Chicago Cubs

Filed:July 12th, 2009

Chicago Cub Carlos Zambrano (Cubbie Nation/file photo)

He sings. He dances. He tells jokes. He beats catchers with his bare hands. Oh, and he pitches pretty well, too, and knows to hit. The latter two were on display Sunday, as Zambrano carried the Cubs to a 7-3 win over the Cardinals in Game 1 of their day/night doubleheader.

As a Cubs, fan it was a lot of fun putting together my list of The Chicago Cubs 20 Best Transactions Since 1990. However, it is only fair that I follow that up with the 20 Worst.

While none of these moves hold a candle to the Aramis Ramirez trade in terms of significance, there have nonetheless been some truly awful decisions made in the recent history of the franchise.

The biggest surprise here for many will be number three on this list, as I'm not sure aa whole lot of people know about that one.

The Chicago Cubs looked like a steaming pile of hot garbage on Friday in an 8-3 loss to division leading St. Louis Cardinals in the first game of a crucial four-game series before the All Star Break.

Whether it's been Rich Harden's inability to gets outs past the second inning, Ryan Dempster's high jumping ability or Geovany Soto's new love handle contusion, the Cubs are giving off the vibes of a team completely out of it in the National League Central.

Before I go any further, let me say that Lou Piniella is not the main reason why the Cubs are 41-42. 

That said, at some point a manager must be held accountable for his teams struggles. 

Coming into the season the Cubs were once again heavy favorites to win the National League Central, and many saw them as the favorite to represent the National League in the World Series. While the Cubs have endured plenty of injuries, they still find themselves in almost every game. 

The Cubs have been very disappointing in the first half of the season. They start today 41-41, when in reality, they should be six or seven games above .500.

Luckily, they are not too far away from that. Any day now, they could go on a six game winning streak and be right back in the thick of things.

There are a numerous things that the Cubs need to do to win consistently over the next 80 games. If the Cubs can achieve at least the majority of them, they should find themselves a top the National League Central for the third straight year.

With the news of the release of the two-time All-Star closer, the question looms about where B.J. Ryan will end up.

Ryan, who has struggled a bit this year, will definitely be a steal for whoever picks him up.

Look to the stats. He has had over 30 saves three times in his career. He has a career 3.37 ERA and 112 saves.

Ryan, who this year has battled a left shoulder injury this year, has definitely struggled for the Jays. He is 1-1 with a 6.53 ERA and only two saves in 20 2/3 innings.

What a week Cub fans!

Two weeks ago this was the most apathetic team I had ever seen, and now they are actually showing life! I think they actually want to win!

What a good feeling this is! I can’t stop using exclamation points! The Cubs are good again!

After last season’s dominance, I did not expect to be this happy to be two games over .500. But ever since Lou made some adjustments to the batting order, the team has shown signs of life.

Chicago sports radio stations are reporting that the Chicago Cubs will place starting pitcher Ryan Dempster on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Friday, July 3.

Dempster reportedly has a fractured toe on his right foot.

Kevin Hart, who was just demoted on Monday, will be recalled to fill Dempster's rotation spot between now and the All-Star break next week.

UPDATE: Because the Cubs had optioned Kevin Hart to Iowa after the injury occurred, the team was not able to make the listing retroactive. Dempster's 15 days begin on Tuesday.

I will start off by giving credit to Alex Akita, who's article "Top-11: Most Randomly Awesome Seattle Mariners of All-Time" was the inspiration for this article.

CHICAGO—The Chicago Cubs cut the St. Louis Cardinals' lead in the National League Central to two games after they beat the Atlanta Braves 4-2, behind the arm of rookie pitcher Randy Wells and the bat of Derrek Lee.

Wells (4-3) has won four straight starts after going 0-3 in his first six outings with the Cubs. 

The 26-year-old rookie has really lacked run support from the Chicago offense, but lately, it's been just enough. He went six strong innings, struck out four batters, allowed two runs, and did not allow any walks.