A Fish Called Wandy

Wandy Rodgriguez? Really? Seriously? REALLY?!?! The Cubs whiffed 9 times against a kid named Wandy? Wandy went 8.0 innings and only gave up 4 hits and struck out 9...yeah, 9 Cubs last night. Unbelievable.

I was utterly disgusted with the highlights I saw last night. It was like watching the beginning of the end. I know, I know...I shouldn't go into a mental tailspin, but the Cubs have lost 5 of their last 7 games and the offense and pitching has been atrocious.

And, for an additional refreshing kick to the cods, as if Cubs fans are used to nothing less, LF Alfonso Soriano has a "1 cm tear" in his quadriceps and will require additional time (4-6 weeks instead of 2-4 weeks) to heal. Lou said it may be some time around Labor Day for Soriano's return, and possibly could take him out for the remainder of the regular season. That smarts. The Cubs recalled some kid named Eric Patterson, who is the younger brother of former Cubs "5-tool" prospect Corey Patterson. Turns out, Corey couldn't make use of his five tools and decided to melt them into one bigger, stubborn and free-swinging tool called...Corey Patterson.

Anyway, the Cubs are excited about Corey's little brother, a 2B prospect who turned to playing the outfield in his last 10 Triple-A games. He's hit .299 with 23 doubles, 6 triples, 14 HR's and 62 RBI and 16 stolen bases. He does sound very promising, but who knows how he'll be used in the coming month to two months.

Well, with Soriano out for the foreseeable future, our man Ryan Theriot has moved into the leadoff spot in the lineup. Last night, he managed to rap 2 hits in 5 chances and didn't strike out once. In fact, so far this season, he's only struck out 32 times out of 344 AB's, and has a walk-to-strikeout ratio of 35/32. He walks more than he strikes out. That's going to keep you in the majors for some time. He's played admirable defense and has a very good approach at the plate, and looks to be a good solution to the shortstop position for this team for quite some time.

Sean Marshall takes on Woody Williams at the Juice Box tonight, and the game should be carried on FOX Sports Southwest, the Astros local affiliate. After striking out a total of 13 times last night, lets hope the Cubs can push Woody from the game early tonight and post a 10 spot for Marshall. The Brewers continue to implode, falling 6-2 to the Rockies last night. They remain one game ahead of the Cubs in the NL Central.

C'mon, Cubs...it's so close, and the Brewers are making it so easy. Just man up and take the damn, thing, huh?