A World of Hurt
Milwaukee Pours It on Cubs in 18-1 Drubbing

Jerry Lai/US PRESSWIRE

OK, seriously. Enough. Uncle. No mas. We surrender. A few days after giving up 17 runs, the Cubs were tagged for 18 by the Milwaukee Brewers. Randy Wells gave up six, including a homer to straightaway center by former Cub (grrrr) Casey McGehee. Newest Cub Casey Coleman was also hit for six runs in just over two innings — welcome to the big leagues, kid! The Cubs got all of four hits and scored their lone run on an Aramis Ramirez ground out. You want some good news? Here. Look at some damn kittens.

ESPN Chicago: Fielder drives in 5, Gallardo tallies 12 K's as... [+ video]
Chicago Tribune: Cubs drop 6th straight
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CSN Chicago: Cubs lose big while moving to next generation
MLB: Cubs can't stop Brewers' hit parade

Diamond in the Rough
Did Cubs Call up the Right Prospect?
We're pretty excited to see if pitcher Thomas Diamond will sparkle in his Wrigley Field debut today. Some people might not carat all, but we like the way he's cut. (OK, OK... sorry.) But we're wondering one thing: Why did he get the call-up, and not, say, Jeff Samardzija? After all, the former Notre Damer has been putting up great numbers down at Triple-A (8-1, 3.23). Well, maybe the Cubs know what they've got with him, whereas the 27-year-old Diamond — who started the Triple-A All-Star Game — is more of a wild card. Hmmm.

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Bleacher Nation: Thomas Diamond not Jeff Samardzija....

A Family Affair
Cubs New Call-Up Already a Record Breaker
So Casey Coleman, the guy who took Carlos Silva's place now that he's on the DL, gave up six runs (yeeesh) last night. But that's not why his presence is interesting. For starters, Coleman is the first member of a family with three generations of MLB players: His father and grandfather, both named Joe, had respectable pitching careers. Also, seems the Cubs are serious about leaving Jeff Samardzija in the minors. Lastly, they really don't want Carlos Zambrano to return to the rotation, do they? (See below.) Like we said, interesting.

Daily Herald: Pitchers Coleman, Diamond at Wrigley

Back Where He Started
The Cubs' Only Option with Carlos Zambrano
Well, it's come to this: The Sun-Times says Carlos Zambrano should go back to the starting rotation. The paper acknowledges the team needs to evaluate young pitchers, and the Cubs aren't in any hurry to make Zambrano happy. But making him a starter is the only way to "stir enough interest to make trading him next winter a reasonable proposition." But what if he, you know, sucks? "He's certainly not going to look any better in a relief role he wants no part of, especially if he thinks he's getting snubbed," the paper says. Discuss.

Chicago Sun-Times: Cubs experiencing a mound of troubles

Watch Out
Ten Reasons to Keep Your Eye on the Cubs
After the last few days, we need a good laugh. Thankfully, the blog And Counting has a list of the top 10 reasons to keep tuning in to the Cubs. It starts out with solid double down the line: "The Cubs have turned losing into an art form, and art is good for the soul." Well played. Others include, "If you stop watching now, you might forget how bad this team was when the Bears start to suck in September," and our favorite: "Sometimes they win." Not since last Monday, but hey, let's not split hairs.

And Counting: Top 10 reasons to keep watching the Cubs in 2010

Carlos Silva was put on the 15-day DL after his heart scare on Sunday... Ever wonder what former Cubs manager Tom Trebelhorn is up to? Today just feels like the right kind of day to watch this again.

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