Chicago Cubs weekly update 6/21/09 – The week it all changed?

In another revamping of our Cubs coverage, we now will be doing weekly updates on the Cubs that take a look at the action from the past week and look forward to the upcoming one. Along the way we’ll be posting on major occurences and rumors, but check in every Monday to see what’s going on in Kingdom Cub.

I have to say, it felt different watching the Cubs this week than it has in a while, maybe even all season: it was actually enjoyable. It really has almost felt like a chore to watch the Cubs lately. The offense has been anemic at best, constantly betraying good starting pitching. Even when the offense has done enough to get a win for the starter, the bullpen has allowed the opposition to come back, typically thanks to poor control.

This week has been anything but boring, even though it started otherwise. We were treated to more rain to start the week, raining out the Cubs opener against the White Sox at Wrigley. It’s that kind of weather that has caused the Cubs to play the fewest games in the Majors, which will mean that the Cubs will have limited off days the rest of the way.

The Cubs took the field on Wednesday and were down 2-0 to John Danks before batting twice. 2 runs were all Danks would need, as he shut down the Cubs for 7 plus innings on the way to a 4-1 victory. Ryan Dempster put together a quality start in spite of some SERIOUS control issues (6 walks). The Cubs never really seemed to have a chance.

It was more of the same in game 2, at least to start with. Carlos Zambrano turned in another strong performance, but fatigued in his last 2 innings, giving up all 3 of his runs in the 6th and 7th. Even so, the Cubs found themselves down only 3-1 after 7, handing the ball to Carlos Marmol to keep the deficit small.

Marmol failed to complete his task, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits in 2/3 of an inning. The 4 run deficit seemed to be far too much to surmount, but Micah Hoffpauir and Alfonso Soriano reached to bring the tying run on deck, before Scott Linebrink retired Ryan Theriot and Milton Bradley harmlessly.

Derrek Lee, the Cubs only hot hitter at that point, then brought the Cubs to within one with a massively important 3 run homer. Before the crowd even had time to quiet down after the big shot, Geovany Soto tied things up with a homerun to left, sending Wrigley into a frenzy.

Kevin Gregg held the Sox down in the 9th to open the door for the Cubs to win it. Reed Johnson pinch hit for the then ice cold Kosuke Fukudome and reached with a clean single. Andres Blanco put him in scoing position with a sac bunt for Aaron Miles and Soriano. Miles was retired, but Soriano got just enough of a Matt Thorton pitch to loft it into the outfield for a gamewinner.

I guess we should have put two and two together after the Cubs dramatic victory. The Cubs showed that flash and the Indians were coming into town, fresh off of an ugly sweep against the Brewers that saw them repeatedly give up leads.

The Cubs tested that theory as much as they could, digging a sizable 7-0 hole against Indians ace Cliff Lee. Lee was very good, but the Cubs chipped away with solo homers by Reed Johnson and the now scalding Derrek Lee. Once Milton Bradley singled off of Lee to open the 8th, he was yanked for Joe Smith. The Cubs managed to scratch to within 1 run with a 4 spot in the 8th, setting up a showdown between Kerry Wood and his former team in a 1 run game.

Wood retired Milton Bradley to set up an at bat against Derrek Lee, who yanked a mid 90′s fastball in on the hands out of the park down the left field line in perhaps the strongest sign to this point that he is regaining some of the power so many of us (including me) thought to be lost.

Kevin Gregg navigated a minefield of a 10th inning (over 30 pitches and 2 fielding errors) to keep the game tied. Soriano again was in the thick of a Cubs rally, walking with 2 outs, stealing second and coming home on a Ryan Theriot spinning top of a walk off single that caromed past Victor Martinez.

The Cubs did not have to dig out of quite as big of a hole on Saturday to beat the Indians, but they made up for it by playing 13 innings. The bullpen was very solid in relief of Ted Lilly (other than a bad 7th inning capped by Carlos Marmol walking in the tying run) that sent the game to extras.

The two teams exchanged scoreless frames until the 13th, when David Patton yielded a homerun to Luis Valbuena (who decided he’s a Cub killer this weekend). Kerry Wood again was put in a save situation in the bottom of the inning and promptly allowed the tying run to reach base in the form of Fukudome via single.

Fukudome, with Koyie Hill at the plate, attempted a steal with a full count. With a good throw, he likely would have been doubled off after a swing and miss by Hill. However, Kelly Shoppach launched his try into right center, allowing Fukudome to not only slide safely into second, but move to third with 1 out.

Andres Blanco singled up the middle against a drawn in infield to tie the game. Aaron Miles dumped a single down the left field line with Blanco on the move, which put the tying run on third with 1 out. Jake Fox was in for Soriano, but he didn’t get a chance to play hero, because Wood uncorked a wild fastball to allow Blanco to score the winning run.

Randy Wells took the mound today as the Cubs sought the sweep. Wells has been the poster boy for the Cubs struggles of late. He had a 0-3 record in 7 starts in spite of a 2.55 ERA and 5 quality starts. Today, things were quickly different for Wells and the Cubs, as the Cubs took a lead in the 2nd with a Geovany Soto homerun, who is continuing to show signs of life after an anemic start.

The Cubs did something then that they have failed to do at almost every juncture this season: add insurance runs. They scored 1 in the 4th and 4 in the 5th to take an oddly comfortable 6-0 lead. The Cubs held on as Wells allowed 2 runs in 6 2/3 innings, earning his first major league win, which has to feel like a load off his back.

The Cubs face a packed schedule this week, and thanks to past bad weather, will have to deal with a rough travel schedule. They head to Atlanta Sunday evening for a single makeup game (Ryan Dempster vs. Javier Vazquez) before traveling back north to face the first place Tigers for a 3 game set.

Make sure to check out game 1 on WGN at 7:05 eastern, as Carlos Zambrano will face former Tampa Bay Ray Edwin Jackson. Jackson sports a 2.39 ERA and is an absolute fireballer. Rich Harden will face stellar 20 year old rookie Rick Porcello in game 2 and Ted Lilly and Armando Galarraga will wrap up the set.

The Cubs will continue interleague play to close the week, facing the White Sox for 3 games (weather permitting) at US Cellular. Look for Dempster, Wells, and Zambrano to get the starts in that one.

Two quick injury updates before I wrap things up. First, Aramis Ramirez, who has been nursing a separated shoulder for nearly 2 months, is slated to take batting practice for the first time tomorrow.  I would guess Ramirez is still a couple weeks from a rehab assignment, but I don’t need to tell you how much it would mean to the Cubs lineup to get him back.  If the Cubs can stay with in 2-3 games of first in the Central, they could really surge with A-Ram returning.

Second, Angel Guzman has been placed on the DL with right arm tenderness. He needs only 5-6 days to recover, but the Cubs have been so reliant on his electric arm that they want to give him some extra rest. Kevin Hart will take his spot.