I keep wondering what I’m going to change my headline to when one of the Chicago teams slips out of first place. But, so far, all I have to do is wonder. I don’t actually have to change the headline. Because, as strange as it may seem, both of Chicago’s teams are in first place in their divisions.
Beat that, New York and LA.
The Chicago Cubs are in first place in the National League Central Division, 3.5 games ahead of the second place 3.5 St. Louis Cardinals. At 45-27 (.625), they have the best record in baseball. Still. Imagine that.
The Cubs have lost two the the Tampa Bay Rays, last night by 5-4. But the big news from last night is not the loss of the game but the fear of potential loss of the Big Z. Carlos Zambrano was pulled from the game, over his protests, after 100 pitches and 6-2/3 innings with “discomfort” in his throwing shoulder. He will be having an MRI today to see what’s up.
It’s no big surprise that Zambrano has some soreness in his shoulder. With 106.1, he is second in baseball in innings pitched. (Toronto Blue Jays’ Ray Halladay is first.) A 130-pitch game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 28 may have caught up with him. In his last four starts since that game, his ERA has shot up to 5.68, compared to 3.13 for the season.
Zambrano is known as being a better batter than most pitchers. His batting average is .362 and he has had one home run and six RBI’s this year.
Zambrano’s soreness comes several days after the Cubs have lost Alfonso Soriano for six weeks with a broken hand.
An Irish toast wishes, “May your biggest troubles be no trouble at all.” Let’s hope that Zambrano’s shoulder discomfort is no trouble at all.
Meanwhile, on the South Side, the Chicago White Sox are in first place in the American League Central Division. At 40-31, they are 4.5 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins.
Carlos Quentin, Brian Anderson and Toby Hall each hit home runs to help the White Sox beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-2. It was Hall’s first home runs in 278 at-bats. He hit his last homer on June 4, 2006 when he was playing for the Tampa Bay Rays.
Mark Buehrle didn’t allow a hit for the first five innings of the game. He took last night’s win to bring his season record to 4-6. He has a 15-6 career record in interleague play and 3-0 against the Pirates.
Although Quentin has been a regular in the line-up, Anderson and Hall are getting their chances to partly because of injuries. Paul Konerko is one of the injured players, on the disabled list for the first time in his career. And Anderson started in Dewayne Wise’s absence.
The Cubs last won a World Series in 1908, one full century ago. The Sox last won a World Series in 2005, a full three years ago.
June 19, 2008 at 10:20 am |
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