is this one of the 60 wins we were supposed to get (before the 4th inning), or one of the 42 we had to figure out for ourselves?

forget about that game and take the W.

A win's a win I guess.

The bats looked good though.

more money winning a ballgame. I coulda told ya what that Meek kid was gonna do before that inning started. WINNING STREAK!!!!

sites, from the thread, anymore?

a win is a win. Besides, this is the kind of game we have to take. Can you imagine the effect a loss like this would have on everyone?

When WGN gets their HD stuff figured out, I'd love to see if they can get it on cable. This Christmas I finally got into the 21st century and bought a great big LCD HDTV. The problem is the quality of the non-HD stations is not as good as on my old Sony Trinitron. Oh well, eventually all will be HD, right?

Pie's AB was Horrible with a capital 'H'.

Someone needs to help him with his foot work... even routine throws are an adventure for him these days.

As promised...

You can get bigger image to click on above.

I have sample signs for Dome in Japanese here, and if you guys want your own message in Japanese, I can make it and add it here. That's easy to do for me.

...I take it as a good omen for the year. I've been a Cubs fan for a long time and, as most of you probably know, they almost always lose these types of game in heartbreaking, devastating fashion. This one was sweet, even though it was hard to digest.

Al, couldn't agree more that the less said about this mess the better.

Yesterday we had a lovely fundamentally sound game -- today the opposite. As awful as it was at least we came out with the W.

Leading the league in unearned runs is a cause for serious concern .... I'll leave the rest of my worries for tomorrow's comments.

it may be obvious but it just looks to me that about 80% of this team is over-trying and over-thinking. we got the W and thats all that counts. maybe the off-day will calm everyone down and we can start getting into a rhythm.

And by the sound of it... I'm glad I couldn't see it.

Probably won't catch a game the entire week, so I'll rely on everyone's recaps!

feed was fine for people who had MLB EI. Of course, people in Chicago would be blacked out on that feed.

You all missed Bob Walk and Steve Blass arguing who had the most opening day starts for the Pirates. Both said the other one did. Walk was right. (He only started on opening day once. Blass did three times.)

a nice three game winning streak. They earned this victory today. Somehow they were able to clutch defeat from the jaws of victory and do vice versa in the same game!

Al I also thought about that today. Lieber becoming a very Terry Mulholland like figure this year. Start, relieve whatever is needed.

I was trying to remember. In 1998 Mulholland had to go to the pen to replace a pitcher who was injured and the only lefty so they brought up Kerry. Who was that pitcher?

Do you think it's better if they had lost to have tomorrow off or worse?

I think you want to play right away to get it out of your system.

I had a bad feeling they were going to lose and it was going to smart. Glad I was wrong.

crappy games. Bad teams find a way to lose, and the Buccos did so, on cue. Nice to be able to win when things really didn't go your way until whe it counted.

People can bash Theriot all they want, but I think he was key today. I often joke about his scrappiness, but that's exactly what he was today. He got on base twice late in the game, stole second twice, and scored that key run in the 12th inning.

Cedeno may be the more talented player, but Theriot is the smarter player.

The game started at 1:35 (my time) and I only live 50 min from PNC. I'll post pics of the game tomorrow.

The fans were brutal this game. I didn't even get into my seat yet before I heard Cubs suck. I ignore it as I usually do. Then the guy gets in my face and yells "Cubs suck, fa**ot!" Just classless today. I usually don't mind the fans here but today it was out of control.

postgame interviews? thanks

if Ramirez and DeRosa would just pick up and throw. I know errors happen but these guys make a lot of money to make routine plays. Come on guys, make it look easy would ya?

Just when I think Fukudome can't impress me anymore he does. He was great this afternoon. I forget what his line was. Every single at bat was a good one.

I came home from the game and my mom started talking to me. She said "That Japanese guy is always on base." Now for somone to notice that who never watches baseball tells you something.

You face a Double "A", rule 5 pitcher who has walked the ballpark and you look clueless at the plate, that was a brutal AB. What is going to happen when he faces Cordero, or other late inning pitchers? I was so angry, and usually I am quite tame during the game. I just got a bad feeling Pie will searching for hits all year. He is turning himself into Paul Blair, all glove and no hit.
Cubs have 18 games with the Bucs, they better get 12 of them, that is not a very good team.

Will he?

Dome's three his and stolen base as a highlight reel within Yankees-Rays game program.

This is our way of writing basehit ("right safe hit" etc), walk ("four balls"), struck out ("three swings") etc...

Lou mentioned coming out of spring training that he had to start swinging at strikes-he hasn't done anything to show me he has any clue up there and Lou's not going to keep running him out there looking as bad as he is.
The question is, can we get by this season with Reed Johnson in center?

to rest the bullpen.

Not to overstate the obvious, but this was a very fortunate win. Despite bad fielding (DeRo, Johnson), an amazing lack of timely hitting in the later innings (Soriano, Pie, among others) and Theriot using two of his nine baserunning lives in extras, the Cubs got a W.

Right there we saw the problem of trying to keep a rule-5 guy on the roster... you have to play him sometime. Had the Cubs kept Lahey, he could have been the one imploding.

I hope, for his sake, that Meek goes on to have a good career. I would hate to see a guy's career go down because of a terrible outing like today. He's not ready for the bigs, and today just showed it.

Good teams find ways to win a game like today. Cubs looked awful and had miscues and misfires aplenty, but in the end they won.

Observations...

1. Something isn't right about Ramirez. I'm not smart enough to know if it's his shoulder or what, but something is going on here.
2. I'm out of air in my lungs to lament the $136 million offense killing guess hitter in left field.
3. Pie ain't goin to make it. Kid deserves an adequate sample size, but with the historic dysfunctionality of the Cub lineup rearing it's ugly head once again I think the Cubs are about to pull the rug out from under Pie. I won't be too chocked up to be honest. Pie is never going to hit major league pitching from what he has flashed in 2007 and 2008.
4. Demote Pignatello, promote Marshall.

(An extra cent for extra innings.)

That game was very hard to watch -- especially DeRo's error -- but I think we can take some real positives out of it:
1. Players will make errors and have bad ABs in the clutch and make baserunning mistakes and walk too many guys. It's all part of the soap opera. Good teams find a way to win games when they haven't necessarily played a good game. The Cubs are a good team and they showed it today.
2. Cedeno had a key hit despite not having regular ABs. Good sign that he is maturing.
3. Lieber was great, as was Marmol.
4. Soto is swinging the bat well.
5. Dome is still hot. How long can he keep it up?

Concerns:
1. Ramy's shoulder. I'm really worried that DLee will get into another collision trying to bail him out. I'd like to see DeRo at 3B on Wed. Ramy gets 2 days off and DeRo gets a different look defensively.
2. Ramy, Sori, and DeRo look like they are pressing a bit offensively. (Ramy's shoulder may be bothering his swing.) DeRo looks great with the bases empty, but is really pressing with RISP.
3. Lilly. Every player slumps, and it is more noticeable at the beginning of the season. I hope it's just a slump and not a sore arm.
4. I'm not sure what to do with Pie. He has nothing to prove at AAA, but he doesn't seem ready for the show. Can we send him to AAAA?
5. Piggy looked very tight -- scared that any mistake will cost him his job. He then pitched like he expects a ticket to Iowa.

The day off comes at a perfect time -- the guys can rest up a bit and have a little team gathering to bond.

Is 3 game threads a record?

I understand that some players get paid to hit home runs, but is it too much to ask Soriano to move a runner over with a sacrifice bunt when the situation calls for it? Or does Lou follow Earl Weaver's philosophy that a sacrifice bunt is an automatic out, and you don't give away outs?

It's not like Soriano is hot or anything (like my new favorite player, Mr. Fundamental Fukudome, who is willing to lay down a bunt, or hit to the opposite field, or line one over the fence when the situation calls for it).

In the 10th inning, Theriot walks, steals second (albeit a lucky break on the call), and Soriano is swinging for the fences, ultimately striking out on four pitches.

From my easy chair, I would have moved Theriot over to 3rd in hopes that PH Ward would get a hit or sac fly, allowing Theriot to score.

As it was, Theriot moves to 3rd in front of SS Luis Rivas' error on Ward's struck ball, and Lee and Aram leave RISP while striking out.

Is fundamental situational hitting a thing of the past?

wasn't Lieber brought in earlier in the game?? He's the long man in the pen and the starter was pulled in the 5th, isn't the EXACTLY the situation where the long man should be brought in? Ok, maybe he needs a little more time to warm up, but why not bring him in at the bottom of the 6th? I firmly believe that this game wouldn't have gone to extras if Lou brings in Lieber earlier in the game.

I'm glad he pitched well, but why was he basically the last guy out of the pen in a game where we had the lead???

I'd have to put on my "should-a, could-a, would-a" list. Last year there were games they had a nice lead and blew it. I'm looking at it now. Remember Z having that 5-0 lead at home against Cincy? He lost it in the 5th with the Reds scoring a touchdown and going on to win. It's those games that you can't get back. Well, this year - and I know it was sloppy - that game stayed in the "W" column. I'd rather have a sloppy win than one of those "should-a, could-a, would-a" games.

I have been in favor of letting Pie sink or swim and I think he should have more regular time out in center so the Cubs can figure out what they have but it just seems like he is thinking way too much every time he goes up to the plate. Don't you think a player like him or Corey Patterson (what should I do with my darn Patterson jersey?) would benefit from playing in Japan for a year? Learn to cut down the swing and better pitch selection.

Early last year we would have lost that game, a win is a win I guess.

Last year's team could have lost that game. The team from 2006 would have lost it for sure.

Good teams find ways to win games like this most of the time.

Why does it always seems that bad pitching is contagious?

I remember a number of games last year and the year before like yesterday's game where the starter losses control of just pitches badly and the bullpen comes in a pitches the same. Until Lieber, the bullpen was just as erratic as Lilly.

Bummer that they blew the big lead, but at least they hung in there & showed some fight....Lily looks very shaky in his 2 starts..Yikes!!!!

could also start if need be. You're right. We have awsome depth with the starters. I agree too that Cotts would be a better option in the pen, so Marshall could continue to get his starts in Iowa, and be ready if and when we need him. Either here or in a trade. Actually, a lefty in the pen is not that big of a concern anyway if you take into consideration the way our righties get left handed hitters out.