Wish I Could Have Seen This One

Carlos Zambrano turned in the best performance by a Cub starter so far this spring, striking out seven in three innings of shutout ball, and the Cubs beat the Brewers 8-4 on a day when the temperature in Mesa reached nearly 90 degrees (don't I wish -- 40 degrees outside my window right now).

Matt Kinney, who beat the Cubs several times last spring, got cuffed around pretty good. Sammy Sosa hit his first home run of the exhibition season, and Scott McClain, who got the start at 3B today, hit two. That's meaningless, of course, since McClain has exactly zero chance of making the team. But I'm sure it made the 10,639 in attendance very happy.

Gary Glover also threw two scoreless innings, which puts him in the running to fill the bullpen slot that will be temporarily vacated when Mike Remlinger starts the season on the DL. Other candidates, as discussed, are Todd Wellemeyer, Francis Beltran and Jimmy Anderson. I'd think Anderson might have a leg up only because he's lefthanded, but you never know what Dusty Baker will decide. You should see these four get quite a bit of work over the next couple of weeks.

The spring record is now 3-1-2, which looks like a Bears record from the 1950's, when tie games used to be all the rage in the NFL.

Other than that, I don't have a whole lot to say today. Spent a fair amount of the afternoon checking out a possible new school for Rachel... click here for the website of the British School of America to find out more about it. It's a very interesting concept, and I liked it a lot. They've only been operating in the USA for about ten years, but have already been well-established in several cities, including Chicago, Boston and Washington, and are planning more schools across the USA.

Oh, and speaking of education, Saturday I wrote that I was "chomping at the bit" to get to a ballgame. My dad (who else?) e-mailed me that the correct usage should be "champing at the bit". Seems this little phrase originated in England as long ago as the 14th Century.

Thanks, Dad. Who says you can't learn things here?