Chicago Cubs

Look, I know that every team has issues in their bullpen, so this isn't an attempt to discuss the obvious.

But for a team that is supposedly the best team in the NL Central, Cubs GM Jim Hendry has built a club that is flawed in one very critical area, the pen.

Yes, the Cubs allowed Kerry Wood to leave because they figured Carlos Marmol was ready to assume the closer role, but just to make sure, Hendry acquired Kevin Gregg; who blew the most saves of anyone last year.

Gregg has not instilled much confidence thus far. Neither has many of his mates.

Filed:April 16th, 2009

The St. Louis Cardinals celebrate their win against the Chicago Cubs Thursday.

(Cubbie Nation/file)

Click here for the photo gallery of today's game.

No Cubs fan shed a tear when GM Jim Hendry traded Jason Marquis to the Colorado Rockies this winter. In fact, many were openly joyous over his departure.

But I ask you, dear Cubs fans, who would you rather have: Luis Vizcaino or Jason Marquis?

The reason I ask this is not so much because of what happened today because, hey, it's only one game.

But the reason I cautioned everyone that the trade may not be so good for us is that you can never have too much pitching, first of all. And, all we got in return is an over-priced middle reliever.

Hearing about the annual goat's head on Harry Caray's statue made me sick.

And to the guy who brought a goat to the game the other day, I have four words:

IT'S NOT ABOUT THE GOAT!

Look, folks, there is no curse. In fact, the only "curse" the Cubs have had is the curse of lousy management over the years.

Since Jim Hendry has become the GM, things have improved. Now, I've been a vocal critic of Mr. Hendry, but even I have to admit how much more of an intelligent baseball man he is than the other idiots that have generally mismanaged this club.

Screaming from the headlines in Chicago on Monday morning, opening day for the beloved Cubs, was word of a dead goat hung from the Harry Caray statue outside Wrigley Field.

It’s a replay of what also happened in 2007.

It's only been a week, but six games into the season the Chicago Cubs' Achilles heel thus far has unquestionably been the bullpen.

Going into 2009, there were many question marks for Chicago, including the durability of key players such as Milton Bradley and Alfonso Soriano, infield depth, and, of course, the bullpen.

The current problem with the bullpen situation is that it's not just one or two guys who are underachieving, it's virtually everyone.

My favorite sport is Baseball. So my favorite movie would be..a Baseball movie.

From the true stories like 61* and The Rookie to the funny and exciting movies like Benchwarmers and Major League. Here is a list of MY top 10 favorite Baseball movies.

I still haven't seen Chasing October and i think there is a new CUbs movie coming out that ought to be good.

Enjoy.

Theodore Roosevelt Lilly III.

That about sums up Opening Day 2009 at Wrigley Field.

Rain delayed the start of today’s game for an hour and 12 minutes, but couldn’t put on a damper on the Cubs home opener or the mood of the 40,077 fans that showed up to spite it.

Ted Lilly walked catcher Chris Iannetta in the third inning and didn’t allow another Rockie to reach base until Garrett Atkins singled with two outs in the seventh to end the no-hit bid.

A crowd of 40,077 braved the cold, wet conditions at Wrigley this afternoon to watch Ted Lilly pitch a gem of a ball game. Lilly took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before Garrett Atkins singled to left field. 

Angel Guzman came in to finish up the seventh, while Aaron Heilman and Kevin Gregg took care of the eighth and ninth innings, respectively.

The Cubs moved into a momentary first place tie with the St. Louis Cardinals, who play later tonight in Arizona.