Congratulations...I'm Sorry!!

Cubs 5 Astros 4

It was a good win...and a bad loss today at Wrigley. Glendon Rusch had a good start. He went 5 innings and allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 9 hits. I did not think the Cubs could beat the Astros if Rusch had a short outing and I was wrong. Wuertz came in for the 6th and 7th and had 2 good innings. He held the Astros at bay and did not give up a hit and stuck out 4. Williamson started the 8th and gave up a lead off double. Before Williamson was done, he loaded the bases with only one out. Dusty brought in Novoa, and I just held my breath. Santo was yelling at Williamson, it was great. Novoa got Jose Vizcaino to pop out to DLee and struck out Willy Taveras to end the inning. I thought Santo was going to have a heart attack. Novoa was AWESOME. Ryan Dempster pitched the 9th to record his 30th save. He is now only the 8th Cub pitcher in history to have 30 saves in a season. The pitching staff did their job and according to Glendon Rusch, the bullpen deserved the 'W' today.

The Cubs got on the board in the 1st inning. After a Todd Walker single, Derrek Lee doubled and Walker left the game. Walker was on his way to 3rd base and came up with a leg injury. He hit the bag and went down on all 4's. According to cubs.com, Walker collapsed at the bag in obvious pain. Walker was able to walk off the field, although he needed help. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for an MRI exam. "He does not have any significant ligament damage," Cubs athletic trainer Mark O'Neal said after seeing the MRI results on Friday. "There's no ligament damage in his knee, there's no meniscal damage in his knee.

I wonder if today was Todd Walker's last day in a Cubs' uniform. With only 8 games left, I really do not see him playing again this season. Walker joins Hariston and Ramirez on the 'walking wounded list'. It is a shame Walker had to go out this way. He gave the Cubs a chance to get back to .500 and with him gone, the chances of that happening are very slim. Dusty will continue to play Jose Macias and I do not agree. Macias is a GOOD BENCH PLAYER and that is all. Try Ryan Theriot. He is trying to make an impression and will play hard. This is what the Cubs need for the next week. Maybe his hustle and enthusiasm would spill over to the rest of the team. This would also be a good time to put Nomar at 2nd and have Scott McClain play 3rd. Anything different at this point would be good...just do not stick in Macias.

With today's win the Cubs are back to within 2 games of .500. Anything less than 6-2 will not get them back to .500.

Saturday - Carlos Zambrano(14-5/3.17) vs. Ezequiel Astacio(2-6/5.76)

The Cubbies get a break on Saturday. Roger Clemens will miss his scheduled start and Ezequiel Astacio will go in his place. Like today, the Cubs need to get up early and not let off. The Astros are a dangerous team. For a team that has been shutout 16 times this year to be leading the Wild Card race...be careful. Zambrano will get the ball and hopefully he can keep pitching the way he has. Carlos is 8-1 with a 2.36 ERA since the All Star break and has become the ace of this staff. Hopefully Carlos will keep the Astros offense in check and let Nomar, Burnitz and Lee do their job. Play Theriot or McClain!!!

Be patient, get up early...and get #7!!!