First-half surprises: D-Lee, Buehrle, Paulie

There have been a number of bright spots to celebrate about our Chicago teams this season, but also plenty to criticize. One of the most surprising things to me is that three of the players I felt would be embarking on career wanes this season have come up big.

1) Derrek Lee: 2 Hrs and 7 RBIs last night for a career-best game marked the high point of a strong couple of months for D-Lee. During the off-season, I was actually hoping the Cubs would find a way to move him despite his steady consistency of past years for more power, a left-handed or more speed at another position. But, D-Lee has virtually carried the Cubs in several game during their tough May and June slates. Still, the Cubs will need to re-assess after this season is over, whener that may be...

2) Mark Buehrle: His 8-2, 3.09 ERA says it all. After a couple years of being just good enough, he is back to being the rock of the pitching staff. Some of the other starters have struggled at times, but No. 56 has kept the Sox afloat. He very nearly had a complete game shutout last night, and continues to be effective in his own underpowering way. He only had one strikeout last night, but retired frustrated K.C. batters on a steady stream of grounders and pop-flies.

3) Paul Konerko: More than the other two, I thought Paulie might be a true liability this year, and that his ongoing service with the Sox would only result in a series of benchings, with a rotating cast of characters, including out-of-practice Jim Thome, playing 1st base. But, Paulie, while not pounding too many homers (13), is on a pace for 100 RBIs (49 right now) that primarily have been collected with timely, effective contact hitting. He's a notorious slow starter, yet has a .293 batting average, that hovered above .300 for much of the first half.

Pressure on Hendry; Zammy being Zammy

Couple of thoughts from the past week:

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry is finally getting some of the blame or the under-achieving Cubs. You can blame the players or Sweet Lou's supposed lack of fire, but sooner or later, you have got to question some of the moves Hendry has made--and we aren't talking about the DeRosa trade, because of course that has been mention plenty of times already.

Hendry loves to tinker, and sometimes it turns out well, when you come up with Aramis Ramirez or Rich Harden, but his love of long-term free agent deals may have finally caught up to him, with under-achieving, but hard-to-tade players like Alfonso Soriano, Milton Bradley and Kosuke Fukudome. Each of them do have value on different ways, just not enough to validate big hard-to-move contracts.

Hendry is still tinkering, trading today for Jeff Baker, a multi-position infielder with a decent bat, but also 85 strikeouts in 299 at-bats last year. The Cubs designated multi-position whiz Ryan Freel for assignment. Freel had done very little, but his aggresive base-running and visible attitude on the field was kind of encouraging on the otherwise tight, jittery Cubs.

The second thing is the whole get-rid-of-Zambrano movement. We've been tired of Carlos Zambrano's antics for a while now, though curiously, the recent uproar came after a relatively benign plunking of Dewayne Wise during the finale Crosstown Classic South series. The HBP came right after the wild pitch/steal of home by Chris Getz, a play that made Zambrano look pretty stupid and set up his rather obvious method of acting out.

Next thing you know, the Tribune is saying get rid of Zambrano and conducting a fan poll on the issue after arguing its case. Not surprisingly, the vast majority of fans voted to dump Zambrano. I'm fine with him leaving town, but not for nothing or less. He's still a young. talented arm that has pitched a no-hitter, and I don't think the Cubs should part with him for less than a couple a strong bullpen vets or a position player who starts somewhere else with one or two minor leaguers thrown in.

The funny part to me is that it took this long to get the dump-Zambrano bandwagon moving. his antics against the Sox were nothing but Zammy being Zammy.

Pods and Beck bring it home

Scott Podsednik had maybe his best overall day offensively for the White Sox, even going back to his stint as chief fire-starter in 2005. He was 4-5 with a homerun--as we all know, he rarely goes deep, so when he does, it's worth a big celebration--and had 3 RBIs. But, the biggest blow of the 8-7 Sox victory over the Cubs in the second game of the Crosstown Classic South series was delivered by rookie Gordon Beckham, who came up with the walk-off single in the bottom of the 9th.

Beckham has had his share of struggles while learning how to be a pro ballplayer on the fly, and until late in this one it seemed like a typical tough day has he had an error at 3rd base and was 0-3 heading into the 8th inning. But, he had 2 hits in the lat 2 innings, scoring the tying run before bring home the winning run in the 9th and getting mobbed by his mates (He also got the ritual shaving cream pie treatment later during a post-game interview).

This was probably the most exciting game so far this year between the Cubs and Sox, and that includes the Cubs comeback at Wrigley and their very close 5-4 win Friday. The lead changed hands several times, with both teams scoring in all different ways. For fans who were bored by Friday's close, but somewhat lifeless (except for the Milton Bradley flare-up) game, this contest had a bit of everything, even suspenseful pitcher-batter face-offs, like the 9-pitch 8th inning at-bat between Podsednik and the shaky-as-usual Carlos Marmol.

The Cubs also had some nice defensive plays, though the Sox were again particularly weak on the left side of the infield. In addition to Beck's bobble, Alexei Ramirez cam up with 2 more errors, and failed to look Ryan Freel back to 3rd base on a routine grounder with the infield drawn in. Freel scored-he's fast, but not that fast, and you have to wonder if The Missile's throw to 1st base was a bit soft, too. That makes 8 errors for the Sox in the last four games. Ugh.

Meanwhile, Pods' success continues to amaze. I would have thought he'd cool off by now, but maybe there is something to his new funky-motion in the batter's box. Or, maybe it's just his comfort in playing alongside fellow champs like Paulie, A.J., JeDye, Burls and Jenks

Bombs away

Four homers brought some life to the Crosstown Classic South Friday, though the game will be remembered more for the dugout-clubhouse verbal altercation Lou Piniella and Milton Fradley got into in the 6th inning that resulted in Bradley being told to "go home," according to Lou.

Don't expect Bradley to stay home though, unless he's planning on retiring. The incident happened after Bradley threw his helmet after flying out and allegedly busted another water cooler (I think the Cubs players need to start bring their own water bottles to the games with their names on them, like you see in Little League).

I'm guessing this was a tension release on the part of both Bradley, who is still slumping, and Pinella, who basically was called a wimpy wuss in the newspaper yesterday. We'll see, but Piniella claimed Bradley would be in the line-up today.

The incident overshadowed the Cubs' perilous 5-4 win, which included all the Cubs's scoring on 2 homers, a Jake Fox 2-run shot and a Geovany Soto 3-run dinger. Fox homered in his second consecutive game and is making a brilliant case for more playing time when interleague play ends and the line-up loses a hitter. Could Bradley be the one to pay the price? Soto was revealed as a one-time pot smoker (What else is there to do during the World Baseball Classic?), and seems to be a new man at the plate with the burden of secrecy off his back. He has homered twice in three games (He only got 1 AB in the homerless game), and 4 times in his last 8 games.

Of course, it would not be a Cubs game if Carlos Marmol didn't try to give it away. He walked 3 men in the 8th inning, and gave up a single (though it should have been caught by the napping Alfonso Soriano) and a 2-run double by Jim Thome. Sean Marshall relieved him with the bases loaded to face pinch-hitter A.J. Pierzynski, and when Marmol arrived in the dugout, he threw his glove hard against the wall, but was not reprimanded by Lou as far as the TV cameras could tell. Marshall threw one pitch to A.J., who grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Perhaps feeling left out of the post-game gossip, Sox manager Ozzie Guillen called out A.J. for having a "bad at-bat" swinging at the first pitch. There certainly is a case to be made that A.J. occasionally attempts to do too much when he's looking for a big hit, though you shouldn't send him up there expecting patience. He has only 12 walks this year, and only 180 in his entire career (that's about 1.5 seasons' worth of walks for Thome, to put it in perspective).

Thome was the big contributor for the Sox, with 3 RBIs, including a homer off Cubs starter Randy Wells, who now has recorded a win in his last 2 starts after much earlier frustration. Jermaine Dye also had a solo shot, but the Sox otherwise showed only a glimmer of the energy that produced 16 runs in the previous 2 games against teh Dodgers.

Meanwhile, Jose Contreras actually pitched pretty well for a guy who gave up 5 runs (4 ER). He struck out 8 and only walked 1 in 7.1 IP. The homer by Geo in the 7th was the obvious big mistake, though it came after Paul Konerko botched a difficult-but-playable grounder that could have nabbed at least 1 out. Contreras also appeared to have a back problem, though he didn't come out of the game, and not much was made of it later.

Heading in different directions

The Cubs have lost four in a row, and though the offense has been ever so slightly more productive in recent games, the previosuly-solid pitching has fallen off somewhat. The White Sox impressively won a series from the best team in baseball, the L.A. Dodgers. They have scored 16 runs in their last two games.

That's where we are as the Crosstown Classic heads South this weekend, and here's some news of note:

Cubs:

--Milton Bradley has been benched, and Jake Fox, the hottest current hitter on the team after Derrek Lee, is getting more playing time. What happens with Bradley at this point is anyone's guess, but it's June 26, and he's still only hitting .241. More alarming, he seems to routinely fail with men on scoring position, with a RISP average of .229. That's why we hired him, right? Sadly, the Cubs probably have no alternative. The answer to every woe right now is to wait until Aramis Ramirez comes back, a return which at this point is being counted on for a pretty massive ripple effect. Maybe the extra line-up beef can help Bradley to see better pitches.

--Manager Lou Piniella defended himself today in the Tribune against critics who have said he lacks fire this year. He might, but for most of theseason it has seemed a suitable response to a team all wound up and tense after last year's play-off failure. Playing Fox more is a move in the right direction, but Piniella won't have a whole lot more option unless there's a trade. He too is counting on the A-Ram effect.

--It has become fashionable to bash the idea that Mark DeRosa's absence is at the core of the Cubs' troubles. Go ahead and say his value now that he's gone is being much over-hyped, but when you look at the line-up of 2008, which helped win 97 games, and the line-up of 2009, what other reasons can you come up with? If you say Bradley's the problem, well, he was chosen over DeRosa, who is having possibly a career year with the Cleveland Indians. If you say slumps by Kosuke Fukudome, Mike Fontenot or Aaron Miles have been the issue, or that it's the offenseive drop-off at 3rd base with A-Ram gone, guess who figures as a potential solution: DeRo. He certainly is not Babe Ruth, but he's not Mick Kelleher either.

White Sox:

--Carlos Quentin's return is not imminent. This is not necessarily a bad thing right now, though if the ripple effect of C.Q. returning is anything like the A-Ram ripple effect is supposed to be, the Sox may win the division again. Scott Podsednik is still running hot, coming up with the walk-off winning hit yesterday in the 6-5 win over the Dodgers. Brian Anderson has picked up his hitting just a bit, though I'm guessing he will be the odd man out upon C.Q.'s return, and Pods will be asked to take centerfield, except late in games in B.A. is called on for defense.

--Another story in the Trib today questions the lack of fire in the Crosstown Classic this year, using last week's split at Wrigley as the case in point. I wonder how much that has to do with the lackluster Cubs and the rain-out of game 1. I think most Sox fans are too gruff to let this weekend's series pass quietly.

--The Sox are 35-37 and 6 games out of 1st place. The Cubs failed to help them gain ground against Detroit by getting swept out of the Motor City this week. Still, the Sox are looking pretty good, about where they need to be, the C.Q.'s return, a more robust offensive effort and ongoing good pitching will be needed to help them eat away at the Tigers' lead. they only won 2 of 5 against Detroit in a massive home series this month, and now have numerous divison games facing them in July, including a 3-game trip to Detroit starting July 24. This will be the most important stretch and the most important month of the season for the Sox.

Dodger blues

The first place L.A. Dodgers are visiting our White Sox to celebrate the 50th annivesary of their match-up in the 1959 World Series, though last night, it was only the Dodgers who celebrated, in a 5-2 victory. The Sox were almost lifeless, except for Paul Konerko plunking a solo homer and Ozzie Guillen getting tossed for questioning balls and strikes (see photos taken from the Scout seat area above).

Got Wood, got win

I was supposed to go to Friday's Cubs game, but the rain-delayed start, threatening weather and a need to get home early and get downtown for dinner plans kept me home. Poor decision, as the weather improved greatly and the game cruised through the first 7-1/2 innings. I would have missed the rest, but it might have been worth the trip to see some of the Indians fans, who according to my brother were acting like it was again Ten-Cent Beer Night in Cleveland, rather than a muggy dau in Chicago.

The Cubs completed their second straight amazing comeback win Friday when Ryan Theriot drove home Alfonso Soriano on a groundball with eyes that scooted past the Cleveland Indians 1st baseman. Another Cubbie moment to make the final score 8-7 on a day when the Cubs were down 7-0 halfway through. Minutes after the finish, another wave of storms swept through, so it was a case of great timing by the Cubs.

But, the biggest moment may have been Derrek Lee's game-tying bottom-9th homer off of former Cubs favorite Kerry Wood. I wish it would have happened to someone else, but I wouldn't trade the outcome for anything. Woody has not had a great year at all with his new team, though he has been better the last month or so. The problem may be that the Indian's never get him a lead, so he doesn't get much work--he was best last year after he came back from minor pains and got consistent work for the Cubs during the second-half. Sorry, Woody, but the Cubs need the wins.

In the 8th inning, it didn't look like we would get Wood at all, as the Indians were ahead 7-2, but their terrible bullpen gave up 4 more runs that inning. An error helped, but the Cubs looked like a new team stringing together singles and aggressive base-running that inning--all with 2 outs. Andres Blanco had a big 2-run, bases-loaded single to start the rally, while another run scored on a hard-hit grounder that was called an error and left Koyie Hill safe at 1st. Soriano, suddenly hitting again, drove in the last run of the inning with a single.

D-Lee had 2 homers on the day, the other in the 6th against the tough Cliff Lee. reed Johnson also homered earlier off of Lee.

Friday was also the homecoming for Mark DeRosa, the guy from last year who I think the Cubs miss the most. He got a nice standing ovation, and was 1-3 with an RBI and 2 walks. When Lou Piniella said the other day in the paper that the Cubs clubhouse is pretty quiet this year, that confirmed it for me: The Cubs made the wrong decision when they decided that a left-handed bat was worth more than DeRo's personality in the clubhouse. What they did in trading him of course makes perfect baseball sense--but, for all the stats and tendencies and percentages we all collect, there is so much about baseball that doesn't fit neatly into a spread sheet, or even an old baseball mentality that says the more lefties the better. Of course, if Milton Bradley and Aaron Miles, the switch-hitters that effectively replaced DeRo, guide the Cubs to the World Series, all will be forgiven.

Woody's replacement, Kevin Gregg, got the win yesterday, though most days I would still rather have Wood.