Athlete's foot

Carlos Quentin has plantar fasciitis (two "i"s, according to Yahoo! Sports), which Bulls fans may remember pretty much derailed Andres Nocioni's career playing basketball in Chicago. By all accounts, it's a heinous condition that is either addressed by surgery and a very long lay-off, or by playing through the pain until something "pops," as it did with CQ. Unfortunately, this also involves a long lay-off.

When Quentin came to town, he had promise, but also injury problems. First, we saw the promise being fulfilled, and since late last season, the injury part has taken over. Is it too early to wonder if he will ever hit more than 30 homeruns again? Probably, but for now, his time out of the line-up means one less power option for the Sox and the loss of a pretty effective No. 3 hitter. It looks like Jermaine Dye will fill the slot for the most part.

JeDye has been doing OK, hitting around .280. Paul Konerko is the only regular in the line-up now who is still hitting over .300, which is surprising, considering he looked to be entering gradual career breakdown last year. Last night against the Angels, he was responsible for driving in the Sox' only run with a sacrifice fly (scoring Dye).

Pitching continues to be the real story for the Sox: Gavin Floyd turned in his second straight strong performance and the latest in a string of strong performances, as Sox starters haven't given up more than 3 ER in a game since May 17, when Floyd got shelled for 6 ER in 5 IP. Floyd lost this one 3-1, only making a couple of mistakes, both run-scoring double in the 6th inning. He threw a complete game.

With Quentin gone for a while and the offense rarely piling up runs like the 17-run effort in Anaheim this week, the Sox will need more of the same from the rest of the rotation.

Crazy Zammy is back

Carlos "Big Z" Zambrano's crazy alter ego Zammy made an appearance Wednesday after a run-scoring wild pitch in which Zambrano thought he had tagged the runner out (Upon repeated viewings, it looked like it could have gone either way). Zammy screamed at the home plate ump, bumped him, tossed the ump from the game (figuratively speaking), threw the ball (still in his hand) out toward the ivy, threw his glove against the dugout fence (the same fence Ted Lilly leaped over this week to argue with an ump), and took a bat the th esame Gatorade machine that Ryan Dempster punched out this week.

It's entertaining stuff and would be more so if the performance wasn't going to cost Zambrano and the Cubs at least one outing at a time when they are a starter low.

I've said it before: Zambrano is a big baby, and it's all too clear that this very talented pitcher has pissed away numerous games throughout his career because he's in love with his own emotional act. I honestly think Zammy could tone it down at this point, but doesn't want to. There was something vaguely practiced and expected about this most recent tantrum, and it's unnecessary.

The Cubs went on (after the wild pitch left the score 2-2) to win 5-2, but no thanks to Zambrano. Reed Johnson was the hero with a great catch against the ivy in center field, and a homerun to gove the Cubs a 3-2 lead. Minor league Triple Crown stud Jake Fox also got called up and had a pinch-hit, run-scoring double, though regardless of how big a star Fox becomes, no one will remember this game for either his or Johnson's effort.

24 good reasons for 17 runs

The Sox won two of three with strong pitching and just enough offense in the right spots before they left for one of those nerve-racking West Coast road trips (albeit a quick one, to play the Angels). Generally speaking, the Sox have had a ton of offensive trouble this year, and the Angels have put together some strong pitching outings.

What a surprise then to see the Sox explode for 17 runs on 24 hits. The Sox only had four walks, but it was more impressive the way the attacked pitches down the center of the plate before the Angels pitchers could really establish themselves. Patience certainly is a virtue at the plate, but it's also nice to see batters so confident and so unwilling to let an opponent settle in that they attack the ball.

Scott Podsednik continued to hang tough, with a 4-5 outing, and Alexei "The Missile" Ramirez may finally be airborne, going 4-7 with another all-around strong game that raised his average to .243. Jim Thome, Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko were the predictable homer contributors. John Danks pitched well enough for the second game in a row, though he had an unsightly 6 walks, but there wasn't much he could do to lose this one.

The only bad moment in this game was a big one, when Carlos Quentin pulled up lame legging out a double, his nagging foot injury suddenly terribly worse--he had to be helped off the field. The Sox have been missing C.Q.'s bat most of the year, and even when he's been in, he's been off. Looks like Pods will be getting more PT, which is still a good thing, but for how long?

Can't win situation

The Cubs tumbled to their eighth loss in a row by inventing a new way to lose. This time, in a 10-8 loss, the pitching was the culprit and the offense was almost good enough to survive--almost.

The Cubs collected plenty of hits and what should have been plenty of runs. They got strong performances from player who were either still mired in slumps (Milton Bradley, Geovany Soto) or had dropped off from strong starts (Ryan Theriot). But, poor pitching by Ryan Dempster, Neal Cotts and Aaron Heilman and a 6-6 performance by the Pirates' Freddy Sanchez was too much too overcome.

Some game reports today are wondering aloud when Lou Pinela will lose his cool. Unfortunately, he's already lost it out and not much has changed. Will seeing Lou wobble out on the field to yell at an umpire change anything now? Usually, I'll advocate that approach just because I think it helps press a reset button for players who can't seem to find their own edge. The trouble is that this Cubs team has done plenty of its own complaining already, courtesy of Bradley's dissing of umpires. Though I've wanted to see Ozzie get a little more excited on the Southside and maybe shake up a game by leaving the dugout now and then, I'm a little afraid the approach could backfire for the Cubs and give the umps more of a chip on their shoulder when they come into Wrigley Field.

The Cubs fell under .500, though at 21-22, things could still be worse. Last night's game was the rare poor pitching outing for the Cubs staff, and that shouldn't continue to be a problem. We'll see in the next few games if Bradley and Soto have really found themselves. That will be a start.

Looking for the bottom

The Cubs have lost seven straight, their worst run since the bloody awful season of 2006. The culprit is the anemic offense, which has been a problem all season, but now the slumps and injuries that were affecting a few players in April have spread to the whole team like--wait for it--swine flu.

The best hitter on the team, Kosuke Fukudome, has cooled off, though he continues to look sharper than last season by drawing walks even when he's not hitting. Ryan Theriot lost touch with his brief power surge and isn't scratching out multi-hit games like last year, and Alfonso Soriano has faded after a strong start. Derrek Lee, Geovany Soto and Milton Bradley have shown glimpses of promise, but mostly remain mired in the doldrums that have affected them since Opening Day. Aramis Ramirez remains on the sidelines and Mike Fontenot, perhaps feeling the pressure of being a multi-position starter, has all but lost his job. Don't even get me started on Aaron Miles.

When Lou Piniella is talking about moving Al-So to second base, you know your troubles have almost hit bottom. But, have they hit bottom yet? We may find out when Pittsburgh hits town tomorrow, a brief respite for the Cubs between the hot-running opponents of the last week (Cardinals and Padres) and a face-off vs. 2008 postseason nemesis the Dodgers, who are 2009's best MLB team thus far. Yet, while the Cubs have recently faced teams who were playing very good baseball, the losing streak is undoubtedly of their own making. Pitching has been at least adequate and often very good in the last seven games. The most startling offensive stat: The Cubs have no walks in their last two games.

How long can it go on, and could hitting coach Gerald Perry be the fall guy, if the Cubs continue to play far below the unreasonably high expectation we have come to have for them? Perry's greatest accomplishment has been getting hitters to be more patient about begging off pitches away from the center of the plate. But, suddenly, the player have forgotten the lesson they seemed to learn so well last season.

The fans are getting pretty agitated and will be more so if the Cubs fail to win a couple against Pittsburgh. There's already quite a bit of grumbling about the Bradley signing being a bust, and the delicate relationship between him and the fans could be nearing a breaking point. I don't think moving Soriano is the answer, and I'd actually rather see D-Lee sit to get Micah Hoffpauir in the line-up. I have to credit Lou for experimenting with the line-up, but nothing seems to be working. Perhaps a visit from minor league stud Jake Fox is in order. The only other thing to really look forward to, short of the current line-up wking up, is the return of Aramis Ramirez, which as probably at least a month away.

No Peavy, just Peaved

Looks like Jake Peavy won't be coming to the Southside (or the Northside, at least for now), so the White Sox are left only wwith the public embarrassment of having traded for a guy who wasn't interested in being traded to them. Shouldn't that part get figured out before the deal is actually made? Did they think Peavy would bend their way if all the paperwork was prepared?

It may not seem like a relief now, but I think by later this season or certainly next, the Sox will be very happy they didn't ship Clayton Richard and Aaron Poreda out of town for Peavy. And, I remain convinced until proven wrong that Peavy doesn't have much backbone for pitching in anyone's small park.

Unfortuantely, the Sox pitching staff did nothing yesterday but show that they desparately need help, getting pounded 20-1 by the Piranhas, who did not nip away at the Sox so much as they ate them whole.

Peavy headed to southside?

In a potentially shocking move, San Diego stud Jake Peavy could be headed to the Southside in a major trade, acoording to multiple reports. The shocking aspects are numerous: It was the Cubs who since before spring training were rumored to be the team closest to a Peavy, and there has been speculation that deal still might happen as the season and the Cubs sale unfolded.

The reports suggest Peavy may be concrned about picthing for Ozzie, which is ironic because this year Ozzie has been pretty lenient with his pitchers, letting Contreras get booed out of multiple games and failing to light a fire under slumping Gavin Floyd and John Danks. Personally, if I was Peavy, I would be more concerned about pitching in the little league park that is U.S. Cellular Field after having a good run in San Diego's Petco Park, one of the most pitcher-friendly ballparks around.

It's not clear the trade will actually happen, but if it does, you have to wonder who and how many the Sox are giving up. Where exactly can the afford to shed bodies right now?

And, I wonder how stunned Jim Hendry is...