His Home/Away split BA : .340/.235

And he didn’t have to butt up with Lincecum. We’ll see how Dempster does on that stage.

Now if the bats could only wake up on the road. Soon enough, let’s hope they do.

Fukudome is a bit of a disappointment so far. I thought he would be more fundamentally sound than he appears. Now he is in a major slump, lunging at the ball and swinging at balls off the plate. His MO is a quality at bat but that is fading fast. Derek Lee is leading the league in hitting into double plays and still doesn’t have the power we expect from him. It’s good to see Theriot is hitting the ball well but his glove is suspect and puts me on the edge of my seat whenever one is hit his way.

Marmol’s inexperience surfaced in the playoffs last year and I think his mini slump is a result of his young age as well. He tends to over throw the ball and loses his command. He has a jnee buckling slider that is arguably the best in baseball but when he is in a big game, gets over excited and tries too hard. I still think Rothchild is one of the most clueless pitching coaches ever to work in the MLB. He talks a good game but I see the Cubs’ pitchers repeating their mistakes over and over.

It’s good pitching coaches like the Cardinals Duncan that give the Red Birds a chance to contend year after year. WELLAMEYER??? Paleeeeze. Duncan has made him a quality starter after Rothchild faild to do the same. The kid throws in the mid 90’s.

The Cubs need a quality #2 starter in the rotation and the price will be high. We may be waving good-bye to Gallager or Hill or both to land what we need.

Injuries have hurt the Cubs but unless Soriano cant play 100% when he returns, the IR has been pretty good for the Cubbies so far. Let’s hope that remains a positive through the playoffs.

Back to the All-Star game. It’s obvious to many the AL is stronger than the NL and this is evident by the interleague records and the All-Star game results since they adopted the home field advantage to the winner competition. With 7 Cubs on that roster, I don’t think the NL has a chance but I hope I am wrong.

The truth is, the 2nd half of the season will be tough for the Cubs, it always is. The Brewers lost last night but you have to figure a guy like CCS will add at least 5 wins net vs. not having him on the Roster. The Cubs need to beat up on them like they did to the Cards last weekend. If not, the Cubs will be in a dog fight til the end of September. The say the Brewers are positioning for the wild card but don’t believe that in a zillion years. This team gave up their can’t miss AA TOP prospect and is going for it all. They have a bitter taste in their mouth from last year’s collapse and are ready to go for it all. Make no mistake, the Brewers will be the Cub’s biggest threat down the stretch. …and if the Cubs don’t counter the CCS move, they may find themselves battling for a WC seed in the playoffs and losing and home-team advantage that is so important to their success this season.