Chicago Cubs

Good teams find ways to win.

When asked what his team needed to do to turn it around after a fifth-straight loss to the Pirates, Chicago Cubs skipper Lou Piniella had this to say:

"If we start doing the things that we're capable of doing, I won't have to answer these questions all the time."

But the question remains, can this team turn it around in time to make any noise in the post-season picture?

The quest to find this answer began today with a 4-3 comeback win over the Bucs.

Look, Carlos Zambrano makes a hell of a lot of money. If he is going to provide any return on that investment, it has to be as a starting pitcher, not a reliever.

You don't pay relievers $18 million per season. Plus, he isn't doing a good job in that role anyway.

If the Cubs had listened to my advice two years ago and again last year, they would have traded Big Z when they had the chance.

When I wrote the articles, many Cubs fans said no way you trade Zambrano. And even the ones who thought it made sense wanted a king's ransom in return.

On Wednesday, Carrie Muskat wrote an article in which she said that "There are no deals pending, no scouts scouring other rosters to find help."

It wasn't a quote from Jim Hendry. It was just a line added into the article between quotes from the Cubs' general manager.

More specifically, it came immediately before the following quote from Hendry:

Since Carlos Marmol was moved to full-time closer duties, a big question was not how Marmol would perform in the new role, but who would replace him as the set-up man or relief ace role.

Sean Marshall has answered all those questions, dominating opposing offenses as a full-time reliever this year.

Marshall currently sports a sparkling 2.70 ERA in 18 relief appearances, which doesn't show how truly awesome he is pitching, as his Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) is sitting at 1.29.

I know it's early and a small sample size. But this shout out to Marlon Byrd goes beyond his early season statistics, which are pretty good by the way.

The man plays the game the right way. He seems to be a genuinely decent human being and a teammate who cares about winning.

In short, he is the opposite of the things many of us dislike about recent Cubs teams.

Sure, the fact that Byrd is hitting .341 with six homers and 24 RBI helps. But it's the way he goes about his business that impresses a cynical, long-time Cubs fan such as myself.

This article was originally published at The Daily Cub.  Visit TheDailyCub.com for more original Chicago Cubs coverage.

One week ago the Cubs were 13-13, coming off of a sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks and looked to be back on track to get the most out of their team this season.

All was well in Wrigleyville.

A lot of people today forget how the game was in the early 1990’s. The Cubs and Braves thanks to WGN and TBS respectively rivaled the Yankee’s in popularity. The Atlanta Braves held an advantage over the Cubs at the time because the Braves were the better team. In my home town every kid was a Braves fan, with a few Cubs fans scattered about.

After winning back-to-back division titles, the Cubs now appear on the brink of having two straight years of October golf. The Cubs' core players are quickly passing their prime as the ballclub becomes increasingly more inconsistent.

Now it's still early in the season and a Cubs run to a Wild Card spot isn't mathematically impossible, but even if the Cubs make the playoffs, it is very, very clear they cannot compete with the Cardinals and Phillies in the National League or the Yankees, Devil Rays, or Twins in the AL.

You look at the Cubs' record, and you can't help but grimace. Their record, 14-17, is right in line with their Pythagorean Record, 15-16. The Cubs struggle somewhat in one-run games, going 3-6 in such contests.

The Cubs struggle mightily on the road, going 7-11 on road games, as opposed to 7-6 at Wrigley.

Let's gander at their pitching.

The Cubs are actually pitching very well. They are first in the league in strike-outs per walk, and boast the best Contact Percentage.