Lou Goes to the Leftorium
Lefties Lift Cubs Past Rangers in Extra Innings

Byron Hetzler/US PRESSWIRE

During the pre-game last night, Mark Grace (now calling games for FOX) pointed out the Cubs lineup wasn't very balanced. "Look at all those Rs," he rasped. But when the game went into extra innings tied 3-3, Lou called on southpaws Colvin, Fukudome, and Fontenot, and their three consecutive hits gave the Cubs the 5-4 win. Starlin Castro contributed with his second HR this season, but using Ramirez in the DH hole didn't spark his comatose bat. He went 0-5 with the dreaded golden sombrero thrown in for good measure. Back to the good news, Randy Wells went into the ninth, retired 14 of his final 15, and held a very potent offense to a mere three runs.

ESPN Chicago: Cubs snap Rangers' five-game winning streak [+ video]
Chicago Tribune: Colvin key to Cubs' 5-4 victory over Rangers
Chicago Sun-Times: By a whisker...
Daily Herald: Cubs win 5-4 in 10 to end Rangers' 5-game streak
MLB: Lou's lefties lift Cubs in 10th inning in Texas [+ video]

To Deal or Not to Deal
Should Cubs Swap Starlin Castro and Derrek Lee?
When things aren't going well, there are two ways of handling it: freaking out and obsessing about who should be traded, or taking a chill pill and realizing it's a long season. But we're in Chicago, where all we know how to do is obsess and daydream about trading for Pujols. The only things chilled around here are our Old Styles. A couple of pubs out there wonder if Starlin Castro could net the Cubs megastar Hanley Ramirez, one of the few players you can compare to the almighty Pujols. Another Cubs Blog likes the Rangers' Justin Smoak and says they'd be willing to trade Derrek Lee to get him. Hmmm.

Bleacher Report: Starlin Castro: Should the Cubs trade their budding...
Another Cubs Blog: Trade value: Derek Lee

Mall Or Nothing
An Architectural Review of the New Plans
Many people went a little off the deep end when they heard Ald. Tom Tunney gave the new Wrigleyville plans his blessing. They thought it would turn sacred ground into some sort of Schaumburg-esque hell of malls and condos. "Chill!" says Trib architecture critic Blair Kamin (the Pulitzer-Prize winner actually says that — exclamation point and all). He looks at the plans not from the point of view of the volatile fan, but from that of a construction connoisseur. The verdict? It's good enough, he says, noting the project respects "the ballpark's visual pre-eminence." But he does think it needs some tweaks to maintain the neighborhood's "hip vitality."

Chicago Tribune: Wrigleyville project is no mall invasion

Slump Busters
What's up with A-Ram and D-Lee?
We all know Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee are slumping worse than Tony LaRussa at a stoplight right now. ESPN notes that almost everyone else is contributing, while these two continue to find new and creative ways of making outs. But word is they've resisted any of hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo's efforts to help. The thinking is they're veterans, they know their swing better than anyone. That's all well and good, but when your three and four guys are hitting worse than your backup catcher, something's gotta give. "The status quo better end soon, or it's going to be a forgettable summer at Wrigley," ESPN notes.

ESPN: Waiting for spring thaw in Chicago

Cubs, Curses, and Smoke Monsters
The Cubs vs. Lost: Who Will Have a Happy Ending?
Lots of people believe the Cubs are cursed and that no matter what they do that elusive championship just ain't gonna happen. They're doomed to never get out of also-ran purgatory. Well, we aren't among those people, but it does sound like a familiar storyline, doesn't it? In honor of the series finale (at last!) of Lost, the guys at And Counting have put together a pretty funny list of parallels between the Cubs and the show's stranded characters. Our fave? Fans have a lot of theories about what's going on, though ultimately the Cubs lose in new and surprising ways . . . and we keep watching.

And Counting: Lost like us: Will Cubs ever leave the island?

Word is Big Z could be back in the rotation as early as next week. But who does he replace? We'll see... If you want to get your Cubs mojo working, check out this Spanish call of a Mark DeRosa homerun from a while back.

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