Pitcher? No, Belly Itcher.
Cubs Rough up 'Ace' Roy Halladay in 11-6 Rout

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

We were pretty worried about the Cubs' chances against Roy Halladay, who's pretty much awesome. Or, rather, was awesome, until the mighty Cubs got through with him. The North Siders scored five earned runs off Halladay en route to a 11-6 win, taking three of four from the Phillies. Cubs pitcher Tom Gorzelanny was solid, going 6 2/3 innings and giving up two earned runs in 86-degree heat. He even scored on a bang-bang play at the plate. Geovany Soto and Alfonso Soriano homered, and... hey, 11 runs? What's not to like?

ESPN Chicago: Cubs knock around Halladay for five earned runs [+ video]
Chicago Tribune: Ace battered while Gorzelanny deals
Chicago Sun-Times: Gorzelanny, Cubs kick ace
Daily Herald: Youth sets table as Cubs blast Halladay, Phils
MLB: Cubs' offense feeds on Doc's offerings in win [+ video]

The Castro Evolution
Rookie Shortstop Becoming Solid Major Leaguer
When you set a major-league record for RBIs in your debut, as Starlin Castro did with six in his first game up with the Cubs, it's kind of hard to live up to the hype. So it was understandable when the 20-year-old shortstop dipped down to a .227 average in June. Thankfully, he's up to .362 in July, and that was before last night's 3-for-4 performance. Plus, he hasn't made an error since July 6. We like.

Chicago Tribune: Castro finding his comfort zone

Grab Some Bench, Ryno
Should Sandberg Do Mid-Level Duty Before Managing?
Cub Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg presents a conundrum for the Cubs. Everyone loves him (except maybe Bruce Sutter). And he's done pretty well as a manager at the minor-league level. But here's the question: Is he ready to replace Piniella next year and be a manager in the majors? We're not quite sure. So Talking Chicago Baseball mulls a compromise: What if the Cubs brought on someone else to manage — like, say, Bobby Valentine (it's just a thought) — and Sandberg served as bench coach? Discuss.

Talking Chicago Baseball: Ryno the bench coach?

Become a better Cubs fan by tuning in to Cubscast, an award-winning podcast produced by two fellow die-hards since 2005. Cubscast produces new episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during the season. Monday's Episode: Cubs win three of four from the Phils, the 2010 season hanging in the balance of this week's Astros and Cardinals results, ESPN Sunday Night Baseball griping, Joey Votto, and much more Listen to Monday's Cubscast Episode Subscribe to Cubscast on iTunes Visit cubscast.com

Good Advice?
Spelling It Out for the Ricketts Family
Everyone has an opinion for the Cubs. Hire Sandberg! Fire Hendry! Keep Hendry! (OK, we don't hear that last one too often.) The Sun-Times doles out advice for the Cubs owners, and some of it is pretty obvious (say goodbye, Jim). Other ideas are less so: Pick Rocky Wirtz's brain for his business acumen, for instance. Basically Ricketts needs to redo his management team, the article advises. "The last time the Cubs had a certifiably good organization, FDR was trying to pack the Supreme Court," the story says. Good one! FDR jokes always kill.

Chicago Sun-Times: Ricketts should find a new Cubs management team

The Hair up There
Morales' 'Stache Was All-Star Caliber
The year was 1977. The cool sounds of Alan O'Day were rocking our 8-track player, and Jerry Morales — scratch that... All-Star Jerry Morales — was prowling the Cubs outfield like a sinewy panther. And nothing expressed Morales' dominance of the Wrigley grass like the mustache that brazenly sat atop his upper lip, which was perpetually curled into a confident sneer. A sneer that scored a run in the 1977 All-Star Game, we'll have you know. So rage on, Mr. Morales. Long may your mustache wave.

Just One Bad Century: Great mustaches

Marlon Byrd got plunked twice last night, making it 16 times he's been hit by a pitch this season. It's been 105 years since a Cub has been hit that many times... Looks like Carlos Zambrano might be back before the end of the month... Now that Andy Pettite has a strained groin injury, it looks like the Yankees might be interested in Ted Lilly...

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