Feels weird to lose, doesn't it?

And isn't that a good thing? After nine wins in a row -- coming from behind in eight of them -- it still felt OK even when the Cubs went down 1-0 in the first inning.

But for the first time in 26 games the Cubs never led, though they tied it at 1 when Alfonso Soriano singled, stole second, went to third on a Ryan Theriot single, and scored on a sacrifice fly. (The last time the Cubs never led in a game before last night was when they were shut out in Cincinnati 9-0 on May 7. The next day they came home and started a four-game winning streak.

There isn't much more to say about last night's 2-1 loss to the Padres. Ironies abounded: the Cubs finally got a good pitching performance out of their starting pitcher, Ted Lilly, but the bats turned silent -- four singles was all they got, and no walks; that's the first time since April 11 at Philadelphia and only the third time all season (April 4 at home vs. Houston the other) that the Cubs have gone walkless, very impressive patience being shown by Cub hitters all year.

Other numbers: Greg Maddux threw only 69 pitches in dispatching the Cubs through the six innings he threw. (You still don't want Maddux? It wasn't Petco that was making his pitches move the way they did last night. Go get him, Jim Hendry!) The Cubs did get a hit off Trevor Hoffman in the 9th inning, but with two out, Hoffman struck out Derrek Lee to end it. The game finished in a snappy two hours and fifteen minutes, probably sped along by the lack of walks (Lilly walked two, but no other pitcher who appeared in the game walked anyone).

Updating my "Best Starts" box, a numbers curiosity: all the teams that started the day of their 60th game of the season with a better record than the 2008 Cubs, lost that game, as did this year's version.

That's it, really; I did fall asleep after the fourth inning, only to wake up during the bottom of the 7th to see that it was still 1-1, and fell asleep again. The next time I woke up some infomercial was on WGN, and I figured I'd find out the result in the morning.

Yes, it feels weird, as it does when every winning streak that gets this long ends. But the Cubs still won the series, and still lead the division by three games, and their starting pitcher looked good, and they saved the entire bullpen except for Carlos Marmol, who retired both of the hitters he faced (even though one of those outs produced the winning run on a sac fly), and Marmol threw only eight pitches.

Onward to Los Angeles and more winning.

The San Diego Padres, who came excruciatingly close to making the playoffs last year (and who are still waiting for Matt Holliday to touch the plate), lie in ruins this morning.

Their #1 starter and one of the best in the game, Jake Peavy, is on the DL with elbow trouble, and we are all very familiar with what elbow trouble can do to your ace pitcher. Their #2 starter, Chris Young, went on the DL yesterday after getting hit in the face by an Albert Pujols line drive; Pujols then added both insult and another injury to injury by accidentally hooking the ankle of Padres catcher Josh Bard when subsequently scoring.

With Bard, Young and Peavy on the DL, San Diego has two rookie catchers on the roster and their #2 starter is now... drum roll... Shawn Estes. The Padres have the worst record in the major leagues at 18-31 and are already eleven games out of first place.

I would think that this would put the Padres into "sell" mode, if not right away, then certainly by the time the non-waiver trading deadline hits on July 31. This essay is going to make the case for the Cubs to acquire Greg Maddux, who has hinted this will be his last season, to end his career, perhaps in the ultimate triumph, with the team he began with and in front of the fans who love him best. Warning! This is going to be mostly based on sentiment, not statistics, so numbers people, hold your fire.

I exchanged several emails yesterday with my friend and BCB's #1 Maddux fan, Jessica, who at last admitted (after saying "No way" to me for ages) that it's possible that the Cubs might do exactly this. She sent me this quote, taken from this Barry Rozner column written after Maddux' recent appearance in Wrigley Field, which we all thought at the time might be his last:

"I'm not ashamed to say I love Greg Maddux," said Cubs GM Jim Hendry. "As good a pitcher as he is, maybe the best ever, he's a better person. I was really hoping today he'd get a no-decision and we'd win the game."

Hendry did Maddux a favor in 2006 by sending him to a playoff contender, the Dodgers (in fact, players across baseball ought to love Hendry. He sent five players from that miserable Cub team -- Maddux, Phil Nevin, Todd Walker, Scott Williamson and yes, Neifi Perez -- to teams that wound up in the 2006 postseason), and Maddux responded to the stepped-up competition. He was 9-11, 4.69 with the execrable 2006 Cubs; with the Dodgers, he went 6-3, 3.30 and nearly threw a no-hitter against the Giants.

This is the nature of Greg Maddux. At this stage of his career, 42 years old and with a fastball that doesn't creak past about 84 MPH, he gets by on guile and knowledge and experience and steps up his game to the level of competition and the situation. The 2006 Dodgers got swept out of the NLDS by the Mets (and Maddux got hit pretty hard in game three), but there is no doubt that Maddux helped them get there, not only with his pitching, but with his mere presence on the bench. The story is told that Brad Penny let Maddux call all his pitches from the bench during one of Penny's late-season starts, and Penny wound up throwing seven shutout innings. That was, incidentally, against the Cubs on September 13, 2006.

So why Maddux? Well, let's take a look at a few numbers, at least. Maddux has made ten starts this season and is 3-4 (not bad on an 18-31 team) with a 3.94 ERA, which would if carried for a full season be his lowest since 2003. Yes, I am well aware that his home/road splits are pretty bad (1-0, 1.88 at home; 2-4, 5.35 away from spacious Petco). But let's compare this, shall we, to the Cubs' fifth starter, the three-headed "monster" of Rich Hill, Jon Lieber and Sean Gallagher (for the purposes of this discussion, we assume that the Cubs' first four are Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Ryan Dempster and Jason Marquis).

Hillliebergallagher have combined for nine starts. In those starts they have thrown 40.2 innings, allowed 42 hits, 26 earned runs, walked 26 and struck out 31. That's a 1.67 WHIP and a 5.75 ERA.

Now how could Maddux be worse than that?

This is a short-term fix, two months, maybe three. It's not going to retard the development of Gallagher or Sean Marshall, since it's likely Maddux will retire after this year. And Marshall said many times during 2006 that he soaked up a lot of knowledge sitting next to Maddux on the Cubs' bench. It certainly couldn't hurt having a future Hall of Famer on the bench, sharing his knowledge with this Cubs team, and I believe he could also be a contributing force, once he got off a losing team and on to a contender. Also, remember that the Cubs play the bulk of their September games on the road, so the home/road splits Maddux has had (and they could be an aberration, as he had a 3.59 ERA at Petco and 4.65 on the road in 2007, not so extreme a split) might actually work in the Cubs' favor late in the year, playing fewer games in Wrigley Field. There's no doubt that he will become available, later if not sooner, and Jessica agrees with me that the Cubs wouldn't have to do much more than take the remains of his contract and give the Padres a "face-saving prospect", as she put it.

This is also about sentiment, I freely admit, and making things "right". When Maddux returned to the Cubs in 2004, it was clearly with the intention of finishing his career with the team he started with, in front of the fans who love him perhaps more than any pitcher in post-World War II team history other than Fergie Jenkins. There's no greater evidence of that than the two loving ovations he has received in the last three years -- first, on July 29, 2006, when he threw six solid innings against the Cardinals and won his last Cub appearance before he was sent to the Dodgers, and the other one just a week ago, when he left the field after Cub hitters battered him pretty good. I don't think I've ever seen such a cheer given to a visiting player.

We love Greg Maddux, and we need Greg Maddux. He may not be the best available pitcher. But he is the right available pitcher. Go get him, Jim Hendry. Bring him home. In this season where everything seems possible, Greg Maddux should be part of it.

When Jessica returned from one of her many sojourns through Wrigley Field, she reported that she overheard someone saying, "I don't know how I feel about cheering for Jim Edmonds. It's just weird."

That's exactly right. It's just weird, and Edmonds got both booed and cheered today -- a mix of sorts when introduced, and when coming out to the field for the first time; cheers when he singled in the second inning, and then booed when he hit into a double play in the fourth and struck out with the bases loaded in the seventh.

That's what today's 4-0 Cubs win over the Padres was -- many ovations, and some booing, for several different players and situations. (And if you are of "a certain age", you will remember the title of today's post as coming from the song "It's A Beautiful Day For A Ballgame", the song that is heard at the ballpark before each game, and used to be the game intro song on WGN radio.)

Ryan Dempster was the recipient of two loud ovations; first, when he came up to bat in the bottom of the eighth after throwing eight shutout innings and it was clear that Lou was going to let him at least start the ninth. Dempster was outstanding today, scattering those four hits through 8, walking only one and striking out twelve (a new career high for him). When he ran into trouble in the 9th -- Brian Giles, who has his number, having three of the six eventual hits off Dempster, doubled and Kevin Kouzmanoff singled (Larry Rothschild got booed when he quickly ran out to talk to Dempster before Kouzmanoff's AB), Lou didn't hesitate to go to Kerry Wood, as Dempster had thrown 115 pitches (77 strikes, very impressive). Dempster left the field to a huge ovation.

Wood, who looked shaky yesterday, dispatched Khalil Greene and pinch-hitter Josh Bard on strikes, and the game ended with another ovation.

Meanwhile, former Cub Greg Maddux gave up hits left and right to the Cubs over the first four innings -- six of them through four -- but escaped any scoring; once in the fourth on the Edmonds DP ball, but before that after throwing a pitch to the bricks behind the plate with Aramis Ramirez on third. The ball bounced so quickly off the wall back to catcher Luke Carlin that Ramirez, who had broken quickly enough, was still out by about 20 feet. Too bad, because Edmonds, who was batting at the time, singled, and so did Ronny Cedeno, and the Cubs could have had a big inning. Maddux gave up hits to the first four batters in the fifth, and that plus a sac fly chased him.

Whereupon he left to loud cheers that I can only describe as "wistful" -- it was a "thank you for the memories" cheer, and perhaps also a "please come back for one last hurrah if you can" cheer. Maddux, from what I hear, has told friends this may be his last season, and, with the Padres mired in last place, he was asked if he thought this would be his last appearance in Wrigley Field, and he refused to answer.

I'm not predicting anything, and frankly, if Maddux pitches like he did today (his shortest outing of the year), maybe the Cubs would have second thoughts about bringing him back. Sentimentally, sure, it'd be great. But Jim Hendry & Co., if they are even considering this, would have to first decide if he's got enough left in the tank.

Same thing with Jim Edmonds, and I have received emails today from people saying they would never, ever root for him, and I just don't understand that. Did I want him here? No. Do I think he has anything lef? No. But if he does produce, and helps the Cubs win, I'm all for it. We were trying, in the bleachers today, to think of any player, anyone, who was as hated as Edmonds is by Cubs fans, who eventually became a Cub, and really couldn't come up with anyone. Howard Johnson was about as close as we could come; he played half a season for the 1995 Cubs and was just about as done as I think Edmonds is now. But Johnson wasn't really hated by Cubs fans; he was only disliked because he was a Met. Having Edmonds is like what it would have been to get Lenny Dykstra, long after he was done.

Enough about that -- I want to rave about Dempster again; this was his best game as a Cub and probably his best since July 3, 2001, when he threw a four-hit shutout against the Expos in Montreal, when still a Florida Marlin. And he only struck out two that day. It's too bad he didn't finish... the complete game has really become a thing of the past. There have been only six CG thrown in the National League so far this year, and only two CG shutouts -- one by Tim Hudson, one by Ben Sheets.

Kudos also today to Ronny Cedeno, who had two hits, drew a walk and again had good AB every time up. Please, Lou: more playing time for Ronny. And, also to Derrek Lee, who had two hits and two RBI and looked better at the plate than he has all week.

In addition to Jessica, BCB reader Tex (who doesn't post much but is in town visiting from Texas) stopped by to say hi, as did BCB reader calicubfan (Rob, visiting from California; hey -- thanks for the beer!) and we were also joined by former Cubs publications director Jim McArdle, who is spending this summer working on a book about the 2008 season. Hey, Jim: nice talking to you about the Cubs and this site and enjoying a big win.

Big win indeed: six-and-one on this homestand, 17-7 overall at home, and now two games in first place after the Pirates destroyed the Cardinals' bullpen today and won 11-5. Things are good. Onward to beat the Pirates (geez, we're playing them again?) this weekend.

Final note: I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago, but I wanted to call your attention, in case you missed it, to this article in today's Tribune about the "Way Out In Left Field Society", which has lobbied and finally won the right to put an historical marker on the site of West Side Grounds at 912 S. Polk in Chicago, the site where the Cubs won their only two World Series. To which I say, "About time!"

Click here for my scorecard

PEORIA, Arizona -- Today's first inning, which lasted 42 minutes, featured two walks, eight hits including a three-run homer, an error, and nine runs scored. (Based on that pace, we should have been there for six hours.)

The other eight innings were played in a snappy two hours and eleven minutes; there were eleven more hits but only one more run scored, and at one point fifteen consecutive Padres were retired (eleven by Jason Marquis and four by Carmen Pignatiello).

All of this added up to a 7-3 Cubs win over the Padres, and Marquis, who gave up hits to three of the first five batters he faced (and the three-run homer to Adrian Gonzalez, which went a long, long, looooong way), settled down and looked really sharp until he reached a pitch count with one out in the fifth. He had just struck out Luis Rodriguez, and Lou came out to get him and I said to Jeff, sitting next to me (he had awakened long enough from his nap in the sun to watch what was going on), "Why take him out? He was on a roll!"

But, Pignatiello was sharp -- allowing only a single to Gonzalez in his 1.2 innings -- and now that Scott Eyre reported tightness in his elbow (perhaps accounting for the bad outing he had yesterday), Pignatiello has new hope of making the major league roster for Opening Day. His outing today, another solid one, certainly didn't hurt his chances any.

Greg Maddux was awful today. He really had nothing -- the first five batters he faced reached base, although his SS, Khalil Greene, did him no favors by booting Eric Patterson's ball leading off the game. Uncharacteristically, though, Maddux walked two batters in the first (Derrek Lee and Kosuke Fukudome), and when Ryan Theriot blasted a double to deep CF after two were retired, clearing the bases, the Cubs had a 6-0 lead (only one of the runs in the first and two of the seven overall was earned). Maddux left after the fourth inning, walking down the RF line to the Padres clubhouse to a large round of applause.

After that, Jessica, this site's #1 Maddux fan, who had been sitting ten rows behind the plate, came out to the LF lawn to join us. I told her, "It was your fault. He was too nervous seeing you sitting so close." She rolled her eyes.

In addition to Marquis' solid pitching performance, he also had two hits. This will likely increase his trade value, since I have heard that there's no way Rich Hill is getting sent to Iowa (even though he has an option year left). Hill has a lot of work to do on his mechanics, apparently, but his slot in the rotation is not in jeopardy.

The crowd of 12,035 at Peoria Sports Complex was one of the largest I have ever seen there, and it had to be at least half Cubs fans; they all gave a huge ovation when Kerry Wood trotted in from the bullpen to throw the 7th inning. Though not as dominant as yesterday, he threw an efficient inning, giving up a single but getting Josh Bard to end the inning on a nasty breaking ball. I presume that shortly, we'll hear that Wood has been named closer. Bob Howry, who had a shaky start to his spring, threw a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Best of all, Cubs pitchers issued only one walk today (by Tim Lahey, in the 8th inning).

Visible beyond the stands behind first base, opposite from where we were sitting on the LF lawn, was smoke from a large brush fire near Avondale, in the southwest part of the valley.

Micah Hoffpauir played right field again today, and had his first fielding chance at that position -- a routine fly ball by Paul McAnulty that he fielded routinely. Despite his great spring, I doubt he has any chance to make the 25-man roster, but if he can play even an average RF, he has a chance to become a callup if there are any injuries.

Which, of course, we hope there aren't, or that they're minimal, at least.

Finally, this article on the Cubs website chronicles the visits from various ex-Cubs on the Padres today to their former teammates (there were four in all). Here's one thing I learned from that link that I did not know before, about Michael Barrett's time with the Cubs last year:

Interesting. A full share? Pretty generous, I'd say. Till tomorrow.

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -- Peoria Stadium is one of the best, if not THE best, of the Cactus League parks, and the Cubs will make their second trip of the spring there today (they played the Mariners, who share the complex with the Padres, at Peoria earlier this month).

One thing that's changed about the Cactus League -- you don't see teams as often as years ago, because there are more teams. When the Cactus League was only eight teams, you'd see teams four, or sometimes even six, times a spring. Now, often you only see teams twice, and this spring the Cubs will only see the Giants, A's, Brewers and Angels more than that (not including the Las Vegas games vs. the Mariners). Next year, when the Dodgers (and possibly the Reds) come to Arizona, it will likely be even fewer teams seen more than twice.

Not complaining, mind you -- just an observation. And because of this schedule, I haven't seen the Brewers play yet -- and won't until the final day of Cactus League play on Thursday. But both Paul Sullivan and Chris DeLuca remind us that the Brewers aren't just going to lay down and let the Cubs take the NL Central. There are good quotes from players on both teams and also from Jim Hendry in those articles.

We'll find out soon, too -- the Cubs and Brewers play six of their first 28 games against each other, all at Wrigley Field (thanks, schedule-makers, for making them play in cold weather instead of in the dome in Milwaukee).

Bruce Miles tells us that Kerry Wood's back-to-back outings have been moved up; he'll go today after his strong inning yesterday, and:

Absolutely. I believe Wood will be named closer by tomorrow, and I couldn't be happier, both for Wood, who has worked hard and always been a class act, and for the team -- because Wood looks like the real deal as closer.

Gordon Wittenmyer writes of a "standoff" he had with Lou Piniella on Friday. Reads more like a milquetoast little discussion; the most useful information is this quote from Lou:

Actually, Lou does have a backup, of sorts, if you look at the lineup he put on the field on Thursday: for days he wants to sit Pie, he can play Matt Murton in RF and Kosuke Fukudome in CF.

Jason Marquis will face Greg Maddux today. Also appearing on the mound for the Padres will be Trevor Hoffman, Wil Ledezma and Enrique Gonzalez. We know that Kerry Wood will throw for the Cubs; I assume we'll also see Carlos Marmol since he hasn't gone since Wednesday.

No TV again today -- but that's the last time this month. All the rest of the spring games are on TV (Monday/Tuesday on CSN; Wednesday on MLB.TV; and Thursday/Friday/Saturday on WGN). There is radio coverage on WGN, XPRS, XM 184, a Spanish-language broadcast on San Diego station XEMO, and at the MLB.com Mediacenter.

MLB.com Gameday

Discuss amongst yourselves.