FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAME AT ARIZONA: SCOTTSDALE -- Mostly positives to say about the game. Carlos Zambrano pitched outstanding. Zambrano had a no-hitter for 7 2/3 innings before losing it on a bad call at first base. Sammy Sosa had two home runs. The Cubs won 4-1.
posted by Thomas at 11:36 AM
TRADES WITH THE BUCS DON'T STOP HERE: One day after the Pirates selected Bobby Hill as the player to be named later to complete the Cubs-Pirates trade from July, the Cubs and Pirates made another trade on Saturday with the Cubs getting first baseman Randall Simon from Pittsburgh for a minor leaguer. Simon is best known for whacking a sausage mascot in Milwaukee earlier this season but can hit the ball almost as well as he does the mascots. The Cubs had to make a move for a left-handed hitting first baseman because Hee Seop Choi is really struggling right now. Of course the Cubs wanted to bring back Rafael Palmeiro but Raffy decided he would rather stay in Texas and lose.
posted by Thomas at 11:08 AM
SATURDAY'S GAME VS. LOS ANGELES: Well that first place stuff did not last too long. The Cubs lost 10-5 to Los Angeles meanwhile Houston beat Cincinnati to hop back into first in the NL Central. Kerry Wood was unimpressive in 2 2/3 innings giving up five runs. The word is that Wood has a a bad back. Just what we do not need. The bullpen did not exactly look great either. On the bright side, Aramis Ramirez actually look good on Saturday, hitting two two-run home runs.
MEL ROJAS AWARD: The Mel Rojas Award for bad relief pitching by a Cubs relief pitcher to Mike Remlinger. Remlinger pitched 1 1/3 innings, giving up 3 earned runs, 4 hits, and 1 walk.
posted by Thomas at 10:56 AM
