Finish What Ya Started

Cubs 5 Giants 2

It is not how you start, but how you end...and Mark Prior proved that today. Prior had a very bad 1st inning, giving up 2 runs and throwing 40 pitches. Wellemeyer actually started warming up in the pen. But Prior settled down and held the Giants in check for the rest of the game. Prior has had 1 bad inning in every start this season and he held to that form today. He had to many 3-2 counts all day long. Prior's pitches were close...but he was not getting the calls. He ended up throwing 122 pitches.

The offense played very good today. Blanco came through..again. Since he switched his number from 9 to 24 he has been on fire. Lee had another RBI and 2 doubles today. Lee's RBI gave him 99 for the year, a new career high. He should have broken 100, but a ground rule double kept that from happening. Burnie had a 2 RBI game as well. Just a good performance..with a couple of things...

Ronny Cedeno was hit by a pitch in the 2nd inning and the X-Rays were negative. But the Cubs' trainer Mark O'Neal thinks there might be a hairline fracture and Cedeno will see a specialist on Monday when the team returns to Chicago. O'Neal said if he is right the possible point of the fracture is not in a 'bad place on his hand'. I do not know about you, but a fracture is a fracture. It is on his left hand, his non-throwing hand. So that is good news...this is a storyline that I will keep an eye on.

Corey Patterson....why is he leading off? Not only should Corey not be hitting leadoff, he should not be playing at all. Patterson needs to sit, put Hariston in center and Dusty needs to find out what Matt Murton is made of. Patterson went 0-5 and his batting average dropped to .219...look out Mendoza here comes CPat. Hopefully only 20 more games with Patterson.

With today's win the Cubs moved back to 2 games under .500 and into a tie for 3rd in the Central Division with the Brewers. The Cubs are 7-2 in September and on this road trip.

Sunday - Glendon Rusch(6-8/4.67) vs. Brett Tomko(7-14/4.71)

Like all of the games of late, Sunday's series finale is big for Glendon Rusch and the Cubs. Rusch showed what he is capable of in his last start vs. the Cardinals and with Bonds not playing, Rusch needs to build on his last start. A win tomorrow is big to finish this road trip 8-2 heading home 1 game under to face the dangerous Cincinnati Reds. The Cubs goal for the year has changed. The new goal is to have a winning record and a win on Sunday will go a long way to meet that goal. Tomko has always pitched the Cubs tough and with Cedeno out of the lineup, Murton and Nomar need to pick up the slack.

Be patient, keep hitting...and just win.