The Cubs finally got what they have so desperately needed for the last several weeks:  a blow-out.  A snot-knocker.  A good old-fashioned butt whuppin.  That it came at the expense of the Dodgers, the best team record-wise in the NL right now and the club that booted the Cubs from the post-season in 3 straight last year, only makes it that much more satisfying.
The game’s two heroes were Milton Bradley and Reed Johnson, both of whom contributed a trio of hits, Bradley more notably given that he has spent most of the season dealing with that expanded strike zone the [...]

As expected, Carlos Zambrano has been hit with a suspension and a fine for bumping the umpire during his outburst the other day against the Pirates.  The suspension is six games and the fine is $3,000.  Zambrano says he won’t appeal, which is good, cause he doesn’t have a case.  This is Z’s second stint away from the team; his first was a DL trip related to a pulled hammy.  It’s bad enough to be struggling, but when your horses can’t stay on the track?  Makes it that much harder.
Speaking of horses who can’t stay on the track:  the Sun-Times [...]

Carlos “Big Z” Zambrano put the ‘Z’ in Crazy with a classic meltdown during the Cubs 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.  It was a Pinella-esque tirade complete with an ump bump, thrown balls and gloves and another assault on the new dugout Gatorade dispenser.  Here’s another clip of the Big Z meltdown including a few shots taken by the Gatorade machine.

My favorite part – when Z takes a whack at the dispenser and seems to head down the tunnel, only to come back for another shot before Sweet Lou ushered him out of the dugout.
Check out the [...]

Carlos Zambrano was rolling along Wednesday against the Pirates, having allowed only one run into the 7th.  Unfortunately, if you’ve watched the Cubs at all this year, you know that, for this team, a roll is only a precursor to some kind of meltdown – and, indeed, the Cubs did not disappoint.  Nyjer Morgan, who made it to third when Alfonso Soriano decided to lope after a hit instead of chase it down, was barrelling toward the plate on a subsequent play; Carlos Zambrano received the throw, blocked the dish and laid on the tag.  It was a bang-bang play…and [...]

The Fansided.com sports network has, for whatever reason, elected to add a Brewers blog to its roster of baseball sites.  Reviewing the Brew is written by Ken Watkins, a “Brewers fan since the days of the Seattle Pilots,” which makes him about 80.  Should you feel the need to catch up on what’s going on with the Beermakers, Reviewing the Brew is the only place to go.  Welcome to the family Ken.

Lou Piniella has given his official reaction to Milton Bradley’s assertion that the umps have it in for him over his incident with Larry Vanover earlier this year:
Milton Bradley’s persecution theory when it comes to umpires doesn’t sit well with manager Lou Piniella.
”There’s nothing good that can come out of it,” Piniella said of published comments from the $30 million outfielder suggesting umpires are retaliating against him after his incident with ump Larry Vanover last month.
”What we need Milton to do is get to the point where he hits the ball the way he has in the past,” Piniella said, [...]

The Cubs followed up their horrific 6-game road trip, during which they scored a grand total of 5 runs, by returning to Wrigley Field and losing 10-8 to the lowly Pirates.  To show how bad things have become for the Cubs:  the highlight of Monday night was ’80s pop culture artifact Mr. T’s rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”

He pities the Pirates?  He should pity the Cubs.  We all should.
Total Pro Sports

Milton Bradley has a novel explanation for why he has sucked so far in a Cubs uniform:
Chicago Cubs right fielder Milton Bradley lashed out at Major League Baseball’s umpires Sunday, saying they are forcing him to swing at bad pitches by widening his strike zone.
Bradley, suspended one game last month after an argument with umpire Larry Vanover, said he thought other umps were getting back at him for the incident.
“Unfortunately, I just think it’s a lot of ‘Oh, you did this to my colleague,’ or ‘We’re going to get him any time we can,” Bradley said, according to the Chicago [...]

A day after being completely shut out by Jake Peavy and the Padres, the Cubs offense went on a veritable tear, scoring 1 run on 7 hits.  7 hits!  Those guys must’ve doubled up on the Wheaties to manage such an offensive explosion.  Maybe on Sunday they will go even crazier and get 8 hits!  And score 2 runs!  Look out ‘27 Yankees.
Unfortunately, the sudden offensive surge was insufficient to give the Cubs victory over the Padres, who touched up starter Randy Wells for an inconceivable 3 runs in 7 innings.  Dang, 3 runs.  That’s like a week’s worth for [...]

Two days ago it looked like Jake Peavy was going to become a member of the Chicago White Sox, but the trade was vetoed by Peavy himself, and he remained a member of the San Diego Padres.  Friday night he took the mound against the other Chicago team, the offensively inept Cubs, and showed the form that has made him so sought-after in the trade market.  Peavy allowed only 2 hits over 6 innings while striking out 10.  The bullpen then came in to finish the job, allowing just 3 more hits in the final 3 frames, giving the Padres [...]