Cubs Keep it Steady

Phase 1 is complete. It's mid-April and the Cubs are still in contention. That's about as much as you can ask for from a Cubs team this time of year. Last night's slugfest against the Reds exercised some Dusty demons although it looks like we've lost Alfonso Soriano for what appears to be some significant time. Damn that little hop. You're making $17 million a year. Learn how to field a can-of-corn without looking like a schoolgirl. In any event, last night was entertaining and Soriano's injury will either make way for Matt Murton to come back up to the bigs or for Felix "what brick wall?" Pie to get quality time in the lineup. Seriously Felix, I love the commitment and that gallup out to the warning track was reminiscent of the earlier days of a certain member of the opposing team who now occupies right field. Any day now, something is going to click and you are going to, as Lou Piniella put it, "learn to decipher balls from strikes" and you are going to be the next great homegrown Cubs star. Believe it. Onto the greater picture

Everything that went right in the Pittsburgh series went wrong against the Phillies, but the Cubbies still made it out of the Keystone State with a 4-2 record and stole the final game in Philadelphia. Seeing as how every blogger and sports columnist has their own crazy, knee-jerk reaction to something. The player they want to trade after every outing. The GM that needs to be fired as soon as their off-season acquisition strikes out. For me, that thing is Ted Lilly. This guy is about as enthusiastic as a sloth. Sometimes that's alright. Coolness and collectedness are not bad attributes for some guys. They can't all break bats over their knees, but a little fire never hurt anyone who was having trouble getting out of the first inning every time out. Show us you care that you're pitching horribly at least. If there's anything a Cubs fan can forgive, it's futility, but it would be nice to know it was bothering you. Jon Lieber is breathing down your neck. That goes for you too Rich Hill.

With the Philly series behind them and the Cincinnati series off to a nice, wind-assisted start, and with Pittsburgh coming into town for three before we take on the Mets, the next few games are a chance to solidify a winning record for April and put the Cubs in the driver's seat in the NL Central. We won't get a crack at the first-place Cardinals until the big early-May weekend series in St. Louis, but I firmly plan on the Cards showing their true, faded colors by mid-season, and a quality April record spent taking care of the cellar in the Central will help the Cubs down the road. There's still a lot of coming around to do on the part of the guys the Cubs will be relying on down the stretch- Lilly, Hill, Aramis Ramirez, Jason Marquis and of course, Soriano, assuming he doesn't lose multiple weeks to this calf injury. Mike Fontenot and Ryan Dempster are picking up the slack, but I'm not sure if they're starting MVP and Cy Young campaigns this season. The big guys, other than Derek Lee (who is averaging more than a hit-and-a-half per game), need to get it together. If they do and everyone else keeps playing their part, the Cubs can rip off about 20 straight games from late May into lat June this season and demoralize the Brewers.