Better off with Ted

The Bulls haave lost and are out of the play-offs, the White Sox are in Texas losing 9-1 in a game interminably delayed by rain, so alll Cubs for this post. And the Cubs actually got a win today that seemed easy, a rare thing this year. They beat the Marlins 6-1 behind a very strong performance from Ted Lilly (8 IP, 1 ER, 10 Ks, 0 BBs).

It seems easy partly because the Cubs scored early and often, but also because they didn't dip until the bullpen until the 9th inning, and neither Lilly nor Aaron Heilman, who pitched the 9th, yielded a walk--the stat category that has been the source of many problems for Cubs pitchers this year.

Lilly also helped himself with a rare (very rare) 2-run double on what was described on ESPN as a "softball swing." Let's put it this way: He was lucky the Marlins pitcher hit his bat. The other offensive blows came from Ryan Theriot, who homered for the second day in a row, Derrek Lee, who finally got his second homer of the year, and Mike Fontenot, who singled in a run. Things really seemed to click today, as every started except Kosuke Fukudome had a hit, and he still was active with 2 BBs and 2 SBs. Whatever the Cubs ate for breakfast, they shoulod have it again tomorrow, as they go for their second three-game winning streak of the season.