in the NL.  Now that’s something to cheer about – Go Cubs Go!!!

Carlos Zambrano struggled for the 2nd straight start since calling out closer Carlos Marmol for blowing a save in which Big Z stood to get the win back on June 5th against the Cardinals.  Since then, Zambrano has given up 12 ER on 16 hits and 9 walks to the Phillies and Brewers, both games which the Cubs have lost.  After having some impressive outings earlier this season, Big Z has been a mess of late with his ERA rising to 4.59. So much for trading him when the iron was hot.

On a side note – maybe we’ll see Prince Fielder in a Cubs uni next year?!?!

Jeff Baker homered in the 1st to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead and Reed Johnson cut the Brewers 5-1 lead to 5-4 with his 3-run bomb in the 4th inning, but it wasn’t enough.  Johnson, Blake DeWitt and DJ Lemahieu each had 2 hits in the loss.  The Cubs committed an error for what seems like the 50th game in a row.  It led to 2 unearned runs off of James Russell in the 7th inning that increased the Brewers lead to 7-4.

News Flash – Cubs defeated the Brewers today 12-7 to take 3 of 4 from the Brewers this week at Wrigley…

Ouch — what an ugly loss – 15-5, 4 more errors from the Cubs defense.  Just when you thought they might make a turn after winning 2 over the Marlins in Miami this week, they go back to their “old” losing ways in Boston.

Doug Davis was downright bad – 7 ER on 8 hits and 3 walks with 3 K’s in just 3 2/3 innings pitched.  Scott Maine recorded just 1 out in his work durnig the 4th and 5th innings.  He gave up 3 ER on 5 hits with 1 walk. And Jeff Samardzija had his 1st bad outing in a while, turning a 10-5 laugher into an embarrassing 15-5 riot.  He gave up 5 runs (3 earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks in the bottom of the 8th inning.  All in all, the Red Sox pounded out 19 hits including 2 home runs.

James Russell was the only effective Cubs pitcher as he tossed 3 scoreless innings in the middle of the game.

Jeff Baker did have a good night at the plate – 4 for 5 with 2 runs scored.  Aramis Ramirez followed that up with 3 hits and an RBI.  Alfonso Soriano and Reed Johnson each had 2 hits in the loss.

The pressure is now on Carlos Zambrano and Matt Garza to try to salvage the series against the Red Sox at Fenway park in Boston this weekend.

The Cubs got some great pitching over the weekend against the Reds, but only came away with 1 win against their Division Rivals.  Not good… not good at all.  It is the same old alarming trend as the Cubs continue to fail to come through with the clutch hit to break open a close game.

The Red Sox stopped their 3-game skid with 2 impressive wins over the Twins at Fenway Park.

In Saturday’s 3-2 win, Casey Coleman gave the Cubs every chance it needed to win.  Coleman worked 6 solid innings, giving up 2 ER on 4 hits and 3 walks with 6 K’s.  After Coleman allowed the 1st 2 batters to reach base in the 7th inning, Kerry Wood couldn’t limit the damage and allowed the Reds to score 2 runs on a fielder’s choice and single.  That gave the Reds a 2-1 lead.

It came down to the 9th inning trailing 2-1 as Carlos Pena came through with the clutch home run to right field that tied the game at 1.  After Blake DeWitt’s single, it looked like the game was over as Jeff Baker’s double to deep center field would have easily scored DeWitt from 1st.  But the ball bounced over the well and was ruled a ground rule double since the center fielder Daniel Stubbs never made contact with the ball before it left the field of play.  That put the pressure on Kosuke Fukudome with runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs.  But Fukudome lived up to the challenge, stroking a no-doubt, line drive single up the middle to score DeWitt with the winning run.  Marcos Mateo picked up his 1st major league win by pitching a scoreless inning and a third.

On Mother’s Day on Sunday, Ryan Dempster made his second straight good start — 7 innings, 2 ER on 5 hits and no walks.  But this time, he did not come away with the win, as the Cubs bats went silent against Johnny Cueto who was making his 1st start of the season.  The Cubs managed just 6 hits and 2 walks during the game against Cueto and 4 Cubs relievers.  Jeff Samardzija worked his 9th straight appearance in which he has not allowed a run.  Carlos Marmol, who had not pitched since May 3rd against the Dodgers worked a scoreless 9th inning.  Starlin Castro continues to struggle even after getting the day off on Saturday.  Castro has only 2 hits in his last 25 at-bats, a streak spanning 5 games.  His batting average has dropped 48 points down to .300 during that stretch.

The Cubs are now 15-18 on the season and they trail the Cards by 4 games in the NL Central race.  The Cards come to town for 3 big games this week as the Cubs really have their backs up against the wall yet again.

It was another lost weekend for the Cubs at Wrigley Field as the Cubs dropped 2 of 3 to the Dodgers and fell to 10-11 overall.

Saturday’s come-from-behind 10-8 win was a wild roller-coaster ride.  The Cubs jumped out to a 5-1 lead after 4 innings – courtesy of a sacrifice fly by Aramis Ramirez in the 1st inning; an RBI single from Darwin Barney in the 3rd inning; and an RBI double from Reed Johnson and back-to-back RBI singles from Starlin Castro and Barney in the 4th inning.

But the Dodgers rallied to re-take the lead from Ryan Dempster with 3 runs in each of the 5th and 6th innings.  Dempster could not hold the lead again and has had a brutal start to the season.  He could not make it out of the 6th inning, giving up 7 ER on 9 hits (3 home runs) and 3 walks with only 3 K’s.  The Dodgers added an insurance run in the 7th to increase their lead to 8-5.  But a disastrous bottom of the 8th inning for Matt Guerrier cost them the win.  Castro drove in 2 runs with a bases loaded single to center field that cut the lead to 1.  Barney fielder’s choice groundout allowed Kosuke Fukudome to score with the tying run.  And then Jeff Baker’s 2-out, 2-run, game-winning double to the gap in right field put the Cubs ahead for good 10-8.

Jeff Samardzija struck out 3 of the 4 batters that he faced in his inning and a third work to pick up the W.  Carlos Marmol picked up his 5th save by working a scoreless 9th inning despite issuing another walk.  He has now issued 7 walks in 10+ innings of work.  Thos walks eventually come back to haunt you, as they already have in his 2 blown saves this season.

In Sunday’s 7-3 loss, Carlos Zambrano allowed a 5-run 1st inning and the Cubs could never recover.  Big Z ended up lasting 5 innings, but he gave up 6 ER on 8 hits with 4 K’s.  His 10-game winning streak is now over as he suffered his 1st loss of 2011.  He has a 1.30 WHIP and a 5.28 ERA.

Kosuke Fukudome, Darwin Barney, Aramis Ramirez and Marlos Byrd each had 2 hits in the loss.  The Cubs drew only one walk all game long.

The Cubs host the Rockies for 3 games this week at Wrigley Field before embarking on a 7-game road trip to Arizona and Los Angeles on Thursday.  Matt Garza starts tonight for the Cubs still looking for his 1st win in a Cubs uniform.

Carlos Zambrano didn’t have his best stuff, but he tossed 6 effective innings and matched a career-high with his 9th win in a row (dating back to last season).  Zambrano gave up 4 ER on 7 hits and 3 walks, with 5 K’s, but had a quick 1-2-3 6th inning to keep the lead at 6-4 after his 112th pitch of the game.  It was clear that he still had enough gas left in the tank and despite his less-than-stellar outing, he kept his wits about him and focused on getting through 6 innings to hand the ball off to the Cubs promising bullpen.

And boy did they do a great job.  Sean Marshall worked an 11-pitch 1-2-3 7th inning with 1 K – hold #2 on the season.  Kerry Wood worked a 9-pitch 1-2-3 8th inning – hold #3 on the season.  And while Carlos Marmol allowed 2 batters to reach base, he struck out 2 in the 9th inning to preserve the win and pick up his 3rd save.  Manager Mike Quade has gotta be pleased with this formula and as long as these guys stay healthy (Wood especially), there’s no reason to think that the Cubs shouldn’t feel comfortable with a late-inning lead.

The Cubs offense also pounded out 12 hits and 7 runs, lead by Jeff baker’s 4-hit game.  Baker hit a go-ahead 3-run HR in the 4th inning and the Cubs never looked back.  He had 4 RBI’s and 2 runs scored and is just crushing left-handed pitching.  Geovany Soto hit a 2-run HR that tied the game at 2 in the 4th inning, while Marlon Byrd and Alfonso Soriano each had 2 hits in the win.

Matt Garza takes the bump against Chris Narverson in Game 2 of the series at Miller Park tonight.  Let’s see if they can make it 2 in a row…

Manager Mike Quade announced that Darwin Barney will be the Cubs starting 2nd baseman for the 2011 club on Friday.  Barney will be the first rookie to start on Opening Day since Kosuke Fukudome started in right for the Cubs as a 30-year old rookie back in 2008.  Barney compiled a solid .340 batting average in 21 spring training games.  Jeff Baker put up a good fight with Barney, hitting .360 in 19 Cactus League games, but Quade opted to go with the rookie right off the bat.  Barney is excited to make the start – “No butterflies yet, but I’m excited.  It’s a great opportunity, but there’s one thing on my mind, and that’s trying to win the ballgame.  And I think that’s what this whole team is looking to do.  We’re looking to get off to a good start.”

Blake DeWitt, who was considered the front runner heading into spring training this February for the starting 2nd base job, had a rough spring.  DeWitt hit only .186 in 21 spring games as he continues to work through the mechanics of a new swing with hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo.  That being said, Quade also indicated that the left-handed hitting DeWitt will likely start at 2nd base against a right-handed pitcher early on this season – probably in the 1st week.

This is a surprising outcome, but if you go with performance, Barney clearly had the bet showing in spring training this year.  It is also great to see that Quade has control over the team and can make his own decisions without having to worry about GM Jim Hendry trying to influence things too much.  Naming Ryan Dempster the Cubs’ opening day starter instead of Carlos Zambrano is another example of Quade making his own decisions and doing whatever it takes to give his club the best chance to win each day.  I like his attitude and make–up so far.  Now we’ll have to see if it translates consistently into W’s this season…

Carlos Zambrano continued his spring dominance with a nifty 5 inning effort in a Cubs 4-3 win over the Dodgers on Sunday.  Big Z scattered 6 hits and let up just 1 ER.  He walked one, struck out 3 and lowered his ERA to 1.38 in the process.  Manager Mike Quade and the Cubs have to be thrilled with Zambrano’s consistency and composure this spring.

On the offensive side of the ball, Starlin Castro keeps raking – he had 3 more hits and is now hitting .485 for the spring.  Jeff Baker also had 3 hits and is looking like a great option for Quade in a platoon with Blake DeWitt at 2nd base this season.

With the win, the Cubs inched a little bit closer to the .500 mark at 8-10 on the spring.

Ryan Dempster continues to show why Manager Mike Quade anointed the veteran righty his opening day starter before spring ball even began.  Dempster went a team high 5 innings in the 4-3 win over the White Sox.  He struck out 6 batters and scattered just 2 hits and 1 walk during his impressive outing.  He lowered his spring ERA to 1.50 by not allowing a single run.  It was a great follow up to Randy Wells’ 4-inning scoreless gem yesterday.  Carlos Zambrano, Wells and Dempster all already seem to be in mid-season form right now, so this is a good sign for Cubs fans.

Sean Marshall also tossed a scoreless inning of relief, but Jeff Samardzija struggled by allowing all 3 White Sox runs in the 9th inning – his only inning of work.  Samardzija saw his ERA rise to 8.44 and he could be in jeopardy of being released by the Cubs since he does not have any options left.

The Cubs applied offensive pressure right from the start as well.  The Cubs pushed across runs in each of the 1st 3 innings to stake Dempster to an early 3-0 lead.  Geovany had 2 hits on the day and got things started for the Cubs with an RBI single in the 1st.  Carlos Pena hit a solo home run in the 2nd inning and then racked up another RBI with a run scoring single in the 3rd inning.  Jeff Baker batted lead-off and had 2 hits and a run scored.  Brett Jackson also came through with a big insurance run in the top of the 9th on an RBI double.  That proved to be the winning run as the White Sox rallied for 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning.

It was another nice win for the Cubs today.  Let’s hope they can put a few more of these wins together over the next few weeks before the start of the MLB season to give the squad some much-needed confidence…

Blake DeWitt is the clear favorite to win the 2nd base job coming out of spring training 2011.  The bigger question is whether DeWitt will show enough to warrant consideration for the lead-off spot as well. In 53 games for the Cubs after a mid-season trade in 2010, DeWitt hit .250 with a .314 on-base percentage.  His career numbers are a little bit better – .259 and .335.  DeWitt re-worked his swing this winter, working with Cubs hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo on his heralded hitting system.  The system involves a 5-point program that focuses on 5 elements of body positioning and thinking about how you apprach each at-bat.  DeWitt is getting the hang of it and is excited for live game action – “His system is something I enjoy.  I’ve been able to implement that, and it’s really not that complicated if you stick with it.”  DeWitt is only 25 years old so he still has a lot of upside potential.

While DeWitt could hit lead-off, he will likely hit down in the order – 7 or 8.  He may also spend time on the bench against left-handed pitchers according to Manager Mike Quade.  Quade likes to play the match-ups and Jeff Baker is a solid platoon option.  Baker hit .350 against lefties in 2010 and had good overall numbers in 79 games – .272 batting average and .326 on-base percentage.  While we might see Baker or DeWitt at the top of the order from time to time, Quade has hinted that he will likely go with right fielder Kosuke Fukudome to lead-off against righties.  With a lefty on the bump, Quade hasn’t tipped his hand yet, but we could see Starlin Castro, Alfonso Soriano or Baker there depending on the pitcher.

Players reported to Cubs camp today, so we’ll keep you posted as things progress…

DeWitt will likely spend