Bruiser Chong

Cubs and Brewers both loaded the bases with less than two outs in the first inning. Still a scoreless game.

And good thing the Jays played by the book and walked Raffie to get to Javy Lopez so they could get that righty/righty matchup. Now it's 5-1 O's and what was a great outing by Halladay has turned into a wash.

Man, Sosa breaks the O's dry spell by hitting a two-run triple in a 1-0 game. Why couldn't he ever do that sort of stuff with the Cubs? He would've K'd trying to slug one out of the park.

Yeah and now look at it. Bernie's been benched and Giambi's gonna be splitting DH time with two other guys.

Cubs back to under .500 and I'm quickly losing faith that this team is going to be anything but. The Cards already hold a five-game lead in the division and with the way the Cubs' health and performances have been so far, it might not even be close this year. If Ramirez comes around then what else is the excuse? No way his poor season so far has been the reason the Cubs have faltered. The rotation is a mess and as inconsistent as I can remember; the offense outside of Lee is rubbish and let's face it, Lee's BA will probably drop at least another 100 points before it's all said and done. Color me disappointed.

*taps fingers waiting for Aramis Ramirez to show signs of life* .231 BA. Not exactly what you'd expect from the guy who's supposed to be the Cubs' big run-producer now. I also can't but help wonder what's up with all the walks allowed by Cubs pitching.

Yeah, but unlike that game, The Boss didn't just issue one of his trademark statements. I guess that needs to be part of the post-game ritual.

Man, what a wild one in Cincy. A lot of people are overlooking the fact that Dunn K'd with the bases full in the 8th inning. At the time, it just seemed like, "oh well, no icing on the cake." But as it turned out, a huge part of the game. And Sean Casey's defense is really what cost them the game. Graves sucks, but the game is over if Casey makes one of the two botched plays leading up to the takeover. Watching the Cards makes me that much more depressed to be a Cubs fan, because even when they're down two or three, I feel all hope is loss. Their insistence on always scoring via the longball has made what we saw in Cincy tonight an absolute pipedream. And at this point, I'm numb to the Kerry Wood thing. I've given up hope that he'll ever be real healthy, so the Cubs should build around that fact if they are going to keep him.

Al, which of those teams listed in the Top Five rotations and pens in baseball do you expect to retain such a pace as the season progresses?

Is it too early to call the Cubs' starting five the most overrated rotation in baseball? For a rotation that's supposed to be one of the best, they sure get shelled a lot, and not against good offensive teams either.

Dear god. Cubs up 3-1, Prior loads the bases with one out, K's Bagwell and goes up 0-2 to Lamb. For some reason, he gives him a great pitch to hit, which he does, right out of the park. Two walks and a three-run bomb later, and what was almost a beautiful job of working out of trouble turned into one of the worst outings seen by Cubs starting pitching this season. ...It's only May, it's only May, it's only May...

Wood can't be a closer. His first inning is always his worse. Plus they don't exactly have a robust starting rotation right now.

Those were some poor calls in the seventh, but Chipper should've been on first base anyway since that ball hit his foot. So as it turned out, no further damage was done. And god dammit will Kerry Wood ever stay in a game? This is ridiculous.

OMG Cubs beat Clemens and LaTroy gets the one-run save. I should go out an miss games more often. And Halladay gets the CG shutout. Fuckin' awesome.

Yeah, you'd figure a lineup that includes Tino Martinez, Tony Womack and Bernie Williams on a regular basis would be more dangerous than we've seen.

I can't stand the parents who are in denial about their kids being crying brats. They've obviously conditioned themselves to just block it out, but that leaves the rest of the innocent people around them to endure their screaming and crying.

Could Mourning be any more of an ass?

You act as if any respectable writer would take a job in pro wrestling.

Yup. I just thank god it hasn't surfaced on ESPN classic yet, because knowing me, I'd actually watch it. I'm messed up like that.

Bad news for Giants fans; Benitez didn't strain his hammy, he tore it. He'll be out four months. Sure glad the Cubs didn't pursue him.

I hear Hawk Harrelson was livid over the call.

Coooorrrrreeyyy! //Anglesault

Cubs get two on in the 7th in a 7-4 game. Instead of putting Lee on and bringing in Mercker to face Burny, they go right after him and he homers to tie it up. This is reminescent to Alou last April.

Ryan Dempster really has no business in the starting rotation. He's got great stuff, but his lack of command has put the Cubs in a 6-2 hole. The worst part was that he had the bases loaded, two outs, and a full count on Dunn. Struck him out, but then walked Kearns on a full count and gave up a grand slam to the next batter. It should also be noted that half of the Reds' runs were from walks.

Add Armando Benitez to the DL. Not a good time to be a pitcher.