CubsChic

Four of Derrek Lee’s teammates let him know that it was ok to take a day off to rest a sore knee by swatting home runs in last night’s victory. It was nice to get out of Houston on a roll, especially after getting swept there earlier this season. It’s also important to go into St. Louis tonight on a positive note. Although the Cards are now five games out, these four games are still critical to both teams. The Cubs need to at least split the series to not only keep the Cardinals at bay, but to have a chance of keeping a hold on first place. We can’t count on Milwaukee to continue to lose.

I’m a little worried about the health of the Cubs of late. Lee couldn’t run yesterday on that bum knee, which was caused by fouling a ball off himself on Wednesday. The Cubs have been hit by pitches, hit by balls in batting practice and have been running into walls. All of this is taking its toll. These guys aren’t complaining and are playing through the aches and pains, but sooner or later their play will be impacted. Let’s hope their bodies can wait until November to collapse.

The defense continues to contribute, making three more double plays last night. Jones even stole a home run away from the Astros by leaping over the wall and bringing the ball back down into his glove. It has to help the pitchers to know that they don’t need to be perfect on the mound, as the seven guys behind them will pick them up when needed. Now we just need to hope that Zambrano can stay on the winning track tonight as we set out to bury the Cardinals.