Wells Falls Short
Pitching, Offense Blah in Loss to Bad Astros

Bob Levey/Getty Images

It wasn't just that Randy Wells was bad against the Astros yesterday (which he was, allowing six runs in just over five innings). What's worse is that, again, the Cubs got 12 hits but couldn't put together the big inning. The North Siders outhit the Astros 12-9, but turned those hits into a mere three runs in a 6-3 loss. There was one very bright spot, however: Andrew Cashner, the Cubs' recent call-up, faced five batters without surrendering a hit. He struck out one, and hit 98 on the radar gun. So that's, you know, good. Not as good as a win, but it's something....

ESPN Chicago: Astros batter Cubs starter Wells for six runs in victory [+ video]
Chicago Tribune: Wells wobbles out of gate -- again
Daily Herald: Same old, same old as Cubs just can't get it done
MLB: Wells' first-inning struggles continue in loss

Walk This Way
Cubs Want Theriot to Grow Some (Bases on) Balls
When one of your top-of-the-order guys hasn't walked since Warren Beatty was a virgin, something may be wrong. Well, Ryan Theriot's base on balls on Saturday was his first since May 1, but he defended his batting, saying looking for walks is a "defensive" approach. Piniella: not a fan of that belief. "If that's the way [Theriot] is looking at it, he's looking at it the wrong way," Piniella says. "It's putting a baserunner on base. It's making the pitcher throw more pitches." Considering Theriot's on-base percentage was a feeble .257 in May, it might be time to listen to the skipper.

MLB: Cubs ask Theriot to be more selective
Daily Herald: Theriot's clogging the bases a high-five moment

The Catcher Is the Guy
Cubs Could Tab a Backstop in MLB Draft
The MLB draft begins today, which is kind of a big deal for the Cubs. Owner Tom Ricketts emphasized that he wants the team to build through the farm system, and the team hired scouting director Tim Wilken to duplicate his success in Toronto. (Homeboy signed Roy Halladay, Vernon Wells, Shannon Stewart, and more.) The word is the Cubs are looking at Florida pitcher Karston Whitsen and Indiana catcher Justin O'Connor. Given how Geovany Soto has plunged off the cliff lately (he's batting .120 since May 11), the latter makes sense to us.

ESPN Chicago: Draft preview: Cubs not afraid to take risks
Chicago Sun-Times: Witness the Wilken way
The Cub Reporter: 2010 Rule 4 Draft

Starlin Gazing
Can Would-Be Phenom Live up to the Hype?
The title of the article alone caught our eye: "Castro = Ichiro?" Whoa. There are a lot of caveats here — most notably, the Cubs' rookie shortstop has a mere 100 at-bats this season. That's a pretty big caveat. That said, Castro's plate discipline — especially for a 20-year-old — is pretty promising. We won't dive too deeply into the numbers, but suffice it to say he's showing an eye at the plate that's similar to Ichiro Suzuki's, the all-world Seattle star. We're not going to hold our breath that this analogy will hold up, but still, it's kind of cool.

Another Cubs Blog: Castro = Ichiro?

I Will Dare
Blog Challenges Hendry to Make Big Moves
So what are the Cubs chances of making the playoffs? Take a guess. OK, got a number in your head? According to Coolstandings, the North Siders' chance of making the postseason is a miniscule 5.8 percent. Yeesh. With that in mind, View from the Bleachers has dared Jim Hendry to make substantial changes to the team. We won't give it all away, but one of the changes is to send Randy Wells down to the minors. After dropping two out of three to the Astros (whose record is 22-35, by the way), we're open to anything.

View from the Bleachers: Three moves I dare Jim Hendry to make

Have some thoughts on the mega-development that's coming to Clark and Addison? The Chicago Plan Commission is meeting on June 17 at 1pm at 121 N. Lasalle St., 2nd floor... If the Cubs lose today to the Pirates, it will be the first time in 124 years that the North Siders went winless in Pittsburgh... TV coverage of the MLB Draft begins with an hourlong pregame show at 5pm Central on the MLB Network... We apologize for the late delivery of Sunday's Cubs Fan Report. Our email provider experienced server problems that caused the delay.

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