On Deck: The Battle for Texas

Generally when baseball has their "rivalry" matchups during interleague play, they schedule them for the weekend. That's not the case in Texas, as the Astros and Rangers prepare to begin a three-game set tonight at Minute Maid Park. I'm not sure the reasoning behind this, but I'm just going to guess that there's probably a big high school football scrimmage on Friday night, and the Astros are worried that it will hurt attendance numbers.

Of course, it could also just be that neither the Astros or Rangers have done much the last few seasons. The Astros haven't come anywhere near the success they achieved in 2005 when they won the National League, and the Rangers have only had one winning season (89-73 in 2004, which was good enough for third place!) since we entered the new millenium.

Yet tonight the Rangers are poised to go a whopping two games over .500 for the first time since September 22, 2006. Will history be made tonight in Houston?

Continue reading at FanHouse

Morning Wood

Chicago White Sox 13 Pittsburgh Pirates 8

I was on the phone with Panger yesterday afternoon when Pablo Ozuna committed a throwing error with two outs in the second inning that allowed a run to score. It ticked me off a little at first, but not too much. Then the Pirates exploded for five more runs and it was 6-0 Pirates, without a single one of the runs being earned.

Then I was really pissed, but I told Panger, "You know what, I'll bet we still win this game. If there's any team you can get behind by six runs early, it's the Pirates."

Then the White Sox answered with six runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning, capped off by a three-run shot by Orlando Cabrera, and the game was tied making everything in the world right again.

The Sox would keep piling on, as Jermaine Dye would go deep twice (including a grand slam in the 7th to blow it open) and drove in six runs. By the time it was over, the Sox would score 13 runs to bring their total to 37 in the three-game sweep of the Pirates, thanks to their 44 hits and 10 homers in the series.

"Something about being here just wakes our bats up. Hopefully we can carry it over on the road," Dye said. "It was probably one of my better days. ... This ballpark is a good hitter's park, even though early and late it gets cold and the ball doesn't travel -- so when it does heat up you have to take advantage of it. The ball has been traveling for us this year."

Gavin Floyd only lasted 5.2 innings (in large part due to all the extra pitches he had to throw in the 2nd) and allowed seven runs, but as I pointed out earlier, only one of them was earned as he picked up his eighth victory of the season. The bullpen came in from there and shut the Pirates down, allowing only one run in 4.1 innings.

Tampa Bay Rays 8 Chicago Cubs 3

For the first time this season I think Cubs fans are starting to worry a little bit. Nobody is panicking yet, but with Alfonso Soriano already on the shelf, the uncertainty surrounding Carlos Zambrano's shoulder, and the fact the Cubs have now lost three in a row for the first time this season, I think folks have finally noticed that the Cubs only have a 3.5 game lead on the Cardinals. (Luckily for the Cubs, everybody else in the NL Central aside from Milwaukee has lost at least three in a row)

Before this week, the lead had never been bigger than 3.5, but the Cubs look so much better than everybody else in the division it felt like 10 games.

The Cubs took a 3-1 lead on Tampa in the 7th thanks to a couple of hits by Mike Fontenot, Kosuke Fukudome, and Ryan Theriot, but then Carlos Marmol imploded. Marmol, who has been unbelievable this season, walked the first two batters he faced in the 7th and then hit the next two to force in a run. Piniella came out to the mound to get Carlos out of there, but it was already too late.

"He's been extremely reliable. This sort of came out of nowhere," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "What are you going to do?"

Carl Crawford took the second pitch he saw from Scott Eyre and hit a grand slam to make it 6-3 Tampa, but the Rays weren't done there. They'd score two more times in the inning thanks to an Eric Hinske double, and a sac fly by Evan Longoria to bring Hinske in and make it 8-3.

The Cubs offense didn't look very good the last three days, but as I told Silvio yesterday, I wouldn't worry too much about it. A lot of offenses have looked horrible when playing the Rays inside Tropicana Field this season. Of course, after the White Sox outscore them 39-5 this weekend.....

NL

• Dodgers 7 Reds 4

MLB

• Yankees 2 Padres 1
• Twins 9 Nats 3
• Brewers 8 Jays 7
• Rangers 5 Braves 4
• Royals 4 Cardinals 1
• DBacks 2 A's 1
• Orioles 7 Astros 5
• Rockies 6 Indians 3

Morning Wood

Chicago White Sox 8 Pittsburgh Pirates 2

Oh man I wish the Sox could play the Pirates everyday, it would just make the season a lot more enjoyable. After scoring a season high 16 runs against the Buccos on Tuesday night, the Sox were only able to put another 8 runs on the board on Wednesday night.

The homer parade continued thanks to Toby Hall (his two-run blast not only got the party started, but was his first in over two years), Carlos Quentin (welcome back), and Brian Anderson. Nick Swisher chipped in with a two-run double as well, and together they provided a lot more offense than Mark Buehrle needed.

Buehrle continued to pitch well, and had a no-hitter going through five innings before allowing a lead-off homer to Jose Bautista in the 6th inning. Other than that error, he was pretty much on, going 8 innings and allowing only four hits. He also had three strikeouts to give him 998 in his career.

"[The no-hitter] was in my mind out there," Buehrle said after the game. "I was throwing the ball well all game. I had good stuff, everything was working. The only concern was that I was giving up a lot of fly ball outs. When I'm throwing ground balls, I think I have better stuff."

Tampa Bay Rays 5 Chicago Cubs 4

The Cubs lost their second straight game last night in Tampa, as the....oh who am I kidding, no Cubs fan really cares about this game right now. The only thing any of you are worried about is the fact that Carlos Zambrano had to leave early, and is scheduled to undergo an MRI on his shoulder today.

I can't say I blame you, either.

''There was a funny pitch that I felt something in my arm, and then the last pitch that I threw in the game, I dropped my arm a lot because I couldn't go back over the top with my arm,'' said Zambrano.

While the loss of Alfonso Soriano is one that the Cubs can survive, I don't think the same thing can be said about the possibility of losing Zambrano. If the MRI reveals something that's going to keep him out for a while, all that World Series talk will disappear.

Of course, while I'm not happy that Zambrano is hurt, I don't really mind that the Sox might not have to face him the next two weeks. See! Every cloud has a silver lining!

NL

• Dodgers 6 Reds 1

MLB

• Red Sox 7 Phillies 4
• Tigers 7 Giants 2
• Orioles 2 Astros 1
• Yankees 8 Padres 5
• Brewers 5 Jays 4
• Braves 5 Rangers 2
• Twins 11 Nats 2
• Royals 3 Cardinals 2
• Rockies 4 Indians 2
• DBacks 11 A's 1
• Mets 5 Angels 4
• Marlins 8 Mariners 3

Morning Wood

Chicago White Sox 16 Pittsburgh Pirates 5

Maybe it was the first day off in over two weeks, or maybe it was the Pittsburgh Pirates pitching staff, but the White Sox offense looked quite refreshed on Tuesday night. Hell, maybe it was just Paul Konerko out of the lineup after being placed on the disabled list for the first time in his career. I'm more inclined to believe it was the Pirates pitching, though, as they do have that NL-worst 4.68 ERA.

Whatever the hell it was, I wouldn't mind seeing more of it in the future. Jermaine Dye, Joe Crede, Orlando Cabrera, and Jim Thome all went deep for the Sox, and only Jermaine's was a solo shot. He did manage to drive in two other runs in the first inning on a double, so I guess we'll forgive him for it.

Thome's homer was the 521st of his career and ties him with Ted Williams and Willie McCovey (they were decent) for 16th all time.

"Very, very special," Thome said Tuesday night. "You never imagine when you are thrown in with names [like] McCovey and Ted Williams. That's pretty neat. It really is. It was a nice night and we scored a lot of runs and it's even more special when you do that."

In fact, all four of them finished with three RBIs a piece while Carlos Quentin, Alexei Ramirez, and Nick Swisher drove in the rest. The only White Sox starter that didn't contribute to the team's 19 hits was CQ, but he still got on base three times via the walk.

Javier Vazquez had a shaky night, allowing all five Pirates runs in in six innings, but he managed to outperform Ian Snell. Snell was responsible for seven of the Sox runs, and managed to throw 106 pitches in only four innings of work. The six walks probably didn't help.

The Sox bullpen shut things down as usual, and Adam Russell pitched a perfect 9th inning in his Major League debut.

Tampa Bay Rays 3 Chicago Cubs 2

Scott Kazmir has been absolutely dominant for the Rays so far this season at home, and he was dominant again on Tuesday night, even if that dominance lasted only 4.2 innings. Kazmir struck out seven Cubs and allowed only 1 run, but all those Ks combined with four walks makes for a high pitch count.

Unfortunately for the Cubs, Tampa Bay's bullpen didn't make things much easier, allowing only 3 hits and a run in 4.1 innings. Evan Longoria homered in the 6th inning to break a 1-1 tie, and Neal Cotts' two-base throwing error in the 7th inning set up an insurance run the Rays would need after the Cubs scored another run in the 2nd.

Though it was that Longoria kid again who made a great play on a Reed Johnson bunt attempt with two outs in the 9th inning to end the game.

"Probably the best bunt play I have ever seen, capped off with the pick by Aybar," said Rays closer Troy Percival. "That ball right there, typically, is going to be bobbled just enough for the guy to be safe."

Oh, and Cliff Floyd loves to hit against Chicago teams, following his two home runs against the Sox a few weeks ago with one against his former team on Tuesday night. They make up for half the dingers he's hit this season.

NL

• Dodgers 3 Reds 1

MLB

• Orioles 6 Astros 5
• Yankees 8 Padres 0
• Red Sox 3 Phillies 0
• Brewers 7 Jays 0
• Rangers 7 Braves 5
• Twins 2 Nats 1
• Royals 2 Cardinals 1
• Rockies 10 Indians 2
• A's 15 DBacks 1
• Angels 6 Mets 1
• Mariners 5 Marlins 4
• Tigers 5 Giants 1

On Deck: OMG!! JAY BRUCE!!

There are certain events in human history which leave indelible marks on our lives and our memories. While we can't always remember where we left our car keys, or that cute girl from the bar on Friday's phone number, there are moments we just can't forget no matter how hard we try.

You remember exactly what you were doing and where you were doing it the moment you found out that John F. Kennedy had been shot. You remember everything about the morning that the World Trade Center came down.

Tonight we fast forward in time a full 30 years when you'll be telling your children or grandchildren the story of where you were the very first time Jay Bruce stepped into a Major League batter's box...

Continue reading at FanHouse

Morning Wood

Chicago White Sox 13 San Francisco Giants 8

Oh man, it feels so good to be completely wrong once in a while. The White Sox finished up their 10-game road trip with a 7-3 record by winning their last five games, and they're now back on top of the AL Central by a game and a half. Will they hold onto it? I'm not sure, but if we can have as many problems as we do have hitting and still be in first place, who knows? The AL Central is wide open.

The game started out as a pitcher's duel, as San Francisco led 1-0 going into the fifth, and Matt Cain had held the Sox hitless for 4.1 innings before giving up a home run to Joe Crede to tie the score at 1-1 in the fifth. Then the floodgates opened.

The Sox and Giants combined for 18 runs in the final four innings of the game. The Sox were led by Orlando Cabrera, who homered twice, another home run by Carlos Quentin, and a big three-run pinch-hit double in the eighth, but everytime the Sox built up a lead, San Fran answered right back.

Finally in the ninth, Joe Crede hit a sac fly to score Quentin, and Brian Anderson singled home Jermaine Dye and Alexei Ramirez, and Nick Masset shut the door afterwards to pick up the rare two-inning save.

"We just fight all the way through it," White Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen said. "We continue to get good at-bats. This is a nice little streak. At least we go home with a better feeling than our last road trip."

The Sox have played 16 of their last 19 games on the road, and now get a six-game homestand before having to take off on another seven-game trip.

Chicago Cubs 4 Pittsburgh Pirates 3

While the White Sox did incredibly well on their 10-game road trip, Chicago's other first place team (how fun is it to have two teams in first in this city for once?) had a pretty nice 10-game homestand of their own. The Cubs win yesterday finished up an 8-2 homestand that saw them climb two games ahead of the Cardinals in the division.

The only disappointment came when Alfonso Soriano failed to homer in his 52nd straight game. So don't be surprised when Cubs fans start booing him again.

The Cubs took advantage of seven walks by Pirates starter Phil Dumatrait, as Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome, and Ronny Cedeno all had RBI singles, but it was Reed Johnson's sac fly in the 5th that proved to be the game-winner. The win improved the Cubs record against the Pirates this season to 8-1, and the lone Pirates win had nothing to do with their ability as much as it was my voodoo mind powers from the left field bleachers on Saturday afternoon.

Jason Marquis pitched well enough to pick up his first victory since April 19th, though the way Jason usually pitches once June arrives, it may also be his last victory until next April.

"I thought Jason threw the ball real well after LaRoche's home run in the first inning," Mark DeRosa said. "He was able to really keep us in the game and allow us to get back in it and eventually take the lead. A lot needs to be credited to the pitchers for allowing us to scrap our way and grab four runs."

Elsewhere...

• Royals 9 Marlins 3
• Reds 6 Indians 4
• Red Sox 11 Brewers 7
• Braves 5 A's 2
• Blue Jays 6 Phillies 5
• Cardinals 5 Rays 4
• Astros 5 Rangers 4
• Rockies 6 Twins 2
• Nats 2 Orioles 1
• Angels 10 Dodgers 2
• Mariners 3 Padres 2
• DBacks 4 Tigers 0
• Mets 11 Yankees 2

On Deck: Zito Returns

The Giants tried Barry Zito as a starting pitcher for a little over a year, but it didn't work out.

The Giants tried Barry Zito as a relief pitcher, but after only eight days in the bullpen, that wasn't quite working out either.

The Giants wanted to try Barry Zito as a corpse at the bottom of McCovey Cove, but the law doesn't look highly upon such actions, so with no other alternatives, they've decided to try him as a starter one more time.

Tonight baseball's worst contract will return to the mound as a starter, bringing with him that 0-6 record, the 7.53 ERA, and that 1.95 WHIP of his.

Continue reading at FanHouse

Morning Wood

Chicago White Sox 6 Tampa Bay Rays 0

I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier, but halfway through the Sox victory on Sunday I realized that John Danks' performance had been preordained. I mean, his last name is Danks, and it was 4-20. It's as though Ozzie had planned the whole thing. Danks lasted 7 innings without giving up a run, and now hasn't given up a run in his last 14.2 innings of work. "My goal is just not to be the guy I was last year," Danks said. "Last year I felt like I was the guy when someone would ask who's pitching and they would say me, it was kind of like 'Well, let me strap it on today, we've got to score.' I want to be the guy that the team knows that when I go out there we're going to hold them to three runs or less and I'm going to give them a chance to win." Jim Thome also hit the 519th homer of his career, tying him with Eddie Matthews for 19th all time.

Chicago Cubs 13 Pittsburgh Pirates 8

The Cubs brought their bats with them to the park on Sunday, pounding out 13 runs on 18 hits and destroying the Pirates. Aramis Ramirez went 4-for-5 with a homer and 4 RBI, and Ryan Theriot went 4-for-5 as well with 2 RBI. In fact, every Cubs starter had a hit. "I felt pretty good," said Ramirez, who raised his average from .234 to .275. "I can't say I'm right where I want to be because I only had [one] good day." Ryan Dempster wasn't exactly great, allowing 3 runs in 5 innings, but every Cub pitcher allowed at least one run. Which won't matter as long as they score 13 runs a game. Which they won't. So I guess it'll probably matter at some point.

AL

• Jays 5 Tigers 3
• Yankees 7 Orioles 1
• Red Sox 6 Rangers 5
• Twins 2 Indians 1 10 inn
• Mariners 4 Angels 2
• A's 7 Royals 1

NL

• Marlins 6 Nats 1
• Reds 4 Brewers 3 10 inn
• Braves 6 Dodgers 1
• Astros 6 Rockies 4
• Giants 8 Cardinals 2
• Padres 9 DBacks 4
• Phillies 5 Mets 4

Morning Wood

Chicago Cubs 7 Pittsburgh Pirates 3

Not even Rich Hill's sucking could stop the Cubs from winning their 5th straight game on Thursday night in Pittsburgh, completing a three-game sweep. The win also makes Chicago the first city in the country to have two teams win five games in a row, so that means we're going to have a Cubs-White Sox World Series. At least, that's what I think it means. If the two do meet in the Series, Geovany Soto would love to see the Sox trade for Matt Morris first, because Geo owned him last night. Soto went 4-for-5 with 2 doubles, a 2-run homer, and a single. His homer gave the Cubs a 4-3 lead during a 5-run 6th inning that blew this one open. As for Rich Hill and his sucking, he gave up 3 runs in 3 innings, while walking 4 Pirates. I'm not sure how much longer Lou Piniella is going to allow Rich to breathe at this rate, especially when considering how well Jon Lieber pitched in relief again.

New York Yankees 6 Kansas City Royals 3

The Sox may have been rained out on Thursday, but they still picked up a half-game on the Royals in the AL Central (Is April too early to start worrying about that kind of thing?) as the Yankees avoided being swept. Andy Pettite shot enough HGH before the game to go 6.2 innings, and allow only one hit, while both Melky Cabrera and Alex Rodriguez contributed with two-run homers. "Andy knows how to win big games," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "I don't know if I would call this a big game, but you don't want to be swept at the start of an eight-game road trip." Did a Yankee just consider a game against the Royals to be a "big game?" Jesus Christ this has been a weird start to the 2008 season.

Boston Red Sox 12 Detroit Tigers 5

The Red Sox showed the Tigers some mercy on Wednesday, allowing them to actually win a game, but that mercy was nowhere to be found on Thursday. The BoSox roughed up Nate Robertson for 4 runs and 8 hits in 5 innings. Sean Casey had 3RBIs against his former team, while Manny, Kevin Youkilis, and J.D. Drew each drove in 2 runs as well. The Tigers are now 1-8, and Jim Leyland isn't confused as to why his team sucks so much right now. "There isn't a bullpen in the history of baseball that could help a team when the starters can only muster five innings every night," Leyland said. "That's where you start, and we'll worry about the bullpen after we get that straightened out."

AL

• Rays 7 Mariners 0
• Rangers 3 Orioles 1
• Rangers 5 Orioles 4
• A's 3 Jays 2 12inn

NL

• Reds 4 Brewers 1
• Marlins 4 Nats 3
• Mets 4 Phillies 3 12inn
• Giants 5 Cardinals 1

Morning Wood

Minnesota Twins 12 Chicago White Sox 5

See, this is why I hate that damn day off between the home opener and the next game. I understand why they do it, after all, it did rain all day on Tuesday, but it still pisses me off. All that momentum the Sox built up before Tuesday was washed away in the rain, as the Twins singled the Sox and John Danks to absolute death before Jason Kubel's grand slam in the 6th inning blew things open. "I just wonder how they're going to show up tomorrow," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "(Thursday) is a big day for us just because of the way we got beat today." Nick Swisher, Paul Konerko, and Joe Crede all homered for the Sox, but unfortunately there wasn't anybody on base when they did.

Chicago Cubs 6 Pittsburgh Pirates 4 15 Inn.

What? The 12 innings these two teams played against each other on Monday wasn't enough, they decided to go for 15 last night? The Cubs scored two runs in the 14th inning, but Adam LaRoche hit a two-run blast for the Pirates in their half to tie the game back up. Then Felix Pie singled home two runs in the 15th inning, and the Cubs were able to hold on to pick up the win. "This is two games in a row where we've gone through just about everybody. But they have, too," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "They've been two tough ballgames and fortunately for us, we came out on top of both of them."

Detroit Tigers 7 Boston Red Sox 2

Oh man, the dream of seeing the Tigers go 0-162 came to an end last night as they somehow managed to scrape together enough runs to beat the Red Sox. Marcus Thames and Carlos Guillen both homered for Detroit, and Ivan Rodriguez picked up the 2,500th hit of his career in the victory. "It's a little crazy to be too giddy if you're 7-1 or 8-1 or too, too down if you're 0-7," Leyland said. "Was I surprised? Yeah, absolutely. I can't deny that. But it happened. There's a lot of games left."

AL

• Angels 9 Indians 5
• A's 6 Blue Jays 3
• Mariners 7 Rays 1
• Royals 4 Yankees 0

NL

• DBacks 4 Dodgers 3
• Mets 8 Phillies 2
• Marlins 10 Nationals 4
• Reds 12 Brewers 4
• Cardinals 6 Astros 4
• Rockies 12 Braves 6
• Giants 1 Padres 0

Morning Wood

Chicago White Sox 7 Minnesota Twins 4

For the first time since August of 2006, the White Sox have won five straight thanks to some timely hitting during the 7th inning on Monday. After Jermaine Dye poked a single up the middle of Pat Neshek to tie the game at three, Joey Clutch came up to the plate and unloaded with the 5th grand slam of his career. Crede already has 10 RBI after the first seven games of the season after having only 22 in 2007. The difference being that he's healthy this year, and a healthy Joe Crede is always good for the White Sox offense. "The biggest thing coming into this season was staying healthy," said Crede. "For me that was my main goal in the spring, was to be able to get out there and feel comfortable at the plate, feel comfortable on defense and No. 1 to stay healthy."

Chicago Cubs 10 Pittsburgh Pirates 8 12 Inn.

It wasn't very pretty, but wins are wins and I don't think the Cubs will mind taking this one. After jumping out to a 7-0 lead after three innings, the Cubs committed three errors and walked 8 Pirates to allow Pittsburgh to come all the way back and tie the game at 8 in the 7th inning. Of course, the Pirates committed two errors of their own, walked 11 Cubs, and threw 3 wild pitches, so it's not like this was the greatest baseball game ever played. Aramis Ramirez's sac-fly in the 12th gave the Cubs a 9-8 lead, and a Mark DeRosa walk brought in Alfonso Soriano for the insurance run as Jon Lieber saved a depleted bullpen with 3 shutout innings, and Carlos Marmol picked up the save. "I'd rather win ugly than lose pretty," manager Lou Piniella said. "Opening Day in Pittsburgh, you have to give them credit for coming back. But we pulled one out -- it wasn't pretty, but it's in the win column."

Los Angeles Angels 6 Cleveland Indians 4

Joe Crede's grand slam for the White Sox was pretty clutch, but Torii Hunter's grand slam was the walk-off variety for the Angels. After the Indians rallied in the top of the 9th with 3 runs off of Francisco Rodriguez to take a 4-2 lead, Hunter endeared himself to his new home crowd by unloading off of Joe Borowski with the slam in the bottom of the 9th. Which was a follow up to the solo shot he hit in the 8th to give the Angels the lead in the first place. "I'm still trying to fit in and go out there and just be myself," Hunter said. "I'd say 75 percent of this game is mental, and I was so emotional back there in Minnesota. But when I came back here, I felt some peace and I was able to calm down and be myself a little bit. And it shows."

AL

• Orioles 5 Mariners 4
• Yankees 6 Rays 1

NL

• Phillies 5 Reds 3
• Padres 8 Giants 4
• Astros 5 Cardinals 3
• Marlins 10 Nationals 7
• Rockies 2 Braves 1
• DBacks 9 Dodgers 3

Morning Wood

Cleveland Indians 10 Chicago White Sox 8

Well, Opening Day didn't go quite the way I would have liked. Things started out well when Jim Thome hit a two-run homer in his first at bat of the season, but then the Indians responded by scoring 7 runs in the 2nd inning off Mark Buehrle. The good news is that the White Sox didn't just lay down and die after falling behind 7-2, something they did quite a bit last season, and actually managed to tie the game at 7. Then the umpires decided to fuck them. While I understand the missed call at first base when Ryan Garko's foot was off the bag (Ump had a bad angle), and I get the interference call on Cabrera at second base (he may have touched the bag, but you can't grab the shortstop), but I have no idea what the hell the umps were thinking on the Crede play at home. If you don't know what I'm talking about, the Sox had the bases loaded with nobody out in the 8th inning. Orlando Cabrera then hit a chopper to short, and Jhonny Peralta fired home to get Crede at the plate, and the throw was high causing Kelly Shoppach to leave the plate and try and tag Crede, which he didn't. Joe was called out anyway. The Sox wouldn't score in the inning, and Casey Blake would hit his three-run double in the Cleveland half of the inning. Of course, if this recap wasn't enough for you, you can go read my live-blog of the game.

Milwaukee Brewers 4 Chicago Cubs 3 10 inn.

The Cubs lost their opener as well, but I'm willing to bet it didn't do anything to dampen the Fukudome love flowing around Wrigleyville right now. With Ben Sheets and Carlos Zambrano dominating all afternoon, both teams had to wait until the closers came in to start scoring runs. In his first appearance as the Cubs closer, Kerry Wood allowed three runs to cross the plate in the 9th inning, and fans are immediately calling for Carlos Marmol. Fortunately for the Cubs, Milwaukee's closer absolutely sucks. Eric Gagne started the 9th by giving up a single to Derrek Lee, and then walked Aramis Ramirez. That's when Kosuke Fukudome earned the undying love of Cubs fans everywhere by hitting a three-run homer to tie the game. Fukudome finished his first Major League game only a triple shy of the cycle, going 3-for-3 with a walk. Too bad he doesn't pitch as well, because the Cubs other closer candidate, Bob Howry, got saddled with the loss when he allowed the Brewers to score in the 10th inning.

Pittsburgh Pirates 12 Atlanta Braves 11 12 inn

Now this was by far the craziest game of the day. Even when the Pirates win a game they nearly kill their fans in the process. After taking a 9-4 lead into the 9th inning, the Pirates bullpen allowed the Braves to score 5 runs to tie the game and force extra innings. Then in the 12th inning the Pirates scored 3 runs to take a 12-9 lead, and allowed the Braves to score two runs in the bottom half before finally getting the last out of the game and escaping with the win. "That," said Braves catcher Brian McCann, "was probably the craziest game I've ever been a part of."

AL

• Royals 5 Tigers 4
  
• Rays 6 Orioles 2
• Mariners 5 Rangers 2
• Twins 3 Angels 2

NL

• DBacks 4 Reds 2
• Nationals 11 Phillies 6
• Dodgers 5 Giants 0
• Mets 7 Marlins 2
• Padres 4 Astros 0

Foul Balls MLB Preview: NL Central

As the end of spring training draws near, I figure it's about time I got off my ass and started with the Foul Balls 2008 season previews. Each day I'll preview a separate division followed by individual previews for the White Sox and Cubs. Expect expert analysis bad jokes.

Today we look at the red headed stepchild of baseball's divisions, the National League Central.

2007 Finish

1. Chicago Cubs 85-77
2. Milwaukee Brewers 83-79
3. St. Louis Cardinals 78-84
4. Houston Astros 73-89
5. Cincinnati Reds 72-90
6. Pittsburgh Pirates 68-94

2008 Predictions

1. Chicago Cubs - Honestly, if the Cubs don't win this division this year, forget just selling the team, they should disband them. The Cubs were already the best in baseball's most mediocre division last season, and the teams around them generally seem to have gotten worse this season. They have the best starting rotation in the division, the best bullpen in the division, and they have what should be the best lineup in the division. So common sense says that they'll win the division. Of course, we should never forget that these are the Cubs, and you don't go 100 years without a World Series by accident. So while they should win this division running away, I won't be surprised if they finish in third or fourth place either. INTERESTING FACT: The Cubs suck.
2. Cincinnati Reds - This may be a surprising pick to you, as most people have the Brewers tabbed to be the 2nd best team in this division again this season. Well, I don't agree. I've noticed that in the NL Central, things tend to change on a yearly basis, and I think the Reds are going to surprise some people this season. I know Dusty Baker is managing there now, but his "mojo" always gets at least one good season out of his team before he destroys them. I like the Reds offense, I like their pitching staff better than most other do, and I like the youth they have waiting in the wings. This team could cause a lot of sleepless nights for Cubs fans this season. INTERESTING FACT: Ken Griffey Jr. had a very nice season last year, and did so with his body being held together by industrial grade rubberbands and his hamstring super glued to his leg.
3. Milwaukee Brewers - Last year the Brewers finally started to show some of the promise I've seen in the team the last few seasons, but they faded down the stretch and relinquished the division to the Cubs. Not much has changed going into this season, though there are a few key losses to their bullpen that I think will catch up to the Brew Crew before the season ends. Their offense is still going to be potent with Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, and J.J. Hardy and they'll be able to outscore a few teams. Unfortunately I'm not a big believer in their pitching staff this season as Chris Capuano is already on the disabled list, and it's only a matter of time before he's joined there by Ben Sheets. INTERESTING FACT: The fans who run the sausage race at Miller Park at every home game are specifically instructed to stay away from Prince Fielder for fear that he may try and eat them.
4. Houston Astros - With Carlos Lee, Lance Berkman, Hunter Pence, Ty Wiggington and now Miguel Tejada in the lineup this season, I don't think the Astros will have the same kind of trouble scoring runs that's plagued them the last few years, but it won't be enough. Aside from Roy Oswalt there isn't much on the pitching staff to brag about, and in the end, that's what's going to keep the Astros under .500 this year. INTERESTING FACT: Now that Craig Biggio has finally retired, the atmosphere in the clubhouse should actually be better since there will be no resentment for being forced to watch Matlock and The Price is Right all day.
5. St. Louis Cardinals - How the mighty have fallen. The Cardinals followed up their World Series title with an injury plagued season that saw them finish below .500 last year. I don't see things being much different this year, only worse. Chris Carpenter is still out, and Albert Pujols' elbow is going to detonate at some point. I don't know why the Cardinals don't just tell Albert to undergo the surgery he's going to have to have eventually right now. This team isn't going anywhere this season anyway, so why delay Albert's health for nothing? If there's a worse starting rotation in baseball right now than the one the Cardinals call their own, I haven't seen it yet. INTERESTING FACT: The only area of life this Cardinals team can compete with anybody in is most appearances on a police blotter. They're quickly becoming the Cincinnati Bengals of baseball.
6. Pittsburgh Pirates - Over the past year working at FanHouse alongside Pat Lackey, I've become a lot more familiar with what life is like for a Pirates fan. In short, it sucks. The team hasn't had a winning season since 1896, and their not going to have one this season either. There is some reason for hope though, as some of the young pitchers the Pirates have like Ian Snell at least give the impression that this team may one day be decent again. For Lackey's sake, I hope it's soon. INTERESTING FACT: There's nothing interesting about the Pirates.

Foul Balls All-Division Team

• Geovany Soto-CHI-C
• Prince Fielder-MIL-1B
• Brandon Phillips-CIN-2B
• Aramis Ramirez-CHI-3B
• J.J. Hardy-MIL-SS
• Carlos Lee-HOU-LF
• Mike Cameron-MIL-CF
• Hunter Pence-HOU-RF
• Carlos Zambrano-CHI-SP
• Francisco Cordero-CIN-CP

Youngsters to Watch

• Yovani Gallardo-MIL-SP
• Manny Parra-MIL-SP
• Geovany Soto-CHI-C
• Felix Pie-CHI-OF (if they let him play...)
• Joey Votto-CIN-1B
• Jay Bruce-CIN-OF
• Jonny Cueto-CIN-SP
• J.R. Towles-HOU-C

Guys Who Will Disappoint

• Ben Sheets-MIL-SP
• Eric Gagne-MIL-CP
• Bob Howry-CHI-RP
• Miguel Tejada-HOU-SS
• Troy Glaus-STL-3B
• Albert Pujols-STL-1B

Tomorrow we finish the divisional previews with the AL Central.

Morning Wood - Peaking At The Right Time

Chicago Cubs 8 Pittsburgh Pirates 0

If there was ever a time to start playing well, now would be it, and the Cubs seem to know it. They've won their last four - ten of their last twelve - and have pulled ahead of Milwaukee by 3.5 games. It's not official yet, but the way the Brewers are playing, the Cubs would have to lose the rest of their games to blow it. Carlos Zambrano lasted six shutout innings before leaving in the 6th inning with a "cramp." It was one of those "cramps" that show up when you have a six-run lead and your manager doesn't see any need to overuse you. "I'm a pitcher, not a doctor," Zambrano said. "But I have to do like a month ago. I had the same thing. I took care of that and now I have to do the same thing and start drinking more Gatorade and whatever. Whatever I have to do to solve the problem."

Minnesota Twins 7 Chicago White Sox 1

The game served as nothing more than a going away party for Torii Hunter. It was the Twins' last home game of the season, and that means it was Hunter's last game played as a Twin. He'll be a free agent at the end of the year, and there's no way Minnesota will re-sign him. "There was so much love out there today," said Hunter. "Everybody was telling me, 'Good luck, God bless,' like I was retiring or something."

Elsewhere...

AL

• Indians 6 A's 2
• Tigers 7 Royals 2
• Yankees 7 Blue Jays 5
• DRays 5 Red Sox 4
• Rangers 3 Orioles 0
• Angels 7 Mariners 4

NL

• Nationals 5 Phillies 3
• Braves 7 Brewers 4
• Mets 7 Marlins 6
• Rockies 7 Padres 3
• Giants 5 Reds 4
• Dodgers 7 DBacks 1
• Cardinals 4 Astros 3

Morning Wood - Playing Longball

Chicago Cubs 13 Pittsburgh Pirates 8

Yesterday's Cubs game was the type we usually see about 5 or 6 times during a summer. Yet, for some reason, I don't remember too many games like yesterday's. The wind was blowing out and just about anything that got elevated was flying out with it. The Cubs hit four home runs on Friday afternoon, including two three-run blasts off the bat of Aramis Ramirez. "You can't look up there," Ramirez said of the wind gusting to 21 mph that was moving the flags. "If you try to hit home runs, I guarantee you won't hit them." Well, yeah. It's hard to hit the ball if you're staring up at the flags.

Chicago White Sox 6 Minnesota Twins 4

It only makes sense that the year the White Sox finally had a modicum of success against Johan Santana, they're going to finish in last place. Josh Fields went deep twice, and Jim Thome added one of his own, while having another one robbed from him by Lew Ford. "Against that guy, you kind of close your eyes and swing," Fields said. "Every once in a while, someone deserves to get him, as much as he dominates everyone. I was just fortunate to get him tonight."

Elsewhere...

AL

• Indians 4 A's 3
• Tigers 5 Royals 4
• Blue Jays 5 Yankees 4
• Red Sox 8 DRays 1
• Rangers 3 Orioles 2
• Mariners 6 Angels 0

NL

• Brewers 4 Braves 1
• Phillies 6 Nationals 3
• Mets 9 Marlins 6
• Astros 6 Cardinals 3
• DBacks 12 Dodgers 3
• Rockies 2 Padres 1
• Reds 9 Giants 8

Morning Wood - Right Back Where They Started

Pittsburgh Pirates 10 Chicago Cubs 5

So, that Steve Trachsel trade is looking pretty good right now, huh? Trachsel made his second start as a Cub, and he only lasted two innings. It's okay, though, to make up for his lack of innings he gave up six runs before he left. I'll never figure out why the Cubs can't beat the Pirates, but it's cost them first place this time. They now trail Milwaukee by a game.

Minnesota Twins 5 Chicago White Sox 2

The White Sox two game win streak has come to an end, but instead of feeling sorry for ourselves, let's remember the good times. They were great, weren't they? Jim Thome stayed on his home run binge, hitting the 498th of his career in the 8th inning.

Elsewhere...

AL

• Mariners 14 Tigers 7
• Red Sox 3 Orioles 2
• DRays 3 Blue Jays 2
• Yankees 6 Royals 3
• Rangers 12 A's 9
• Indians 6 Angels 2

NL

• Nationals 7 Braves 4
• Mets 4 Astros 1
• Brewers 10 Reds 5
• Phillies 8 Marlins 5
• Rockies 4 Padres 2
• Giants 4 Dodgers 2
• DBacks 6 Cardinals 5

Morning Wood - Z's Back on the Board

Chicago Cubs 5 Pittsburgh Pirates 1

It wasn't exactly pretty, but Carlos Zambrano finally won a game Saturday night. It's his first win since July 29th. Yeah, he only lasted six innings, and managed to walk 5 guys, but at least he got the win!

Chicago White Sox 8 Minnesota Twins 7

Don't look now folks, but the Sox are making a late season charge at a division title! They've won two in a row for the second time in a week! Also, I'm going for the record of most sentences in a row that end with an exclamation point! Oh fuck, I broke it. Speaking of records, Jim Thome homered again last night, so now he's at 497. So I guess I'm going to have to start watching them again. Thanks, Jim.

Elsewhere...

AL

• Orioles 11 Red Sox 5
• Tigers 12 Mariners 6
• Yankees 11 Royals 5
• DRays 5 Blue Jays 4
• Rangers 7 A's 3
• Indians 6 Angels 1

NL

• Mets 3 Astros 1
• Phillies 9 Marlins 1
• Dodgers 6 Giants 2
• Cubs 5 Pirates 1
• Braves 9 Nationals 2
• Brewers 4 Reds 3
• Padres 3 Rockies 1
• DBacks 9 Cardinals 8

Morning Wood - Losing Your Way to the Playoffs

Pittsburgh Pirates 6 Chicago Cubs 1

Why the hell can't the Cubs beat the Pirates? I don't have the numbers to back it up, and I sure as hell ain't doing the research, but in the last three years when the Cubs have a meaningful game against the Pirates, they're 0-45. Chicagoland native, and my fellow Triton alumnus, Tom Gorzelanny held the Cubs to only one run while Rich Hill got knocked around a bit. Luckily for the Cubs, both Milwaukee and St. Louis lost as well, so they remain tied for first place.

Chicago White Sox 11 Minnesota Twins 10

The White Sox and Twins made history on Friday night. With the game tied at four going into the 9th inning, the Twins put up six runs to take a 10-4 lead. It was the same story Sox fans have seen played out over and over again this season. Fortunately, somebody felt a re-write was in order, and the Sox answered Minnesota's six runs with six runs of their own in the bottom of the 9th to tie it up. It's the first time in history both teams scored 6 runs in the 9th inning. A.J. Pierzynski singled home Luis Terrero in the 13th inning to win it for the Sox.

Elsewhere...

AL

• Red Sox 4 Orioles 0
• Tigers 6 Mariners 1
• Blue Jays 7 DRays 2
• Rangers 5 A's 3
• Yankees 3 Royals 2
• Angels 3 Indians 2

NL

• Marlins 6 Phillies 3
• Reds 11 Brewers 4
• Mets 11 Astros 3
• Braves 7 Nationals 1
• Rockies 10 Padres 4
• DBacks 4 Cardinals 2
• Giants 5 Dodgers 4

So Long, Cesar

It's been expected for a while now, but it became official this morning: The Cubs have traded Cesar Izturis. Izturis has been traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for the infamous "player to be named."

Though it hadn't been announced yet, you kind of knew it was coming because the Cubs had brought Jake Fox up from Double-A, and needed to open a spot on the roster for him. He's now been officially called up.

Odds are though that Ronny Cedeno will be joining the Cubs soon to replace Izturis.

Morning Wood - Vazquez is Dealing

Chicago White Sox 6 Minnesota Twins 3

Javier Vazquez pitched his second straight complete game as the White Sox were able to salvage a split with the Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon. I don't know what's gotten into the man that used to scare the crap out of me from the 5th inning on, but whatever it is, I hope he keeps doing what he's doing. "It's awesome. As a pitcher, throwing a complete game is what you work for," Vazquez said. "Getting that done and saving the bullpen and doing it quickly so everyone can make their flight, that's pretty good." Rob Mackowiak, Jim Thome, and Paul Konerko all homered in the 3rd inning to supply the White Sox with all the offense that they needed. If Javy, Buehrle, and Jon Garland can keep pitching like they have lately-Garland's Friday start excluded of course-through the second half of the season, and the offense keeps scoring runs like they have, the Sox might finish at around .500 and in third place! Why is that so exciting?

Pittsburgh Pirates 6 Chicago Cubs 2

Jason Bay broke out of a slump on Sunday, hitting a home run and driving in 4 runs as the Pirates took two out of three from the Cubs over the weekend. I don't think it's how the Cubs were hoping to go into the All-Star break after they built up so much momentum over the last two weeks. Also, they haven't hit a home run in their last nine games. "We haven't hit the ball out of park and, sooner or later, we've got to start scoring some runs that way," manager Lou Piniella said.

Elsewhere...

AL

• Tigers 6 Red Sox 5
• Yankees 12 Angels 0
• Blue Jays 1 Indians 0
• Royals 12 DRays 4
• Rangers 2 Orioles 1
• Mariners 7 A's 3

NL

• Reds 4 DBacks 3
• Nationals 7 Brewers 2
• Astros 8 Mets 3
• Cardinals 7 Giants 0
• Phillies 8 Rockies 4
• Dodgers 9 Marlins 3
• Braves 5 Padres 4