Black Diamond
Cubs' Offense Lets Down Strong Debut in 4-3 Loss

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

So how would you grade Thomas Diamond in his debut? We're thinking a solid B. He struck out 10 and held the Brewers to three runs. He also became only the second Cubs pitcher in 90 years to strike out 10 in his first game (Mark Prior was the first). Meanwhile, the Cubs offense made pencil-necked Chris Narveson and his 5.90 ERA look like a Cy Young candidate. So we'll give them a C-. That equals seven losses in a row, by the way. Yuck.

ESPN Chicago: Brewers edge Cubs to spoil Thomas Diamond's... [+ video]
Chicago Tribune: Cubs drop 7th straight game
Daily Herald: New pitcher, but same old result for Cubs
MLB: Diamond fans 10 in debut, but Cubs fall [+ video]

Youth on Parade
Youngsters Will Likely Get Their Time at Wrigley
Many Cubs fans say they want a youth movement. Which sounds good, but it means the team will probably be, well, bad. The Trib reports that shortstop Darwin Barney will likely be called up soon, but since Starlin Castro is holding down that position, Barney will platoon at second with newcomer Blake DeWitt. Other names we could see are occasional Cub Micah Hoffpauir (hello again), catcher Welington Castillo, and outfielders Brad Snyder and Bryan LaHair. But will fans come see this team if it's filled with those names? We're not sure.

Chicago Tribune: Several Cubs rookies to get tests in coming weeks
Chicago Cubs Online: More rookies on the way for Cubs?
Chicago Sun-Times: For Chicago Cubs it's only going to get worse

Owe, Brother!
Cubs in the Hole for Scrubs This Year
As we've seen this year, a big payroll doesn't equal big wins. So the Cubs will decrease their payroll over the next few years, which is fine. But how did they get such a high payroll? In addition to the big names (Soriano, Zambrano, Ramirez), Goat Riders of the Apocalypse points out the Cubs are paying: $1 million to Aaron Miles, $2.7 million to John Grabow, $3 million to Jeff Samardzija, and $3.3 million to Xavier Nady. And check this: Koyie Hill makes $700,000. Which is fine, but it's more than the $575,000 Geovany Soto makes. Hmmm.

Goat Riders of the Apocalypse: Comment surfing: What do we owe?

Start Me Up
Zambrano Likely Headed Back to Rotation
So after the all the insanity of the Carlos Zambrano saga, Big Z looks like he'll end up back in the starting rotation. It seems the Cubs really didn't want to put him there, but with Carlos Silva's heart issue and the Ted Lilly trade, they found themselves down two pitchers. Enter Zambrano, back where he wanted to be all along. "He got some stretching out on Sunday," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "We'll talk about the situation." We're guessing he doesn't mean the douche from "The Jersey Shore," either.

MLB: Zambrano to be considered for rotation
ESPN Chicago: Carlos Zambrano likely to rejoin rotation

Grumpy Old Man
Cranky Rosenbloom Goes a Little Nutso
The Cubs got blown out twice recently, so give it a few seconds... three, two, one... a-ha, there it is! An unhinged spleen-venting from the Trib's Steve Rosenbloom. "Lou Piniella and Jim Hendry proved no better under the hologram that is the new ownership than under the old wonks," he rants. So according to Mr. Mariotti Rosenbloom, the Cubs should: fire Piniella and Hendry, bench everyone, and play only kids. "Wear Kevlar," he advises people going to the games. Ahhhh, luxuriating in his brilliant wordsmithing is one of life's great joys.

Rosenblog: Remember when pitching was the best part of the Cubs?

Manager Lou Piniella was back in the dugout after missing three games for an uncle's funeral... Righty Mitch Atkins was called up, and Brian Schlitter was sent down to the minors... Mark Prior signed a contract with the Orange County Flyers of the Independent League... Ted Lilly retired 20 straight in his winning debut with the LA Dodgers last night.

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