A Grand Night For Baseball

Josh Willingham hits two Grand Slams in one game!


Fernando Tatis hits a Grand Slam as the Mets beat the Rockies!


Alfonso Soriano hits a Walkoff Grand Slam as the Cubs outlast the Astros!


The Angels hit back to back to back homeruns!


One of the most unusual catches you will ever see!


Baseball Tonight talks about the big homeruns!

No Place like First Place

Cubs Shortstop Ryan Theriot talks about the Cubs recent surge into first place.

Aramis Ramirez has retuned, and Milton Bradley has finally begun to hit the ball better. Alfonso Soriano has made the adjustment from leadoff man to Sixth man in the order, and the Cubs pitchers haven't missed a beat despite the fact that a moderate injury bug has forced Lou Piniella to make changes to his rotation.

The Cubs begin a four game series against The Astros tonight which will tell us a lot about the Cubs, who are finally starting to play good baseball.

Dodgers Sweep, Brewers Win in NL Playoffs

The LA Dodgers are on to the next round of baseball's playoffs, after beating the Cubs 3-1 to sweep the series. Milwaukee kept its' hopes alive, defeating Philadelphia 4-1. But the Brewers still trail two games to one.


What Went Wrong With The Cubs? BBTN looks at why the Cubs were swept.


Who's To Blame For Cubs Postseason Collapse? Jay Mariotti on another Cubs collapse in the postseason.


Tim Kurkjian Breaks Down The Dodgers Sweep Of The Cubs.


Manny Ramirez And Joe Torre Talk After Dodgers' Game 3 Win


I will do more analyzing of the Cubs loss later tonight.I'm still in shock over what happened.

Soriano powers Cubs to sixth straight win

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Alfonso Soriano homered and drove in three runs Saturday to help the Chicago Cubs beat the Colorado Rockies 5-4 for their sixth straight win.

The NL Central-leading Cubs improved to 25-8 at Wrigley Field this season and handed the Rockies their sixth straight loss.

With the wind blowing out at 14 mph and gusting up to 20 mph, balls again had a jet stream to ride over the fence. The teams combined for seven homers Friday—four by Chicago and three by Colorado—and four more went out Saturday, three by the Rockies.

Ryan Dempster (7-2) lasted five innings and struggled with his command, but got the win, giving up three hits and three runs with four walks and a hit batter.

One Week Through Baseball Season...

Here's What I've Observed...

THE PLAN FOR CARLOS ZAMBRANO TO EAT MORE BANANAS AND DRINK LESS ENERGY DRINKS IS WORKING
Carlos Zambrano lasted a little longer in his second start than he did in his first, and there was no cramping for Zambrano in this game. Zambrano lasted seven innings and struck out seven batters. Zambrano was on in this game, as he didn't walk anybody and lasted 105 pitches.

IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE ALFONSO SORIANO HITS OR HOW LONG HE'S IN A SLUMP, THE HITTING WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF
Alfonso Soriano broke out of a 1-for-24 start with a leadoff homer in the fifth inning. He pulled an outside pitch into the basket in left to break a 1-1 tie. In the first inning, Soriano nailed Astros leadoff man Michael Bourn at home on a sacrafice fly. Alfonso Soriano will take care of himself. The Cubs don't need to worry about him.

DERREK LEE IS HITTING LIKE A MAN POSSESSED
Derrek Lee hit his third homerun in a week as the Cubs continue to go as Derrek goes. Lee has swung for both contact and power, as evidenced by his three doubles he's hit in a week. Once Lee, Aramis Ramirez, and Alfonso Soriano get hot and start hitting, watch out!

THE DETROUT TIGERS, WITH ALL OF THEIR PRESEASON HYPE, ARE STILL WINLESS, AT 0-5
The Detroit Tigers, with all the Spring Training Hype about Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, are winless. It is obvious the Tigers miss Joel Zumaya and Curtis Granderson. The Detroit Tigers have not started off this bad since they were 0-9 en route to an American League Record 119 losses in 2003.

Could Detroit still right the ship? Abseloutely. But they better do it quickly, or they will be in big trouble.

JOHAN SANTANA'S SECOND START NOT HELPED BY ANEMIC METS OFFENSE
Johan Santana had overall not quite as good of a start as he did last time, exiting with his Mets down 1-0 due to a third inning RBI double. The Mets Offense couldn't get anything going, and credit that to the great pitching job done by John Smoltz. The Braves doubled their lead in the eighth, after Santana left, thanks to Mark Texiera homerun. The Mets got their lone run in the ninth thanks to a Ryan Church RBI Single.

The Mets better start scoring more runs to help out their already thin rotation or this will turn into another season of despair for Mets fans.

Where Does Alfonso Soriano Belong In The Cubs Batting Order?

Lou Piniella will bat Alfonso Soriano in the two spot this season, behind Ryan Theriot.

The Cubs started off the 2006 offseason with a bang. After news came of Alfonso Soriano agreeing to an eight year, $136 Million contract, Soriano was expected to bring the same combination of Power and speed he had in New York, Texas, and Washington. Lou Piniella planned to (and did) bat Soriano leadoff, as that's what he batted in Washington. Piniella said at the time:

"He likes the leadoff spot and there is none better," He called Soriano "a young man who can get on base and steal some bases and hit the ball for extra base power and hit it for a homer. We are talking about the best leadoff hitter in all of baseball."

Soriano had a rocky April, failing to hit a homerun. Soriano hit his first homerun as a Cub on May 1, 2007. Soriano started off the year in Center Field, but was moved back to Left Field following a hamstring injury. Soriano won National League Player of the month in June 2007. Then on August 5, 2007, Alfonso Soriano injured his right quadriceps versus the New York Mets. Soriano came back to the Cubs lineup in September and went on a tear that made Cubs fans believe "This Will Be The Year!" He hit fourteen home runs, twenty-seven runs batted in, and recorded a .320 batting average within twenty-nine games.

Soriano (and the rest of the Cubs) offense and plate discipline dissapeared in the National League Division Series against Arizona. Soriano finished the 2007 season with 36 homeruns, seventy RBI'S and a .299 Batting Average.

Now, let's look forward to the 2008 Season. It's the 100th anniversary of the Cubs last World Series Title (they won the World Series in 1907 and 1908, both times against Detroit)and Wrigleyville is wailting to see if the Cubbies can take the next step. Lou Piniella is tinkering with the batting order, moving Ryan Theriot to the lead off spot and moving Alfonso Soriano to the number two spot in the batting order.

Let's go back to that quote by Lou Pinella for a second.

"He likes the leadoff spot and there is none better," He called Soriano "a young man who can get on base and steal some bases and hit the ball for extra base power and hit it for a homer. We are talking about the best leadoff hitter in all of baseball."

Apparently Soriano's injury's have limited his speed, so the Cubs now want to use his power as a number two hitter. Alfonso wan't your prototypical leadoff hitter. Guess What? He isn't your prototypical number two hitter either. The job of the lead off batter is to get on base. Soriano doesn't have a high On Base percentage and strikes out a lot. The job of the number two hitter is to move that leadoff batter into scoring position through any way possible. Soriano will not bunt, but he does his major skills with the bat. Soriano, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, and Kosuke Fukudome headline a Cubs ballclub that is hungry to repeat as Division champions and is hungrier to become World Series Champions.

Soriano likes leading off, but his power would be best suited in the middle of the order. Count this as a possible compromise.

MLB Preview: NL Central

The Cubs hope that Kosuke Fukudome lives up to his Japanese Billing.

The National League Central was up in the air for almost the whole season. The Cubs ended up winning the division, but did squat in the playoffs, getting swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLDS. The Cubs will have a tough road if they want to repeat. The Race for the NL Central will be even tougher for the Cubs than Last Season. They start the season and end the season against Milwaukee. That final weekend of the regular season may be when we find out who will win the NL Central.

CHICAGO CUBS
The Cubs went on a $300 Million Shopping Spree in 2007 to improve what was the worst team in Major League Baseball Last Season. The team signed Alfonso Soriano to the richest contract in Cubs history, and he produced by hitting 33 homeruns, without hitting a single homerun in April. Expect Soriano to not get the "Big Contract Jitters" he may have had his first month.

Lou Piniella got to know his players in 2007, and once he knew what he had, he made changes. Out was Catcher Michael Barrett and Shortstop Caesar Izturis. In was Geovanny Soto and Ryan Theriot. The Cubs turned it on that final month, before becoming Ice Cold in the playoffs.

Expect Lou Piniella to figure out this team again. Ryan Dempster is competing with Jon Lieber (the Last Cubs Pitcher to win 20 games, Sean Marshall (Rumored to be heading to Baltimore, those rumors were later false) and Jason Marquis (The tale of Two Jasons. Good First Half. Bad Second Half.) If Marquis doesn't win the final rotation spot, he will get his wish to go elsewhere.

There is another battle for Ryan Dempster's old Job as Closer. Competing for the closers job is Bob Howry (he was the closer when Ryan Dempster was injured last season), Kerry Wood (He Struck out 20 Batters on April 12, 1998, holding the Astros to one hit) and Carlos Marmol (the best pure stuff in baseball, a Shut down reliever).

There is another battle for Center Field as Felix Pie is competing with Sam Fuld for that job. Cubs Hitting Coach Gerald Perry has spent time with Pie to try and make sure he isn't "Corey Patterson Version 2.0."

Alfonso Soriano is comfortable in Left Field and the Center Field Battle will work itself out, but out in Right Field is the Japanese Outfielder Kosuke Fukudome. Fukudome is a blend of the two most famous Japanese Outfielders, Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui. How will adjust to the Bleacher Bums out in Right Field mangling his last name for drunken humor effect? He will just ignore it.

Fukudome will get an instant chance to make an impact this season, as he will bat third in the lineup, moving Derrek Lee to the cleanup spot and Aramis Ramirez in the five spot.

Starting Wise, Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly and Rich Hill are set at 1,2, and 3. The Final Two Spots will be won in the spring. Zambrano can be on his A-Game, but when he isn't you know from the get-go. Expect him to work on being more consistent this season.

Ted Lilly won 15 games for the Cubs in 2008, losing only eight. Lilly has great stuff. He has a nice Slider and an even better breaking ball.

Rich Hill is a solid number three. If he learns to mix more pitches in with his curveball, Watch out.

Who will win the final two spots? How will Felix Pie and Kosuke Fukudome do in the outfield? Will the new closer be able to keep the lead? Can Carlos Zambrano learn how to control his emotions on the mound? If so, expect these Cubs to do something not done since 1908, return to the postseason for two straight seasons.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS
The Milwaukee Brewers had a 8.5 Game lead by midseason before they let Chicago come roaring back to win the National Leagie Central. Prince Fielder joined Alex Rodriguez as the only players to hit 50+ homeruns in 2007. I don't think he'll hit as many homeruns, but he will still be a major force at the plate. Ryan Braun was a Callup in May and the "Hebrew Hammer" Hammered 34 homeruns in 2007, winning the National League Rookie Of the Year Award. Ryan Braun manned Third Base in 2007 before all of a sudden being switched to play Left Field. Bill Hall will play Third Base this season. Mike Cameron takes over in Center Field, but will serve a 25 game suspensions for Performance Enhnacing Drugs.

Ben Sheets was 12-5 in 2007 with a 3.82 ERA. If he didn't go down with an injury late in the season, Milwaukee may have won the NL Central and made their first Playoff Appearance since 1982, when they were in the American League.

Jeff Suppan proved his wasn't worth his big time contract, as he was 12-12 with a 4.62 ERA.

The Biggest loss to the Brewers Staff will be the loss of Francisco Cordero. Cordero went to division rival Cincinnatti.

Milwaukee and Chicago will battle for the NL Central Crown.

ST LOUIS CARDINALS
The Cardinals had much of the 2007 season without their workhorses of Mark Mulder and Chris Carpenter, and this will be the same for the early part of the 2007 season.

Albert Pujols hit 32 homeruns in 2007. Expect him to hit more homeruns this season.

The Cardinals traded a Third Baseman for a Third Baseman, as Troy Glaus was traded to the Cardinals for Scott Rolen. La Russa and Rolen were never BFF in St Louis, so Rolen is on the way out. Rolen gets to reunite with David Eckstein North Of The Border.

The Cardinals released another Third Baseman, as Scott Spiezio was released after recieving a warrant for his arrest. Hopefully he gets to work his life out.

Caesar Isturis will replace David Eckstein at Shortstop.

Colby Rasmus is aiming to replace Jim Edmonds in Center Field, and will get every opprutunity to win the job in camp.

St. Louis won't compete for the central this season, but there's hope for the future with this bunch.

CINCINNATTI REDS
The Reds in 2008 have new management, as Dusty Baker is out of the "Baseball Tonight" Studios and managing again. Reds fans are hoping he doesen't ruin young prosepect Homer Bailey, as many Cubs fans have blamed him for ruining the promising careers of both Mark Prior and Kerry Wood.

This may be the final season for both Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr with the Reds.

We may finally get to see how good Joey Votto and Jay Bruce are.

Dusty Baker mismanagement has cost The Giants and Cubs a chance at a World Series. Expect the same from Cincinnatti, if they are ever able to compete in the Central.

HOUSTON ASTROS
The Houston Astros don't have Craig Biggio, the longtime face of their franchise anymore. The Astros signed Kazuo Matsui away from Colorado to take over second base.

The Astros traded away Brad Lidge to the Philladelphia, and the Phillies were daft enough to trade away Michael Bourn to get him.

The Astros also acquired Miguel Tejada, but he may face the same punishment as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens for using performance enhancing deuga and then lying about it.

Pitching wise, This team will be looking to fill the rotation as Jason Jennings and Matt Albers are no longer with the team.

Watch out for Hunter Pence this season. He was lucky enough to be learning from Craig Biggio and he may be in the outfield this season.

Houston won't win the division this season, but Cecil Cooper has the tools to build a winning Astros team in the future.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES
The Pirates team of the future is built around Jason Bay and Zach Duke. Ronny Paulino will get better behind the plate, and Xavier Nady will continue to play well in right field.

John Russell will find out the best thing about the Pirates is the ballpark they play in.

That concludes this year's MLB Team Previews. In the final MLB Preview, we will do our best to determine who the Paper World Series Champions of 2008 will be. Will Detroit live up to their high expectations? Who will be Their League's MVP? Find out all this and more in the next MLB Preview.

Chicago Cubs October Comercial

Check out this Dane Cook Actober commercial about The Cubs. Click on the video to have it begin.

The Cubs quest for a World Series Pennant starts again tonight as the Cubs take on the Arizona Diamondbacks. Carlos Zambrano goes for The Cubs, while Brandon Webb goes for the Diamondbacks.

Be sure to catch all of the Divisonal Series Games on TBS.

There's only one postseason, there's only one Fall Classic. There's only one October!

Kerry Wood Goes One Inning, Gets Win as Cubs Beat St. Louis 3-2 in Game One of Doubleheader

Kerry Wood struck out one in a perfect seventh in relief of Ted Lilly, who worked six innings and gave up two runs and four hits. It was Wood's first victory since May 29, 2006.

The third-place Cardinals dropped seven games behind the first-place Cubs in the NL Central, all but eliminating the defending World Series champions from the division race. Before the losing streak began, they were one game out of first place.

Braden Looper threw seven dominant innings and Jim Edmonds hit a two-run double for the Cardinals, mired in their longest losing streak since a 10-game skid in 1980.

The Cubs are 10-4 against the Cardinals, including 6-1 at Busch Stadium. The game was a makeup of a postponement the day after the death of Cardinals reliever Josh Hancock on April 29, and drew a season-best sellout crowd of 45,918, including a vociferous Cubs contingent.

Pinch-hitter Cliff Floyd drew a leadoff walk and Sam Fuld pinch-ran before Soriano hit his 26th homer into the left-field stands on a 3-2 pitch from Ryan Franklin. Soriano has two homers in the last three games, and eight in the last 18 games since returning from the 15-day disabled list for a strained right quad

Dempster allowed two runs in two-thirds of an inning while pitching with a four-run ninth-inning lead on Friday, but still got the save. The save was his 27th in 30 chances.

Cubs Win Again! They now have a two game lead over Milwaukee! Game Two of the doubleheader is later tonight. Sean Marshall is on the mound for the Cubs and Joel Piniero is on the mound for St. Louis.

Trachsel Earns First Cub Win since '99, Cubs Get The Long Ball Working In Win Over Houston

The Chicago Cubs used a simple formula to regain the NL Central lead Thursday night. If only they can follow it in St. Louis this weekend.

Steve Trachsel earned his first win with the Cubs in eight years and Chicago hit four home runs in a 6-2 victory over the Houston Astros.
Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, Daryle Ward and Cliff Floyd all homered for Chicago, which moved a half-game ahead of idle Milwaukee in the division race. The Cubs open a four-game series at third-place St. Louis on Friday night.

Trachsel (1-2) gave up two solo homers and seven hits in five innings for his first win since the Cubs acquired him from Baltimore on Aug. 31.

The 36-year-old right-hander pitched for the Cubs from 1993-99, and his last win with them came on Oct. 3, 1999. The 2,906-day gap between victories is the third-longest in team history.

Trachsel was pitching on three days' rest, and Cubs manager Lou Piniella got exactly what he needed from him. Scott Eyre, Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol then combined for four scoreless innings of one-hit ball.

Carlos Lee and Mark Loretta homered for the Astros, who have dropped 10 of 15 games since Cecil Cooper replaced Phil Garner as manager on Aug. 27. Woody Williams (8-15) gave up four homers for the first time this season and lost his fourth straight start.

The Cubs staked Trachsel to a 4-0 lead in the first inning.

Soriano hit Williams' second pitch off the brick facade in left field, his 40th career leadoff homer. Soriano has eight leadoff home runs this season, tying the Cubs record set by Rick Monday in 1976.

Mike Fontenot followed with a single and Floyd walked before Ramirez hit a three-run shot to left. Ramirez has 23 home runs this season and five this month.

Chicago's defense helped Trachsel avoid early trouble.

Luke Scott tripled with one out in the Astros' second, his second triple of the series. Loretta walked before Eric Munson grounded into a double play. The Astros also put two on with one out in the third inning, but Chicago escaped with another double play.

Trachsel's confidence grew with every pitch.

Trachsel made his only costly mistakes in the fourth inning. Lee led off with his 28th homer and first since Sept. 1. With two outs, Loretta homered just inside the foul pole in left.

Williams retired 11 consecutive batters after the shaky start. Ward ended the streak with a two-out, solo homer in the fifth that stretched Chicago's lead to 5-2.

Eyre relieved Trachsel in the sixth and the Cubs ended another inning with a double play. Eyre has a 1.02 ERA since the All-Star break.

Floyd led off the seventh with a homer into the upper deck in right field. The only other time the Cubs hit four homers in a game this season was June 8 in a 9-1 win over Atlanta.

Last week, Piniella told Floyd the Cubs were going to need his bat down the stretch.

The Cubs improved to 5-18-2 in series when they lose the first game. ... Soriano has three leadoff homers in September. He's the only major league player to hit at least eight leadoff homers in four seasons. ... Ward replaced 1B Derrek Lee in the starting lineup. Lee was a late scratch because of a sore right knee.

Cubs Win! Cubs are a half-game in First Place! The Cubs have a Big Series coming up this weekend against their hated rival, the St. Louis Cardinals. Carlos Zambrano is pitching for the Cubs, while Adam Wainwright is pitching for the Cardinals, who are now eliminated from postseason play.

Alfonso Soriano on Shelf Until At Least Labor Day

Alfonso Soriano was put on the 15 day disabled liat by the Cubs after tearing his right quadriceps while running the bases sunday night against the Mets. The Cubs expect Soriano to miss 2-4 weeks. They are expecting him to be out until at least Labor Day.

The Cubs called Eric Patterson up to The Show to fill Soriano's roster spot. Eric is the younger Brother of Outfielder Corey Patterson, who played for the Cubs from 2000-2005.

Cubs defeat Nationals 7-2 in Washington D.C

The Chicago Cubs defeated the Washington Nationals 7-2 at RFK Stadium. The Cubs scored all seven runs in the first four innings. Ted Lilly had plenty of cushion as
Mark DeRosa knocked in three runs, while Aramis Ramirez had two RBIs. Lilly allowed one run in seven solid innings. Alfonso Soriano added two hits and one RBI in his return to RFK Stadium, where he played last saeson. With the win, the Cubs have won nine of their last 10 games and are above .500 at the season's 81-game halfway point for the first time since 2004. The Cubs are 6.5 games back of the divison leading Milwaukee Brewers.

(MLB) Cubs Sweep White Sox on South Side of Chicago

The Chicago Cubs did something they have never done on the South Side of Chicago. They had never swept the White Sox at US Ceullar Field until today. The Cubs swept the White Sox on the South Side of Chicago tonight, defeating the White Sox 3-0. Sean Marshall pitched masterfully for the Cubs, allowing only five hits in 6 and 1/3 innings. Alfonso Soriano was the hero of the game and the series. He had leadoff homeruns on Friday and Saturday in the first inning. On Sunday he threw out a runner at home plate in the fifth inning, and then homered in the seventh inning to make it 2-0 Cubs. The White Sox thought they had a double play on a bizarre play in the eighth, but the umpires conferred and ruled that a Cubs baserunner had been interfered with. That loaded the bases and the Cubs added another run, thereby putting away the game. The Cubs win 3-0 and sweep the White Sox at US Ceullar Field for the first time ever.

MLB: Around The Bases, June 17,2007

Punches thrown in Cubs-Padres game.


This was after San Diego Padres pitcher Chris Young intentionally threw at Cubs First Baseman Derrek Lee, hitting him in his surgically repaired wrist. Lee said a few words to Young, Young said something back, Derrek Lee didn't like the response, and it was on. Lee, Young, fellow Padres Pitcher Jake Peavy and Chicago Cubs hitting instructor Gerald Perry were all ejected from the game. Young may have thrown at Lee because the Padres felt the Cubs' Alfonso Soriano was showboating when he hit his homerun against the Padres Friday. I hate watching guys having baseballs aimed right at their heads, and I don't care what Chris Young says, that was intentional. No doubt, there will be suspensions and fines for all involved in this meelee.

Fast forward to the eighth inning. One Out. Carlos Zambrano has not allowed a hit to this point. Marcus Giles reaches base safely for the first hit of the game for the Padres, putting an end to Carlos Zambrano's no hit bid.

On now to the ninth inning. Full Count to Russell Branyan. He hits the ball deep, and it has just enough to make it over the ivy covered wall, into the basket for a homerun. Padres lead 1-0, and that would be the final score of this game. Carlos Zambrano allows just two hits in this game and gets the loss. However, the bigger story will be: What type of punishment will come from the melee at Wrigley?

In the battle of New York, the Yankees defeated the Mets 11 to 8.

The Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Baltimore Ravens 8 to 4.

The Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Washington Nationals 7 to 3.

The Florida Marlins won a wild game against the Kansas City Royals 9 to 8.

Manny Ramirez homered for the Red Sox as they defeated the Giants 1-0 at Fenway.

The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Minnesota Twins 5 to 2.

The Atlanta Braves defeated the Cleveland Indians 6 to 2.

The Chicago White Sox defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 6 to 1.

In the Freeway Series, the Angels shut out the Dodgers 3 to 0.

The Cincinnati Reds defeated the Texas Rangers 8 to 4.

The Phillies defeated the Tigers 6 to 3.

Colorado defeated Tampa Bay 10 to 5.

Houston defeated Seattle 9 to 4.