Home on the Range
Hi-Ho Silva Helps Cubs Win Texas Series

Mike Stobe/Getty Images

Yesterday's game was a good news/bad news affair. The Cubs began by tallying four runs in the first inning, highlighted by a Soriano two-run homer. That's good. Unfortunately, they only scored one more run over the rest of the game. That's bad. Fortunately, Carlos Silva was again solid (if not spectacular) and allowed an acceptable three runs. Then in an absolutely un-shocking turn of events, John Grabow gave up a run in relief, but Sean Marshall got the Cubs out of a jam. In the end, the Cubs held the lead, Carlos Marmol got the save, Silva remains an undefeated 6-0, and the Cubs won their sixth game out of their last eight. Needless to say, that's good.

ESPN Chicago: Soriano sparks Cubs as Silva stays perfect [+ video]
Chicago Tribune: Starter improves to 6-0 as a Cub...
Chicago Sun-Times: Road signs pointing up for Cubs
Daily Herald: Silva 6-0 for Cubs after 5-4 victory over Rangers
MLB: Soriano's 299th homer helps Silva reach 6-0

The Line on Ryne
Should Sandberg Take over for Piniella?
We take some things in life for granted. Water will come out when we turn the faucet. The sweaty, massive pathological liar will sit next to us on the plane. And Ryne Sandberg will be the next Cubs skipper. After all, he's a Hall of Fame second baseman who earned his accolades on the North Side. He's managed the Cubs' teams in Peoria, Tennessee, and Iowa. But is putting him in charge of the Cubs a smart move? Maybe not, says Sun-Times' columnist Rick Morrissey, but the Cubs will make the choice based on emotion, not objective analysis. "The impetus to elevate him to manager of the big club won't necessarily be his skills as a leader," Morrissey says. "Sentimentality will carry the vote."

Chicago Sun-Times: Ryno drive no sure hit

Dead Wood
Is Kerry Coming Back to Chicago?
We literally gasped when we saw Agony & Ivy theorizing that the Cubs might bring back Kerry Wood. After all, he's been so brutal this year — we're talking an ERA of 13.50 with eight earned runs in 5.1 innings — that the Indians might simply release him, the Trib notes. So, A&I wonders: "Hendry's already pulled Bob Howry off the scrap heap. Could the return of Kerry Wood be next?" Surely that's a hypothetical, right? I mean, we wish him well and everything, and we'll never forget that 20-strikeout game, but hasn't this ship pretty much sailed?

Agony & Ivy: Will Cubs knock on Wood?

Observe and Report
A Detailed Look at Every Player on the Cubs
If you want to know what's up with the Cubs roster, this is the article for you. Desipio gives an entertaining, in-depth report on the entire team, from Alfonso Soriano to Koyie Hill. There are many highlights, including noting that Marlon Byrd, who must be the game's only 240-pound centerfielder, has an underwhelming .357 on-base percentage. And this about Derrek Lee's notoriously slow starts: "The problem, of course, in waiting for Lee to finally start to hit is that you tend to lose lots of games in April and May when one of your best hitters isn't doing...anything." We love this kind of stuff, but we're nerdy like that.

Desipio: Cubs report: the quest for mediocrity

The Blame Game
Milton Bradley: It's Not Me, It's You
We swear, we thought we were done with Milton Bradley. He went away (and continues to suck for the Mariners), we got Carlos Silva (who's rocking), and let's all call it a day. But after his last blow-up, Bradley took some time of to ponder, "Why do these bad things keep happening to me?" His conclusion: It's the fault of the Cubs (and their fans). He told ESPN that he considered getting some help in Chicago, but Cubs fans have been waiting so long for a World Series win that there's just too much pressure. "You can't really do that in Chicago," he said. "There's too much going on.... They expected me to make everything better." Good luck, Seattle. He's your problem now.

ESPN: Bradley talks about self-examination [+ video]
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Milton Bradley opens up about his inner demons

So Aramis Ramirez can't blame his brutal numbers on an injury — an MRI found no fracture on his right hand. That's good, we guess... The Cubs have won all six games Starlin Castro has batted in the number-two position, so it looks like he'll stay there.

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