Ted Lilly may be able to do just about everything, but that won't keep him off the DL after he has a MRI on his shoulder today:
Look for the Cubs to place left-hander Ted Lilly on the disabled list today.
Lilly, the Cubs' lone all-star, had an MRI arthrogram performed on his left shoulder Friday after experiencing soreness in the front part of his shoulder. The procedure involves shooting a dye into the affected area, and manager Lou Piniella acknowledged Lilly likely will be out two weeks. The Cubs said they'll know the results today.
"Oh, gosh," Piniella said. "We were just talking about getting (Ryan) Dempster back. We were happy about that. All of a sudden, the Lilly situation. It seems like every time we get player, we lose one. Let's see what the MRI says on Theodore, and we can go from there."
So, Kevin Hart goes today, Rich Harden tomorrow (hope for a cloudy day and tell Rich it's a night game, even though it's not, and even though Harden claims it doesn't matter), Carlos Zambrano on Monday vs. Houston, and then Ryan Dempster's return from the DL on Tuesday.
I forgot to mention in yesterday's recap the condition of the playing surface at Wrigley Field after the three concerts last week. If you saw the grass as "green" yesterday, that's from the many gallons of spray paint they used to make it look that way. There are many indentations in center field from the stage supports, two patches near the warning track (one in center field and one in right field) and another near the pitcher's mound. It doesn't look great, but it's not nearly as bad as the field looked after the Police concerts two years ago. Of course, the entire drainage system and field were redone that offseason. I suspect the field will have to be resodded (but not completely redone) when this season is over. After next Thursday they'll have 11 days to get things looking better.
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Johnny Cueto's overall numbers look good, but he has an 8.26 ERA in his last six starts. That includes allowing 7 HR in 28.1 innings. He did throw seven shutout innings vs. the Cubs in a 3-0 Reds win on April 22 at Wrigley Field. Ryan Theriot is 7-for-16 (.438) lifetime vs. Cueto and Alfonso Soriano has homered off him twice in 12 career AB.
That has to be a really old photo of Kevin Hart, but it's the only one I could find in that size format. He's been really lucky to not allow more runs than he has this year, given the 15 walks in 15.2 IP. He has made three career relief appearances vs. the Reds, covering 5 innings. He's allowed two runs in those innings and 1 HR, which was to Adam Dunn, who is long gone from the Reds, in a game the Cubs were winning 11-2 at the time.
Cable-only again today, CSN Chicago and FSN Ohio, and thanks to Bud's Idiotic Blackout Rules, this game is NOT available on MLB Extra Innings (only games that start after 6 pm CT on Saturdays appear on EI). For other games today see the MLB.com Mediacenter.
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