Believe it or not, the D-Cubs threw another no-hitter tonight, less than two weeks after the last one. It was another one of the seven-inning no-nos.

Generally good news from the farm tonight, although Brett Jackson went on the DL with a sore right wrist.

Iowa Cubs (69-65)

The Iowa Cubs moved into second place with a 4-2 victory over the Oklahoma City RedHawks.

Jeff Samardzija dominated tonight for six shutout innings tonight. He gave up only three singles and one walk. The Shark struck out six.

Jeff Stevens threw two perfect innings of relief, striking out three.

The I-Cubs were paced tonight by a pair of solo home runs. The first as a third-inning shot by right fielder Brad Snyder, his 14th on the season. Snyder was 1 for 3 with a walk overall. The second one was an insurance run in the eighth inning by DH Matt Craig.  It was his fourth home run for Iowa, seventh in the PCL and 11th overall. Craig was 2 for 4 on the night with two runs scored.

Shortstop Darwin Barney was 2 for 3 with two stolen bases. Barney had one RBI and scored once. Left fielder John-Ford Griffin was 2 for 3 with a walk.

The Iowa Cubs are two games behind the Memphis Redbirds in the standings with ten games to play. They have no games left with Memphis, however.

Tennessee Smokies (33-28)

The Smokies late-inning heroics just keep on coming. They scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to stun the Mobile Bay Bears, 3-2 and move back into a tie for first place.

Starter Chris Carpenter allowed one run on five hits in his six inning start. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out two.

David Cales got the win with two innings of relief. Cales gave up two hits and a walk, but didn’t allow any runs. He did not strike anyone out.

Right fielder Tyler Colvin had the big blow, an RBI double that tied the score in the two-run ninth. He later scored the winning run on Doug Deeds‘ pinch-hit single. Colvin was 1 for 4.

Center fielder James Adduci was 2 for 4. Catcher Welington Castillo went 2 for 3.

Daytona Cubs (27-33)

The Daytona Cubs split a double-header tonight, losing the first game, 3-2 in nine innings and winning the second game, 3-0 as the D-Cubs staff tossed their second seven-inning no-hitter in less than two weeks.

In the first game, Ryan Searle started and allowed two runs on six hits over 5.2 innings. Searle walked one and struck out six.

Chris Siegfried pitched the ninth inning and took the loss, allowing a run on two hits. He struck out one.

Shortstop Marwin Gonzalez was 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored. First baseman Jake Opitz  and center fielder Tony Campana were both 2 for 4.

The no-hitter was in the second game, as starter Oswaldo Martinez pitched the first four innings, walking two and striking out one. Martinez has now pitched in four games since signing out of the Mexican League: two of those games were no-hitters. He pitched two-thirds of an inning in his Cub debut on August 15.

Mike Perconte finished the no-no and got the win since Martinez didn’t go five innings. Perconte walked one and fanned three.

Jake Opitz was the DH for the second game and was 2 for 4 with two RBI.

Peoria Chiefs (37-23)

The Peoria Chiefs were knocked on their ears by the Cedar Rapids Kernels, 8-3.

Justin Bristow started but only lasted two innings. He allowed three runs on four hits. Bristow walked four and struck out two.

Jeff Beliveau pitched much better in relief, but got the loss anyway. Beliveau allowed one run over his four innings of relief. He surrendered five hits. He didn’t walk anyone and he struck out four.

Center fielder David Macias had a two-run double in a 1 for 4 game. The Chiefs did not have a hit after the second inning tonight.

Boise Hawks (30-37)

The Hawks were officially eliminated from the playoffs tonight with a 7-2 loss to the Spokane Indians.

Chris Rusin started and took the loss. He went four innings and gave up four runs on seven hits. He walked two and struck out three.

Right fielder Jae-Hoon Ha hit his second home run in the second inning. The solo shot was his only hit in a 1 for 4 game. Shortstop George Matheus went 2 for 5 with a double.

AZL Cubs (13-15, 29-27 overall)

Beat the Brewers, 3-0.

The rookie league team’s season is now over.

When traveling, I generally try to avoid obvious tourist spots.
A few years ago, my wife and I were in New York City, staying in a Manhattan Hotel. I observed (just by watching) a steady stream of hotel guests exiting the elevators, making a beeline for the front desk, pleading for directions to…



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I’m late!
Quick Weekly Wrapup
Friday, 08/21: @ Los Angeles Dodgers, L (2-1)
Saturday 08/22: @ Los Angeles Dodgers, L (2-0)
Sunday 08/23: @ Los Angeles Dodgers, W (3-1)
Monday 08/24: off
Tuesday 08/25: vs. Washington, L (15-6)
Wednesday 08/26: vs. Washington, W (9-4)
Thursday 08/27: vs….



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Today’s Chicago Tribune reports that Cubs pitchers Rich Harden and Aaron Heilman have been claimed off the wavier wire. This means that the teams who have submitted the claims have until Monday to work out a deal or the Cubs can pull them back. This is not an uncommon thing this time of…



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SAN FRANCISCO(AP) Tim Lincecum had reached 127 pitches through eight innings and would gladly have gone back out for the ninth if only manager Bruce Bochy had let him.

ST. LOUIS(AP) John Smoltz had a successful first home start with the St. Louis Cardinals. Albert Pujols made sure it was a great night for the whole team.

What rust? Pitching for the first time in eight days, Sergio Mitre was sharp, combining on a one-hitter in the Yankees’ 10-0 blowout of the White Sox.

Giants-Rockies, live

All the Cubs can do each day is exactly what they did this afternoon — come out, swing the bats, come from behind if necessary, make plays in the field… and who knows what might happen in the future?

Jake Fox hit a grand slam and drove in five runs to lead the Cubs to an 11-4 win over the Mets, and now the Cubs have a nice little four-out-of-six run going.

Whatever you think of Fox playing in the field — and he’s obviously only adequate at any of his defensive positions, and wouldn’t have come near the nice running catch Sam Fuld made in the 8th after replacing him — the man can hit, and is a fine player to have on a major league bench. Between Iowa and the Cubs this season, Fox now has 324 at-bats. In those AB, he has combined for 24 doubles, 27 HR and 92 RBI, while hitting .355/.430/.701. Most impressive, and though he won’t come close to being voted Rookie of the Year, I could see giving him a third-place vote.

He’ll probably play left field again tomorrow, as Lou reported in his postgame press conference that Alfonso Soriano‘s MRI showed only “inflammation” in his knee, no major damage, and he’ll be examined tomorrow and possibly get a “shot” (I suppose Lou meant cortisone, if they still do that), and perhaps Soriano will be available by Monday.

In the meantime, Fox is more than a capable fill-in.

It started out as one of those games that you’re glad you’re the home team and have the last at-bat; Ryan Dempster got himself in trouble with a walk and a pair of hits leading to two runs in the first inning, and though the Cubs took the lead in the third (thanks in part to Dempster getting the walk back as a hitter), he gave it right back in the fourth. Dempster appeared to be trying to throw as hard as the wind was blowing today; he didn’t have good command, though he did register seven strikeouts. The Cubs got a break in what could have been a Mets blowout inning in that fourth; Fernando Tatis tried to score with nobody out and two runs already in when a throw appeared to get away, but Mike Fontenot‘s relay cut him down. After that Dempster settled down and allowed only two more baserunners, while the offense was bailing him out in the fifth.

Nice game today for Milton Bradley, who had hits in his first three at-bats (making seven straight plate appearances he had reached base, including the four yesterday), and blasted a RBI double off the wall in the third, scoring Dempster. There were some scattered boos early in the game when Bradley was announced, but his play today turned those into cheers by the time he came up and walked in the eighth. I won’t boo Bradley — in fact, I hope he has a great September, because that would truly help the team. Aramis Ramirez also had a nice day today, with a pair of hits and RBI and a nice snag of a hot line drive by Angel Pagan. And Koyie Hill chipped in with two hits, including a RBI double; Hill’s triple-slash numbers of .245/.329/.347 aren’t great, but they are at least the equal of Geovany Soto‘s (.215/.322/.377). For now, I think Hill deserves the bulk of the playing time; Soto can get into shape and work hard and win the job back next spring.

Aaron Heilman came in and threw two scoreless innings in what might be his last appearance as a Cub. It was a bit surprising that Lou didn’t leave him in to finish the game and get a save, but Sean Marshall hadn’t thrown since Tuesday, so I can actually understand Lou’s motivation to get Marshall an inning of work.

It was chilly today, and you could see the effects of the strong west-northwest wind in the upper deck seats. The LF upper deck, which was blocked from the wind, stayed full most of the game, but the RF upper deck, fully exposed, emptied out after the seventh inning stretch.

It was 64 degrees at game time and never got much warmer. 64 degrees is the average high temperature in Chicago on October 16. Let’s hope this good Cubs play of the last two days keeps up and we have the chance to experience baseball at Wrigley Field on and after that date. Keep the faith.

Let’s push controversy aside for a while, shall we, and try to just enjoy a baseball game this afternoon?

The last time the Mets visited Wrigley Field was more than 16 months ago, on April 22, 2008. That isn’t that long ago in baseball terms, but of the eight starting Cubs that day, four are no longer with the team and one is on the DL. Five other Cubs who appeared in the game are elsewhere as well. As for the Mets, four of their starting eight from that game won’t appear due to injury and three others have departed.

Ronny Cedeno hit a grand slam in that game, just to remind you of blasts from the past. It’s still his only slam. (That’s just about the time we started calling him ONEDEC.)

Two very different teams will take the field at Wrigley this afternoon from that long-ago day in 2008 (the Cubs did face the Mets last September, still almost a year ago, when the Mets were desperately trying to win a playoff spot, which they lost on the last day of the season). The Mets have been decimated by injuries, both to their starting lineup and pitching rotation — the three Mets probable starters in this series, Pat Misch, Bobby Parnell and Nelson Figueroa, were definitely not the pitchers Jerry Manuel envisioned in his rotation in April.

OK, I suppose I can’t resist a couple of links and comments regarding the current Milton Bradley situation. Phil Rogers says the Cubs should just cut him, which would cost north of $20 million and I think is a ridiculous idea, but Rogers also offer some suggestions of other teams’ bad contracts that could result in a trade:

The only way to trade Bradley, according to executives with other clubs, is to up your ante to take on someone else’s bad contract. You know the names — the Blue Jays‘ Vernon Wells, owed $98.5 million over five years; the Giants‘ Barry Zito, $83 million over four years; the Astros‘ Carlos Lee, $55.5 million over three years, maybe the Giants’ Aaron Rowand, $36 million over three years.

The best of those scenarios involves the Rangers‘ five-year, $80-million deal with Michael Young, who at 32 is a productive player. He’s owed $16 million a year for four more seasons.

In a cost-cutting mode because of ownership problems, Texas might consider a Bradley-for-Young trade. But it wouldn’t do it during its ongoing playoff race and it’s going to be increasingly awkward for them to try to wade through a hugely problematic trade.

As Rogers says, Texas is in a playoff race and probably wouldn’t do it now. So are the Giants with Zito, who has actually pitched very well since the All-Star break. The Vernon Wells deal would be more palatable to the Cubs if it didn’t have five years and nearly as much money as Alfonso Soriano‘s. But I’d do it. Wells is virtually the same age as Bradley (about eight months younger) and, though he’s had a couple of tough years since he signed his monster deal, at least he does have proven power numbers from the past, and could play CF, allowing Kosuke Fukudome to move back to RF next season (with Reed Johnson retained to back them both up).

And strangely enough, the best local media words on this situation come from the Tribune’s Steve Rosenbloom, who I almost never agree with and who often writes ridiculous bombast. But today he nails it, in a column titled Bradley’s response ought to anger those who take on racism seriously:

Racism is serious. If you are concerned or angry enough to put that in the public discussion, then you seemingly should be motivated to explain when and where this happened. How else do you take a step toward keeping it from happening again?

But when Bradley offers only cynicism and sarcasm, he diminishes the severity of the issue. Moreover, he does a disservice to those suffering abuse but who are willing to fight the fight head on.

…

Under no circumstances does anyone deserve to be abused racially. Underachieving baseball player and racial epithets are dots that should never connect.

But Bradley’s history and now his dismissive response to questions following his serious charges invite the suggestion that he’s looking for ways to shield himself from his problems, self-inflicted or otherwise.

One hundred percent correct, Mr. Rosenbloom. Bravo.

Try to enjoy today’s game.

Today’s Starting Pitchers

Ted Lilly Cubs vs. Pat Misch Mets 9-8 W-L 0-1 3.40 ERA 4.09 116 SO 13 27 BB 13 21 HR 1 vs. NY – vs. Cubs

Pat Misch’s stats below are with the Mets only; see the pitcher box for his full-season stats.

There’s no profile photo of Pat Misch in a Mets cap available (at least not in that size), so you get one of him with his former team, the Giants. The Mets acquired Misch on waivers in July and he’s spent the last couple of months shuttling between Buffalo and New York, making 15 relief appearances with the Mets (after four with the Giants). He is a Chicago-area native who graduated from Glenbrook North HS in Northbrook in 1999 and has made three career relief appearances vs. the Cubs, all in 2007. This will be his first start as a Met. Only one current Cub has a hit off him — Koyie Hill (1-for-2), but that’s covering only eight total at-bats from all current Cubs.

Ted Lilly is 2-1, 3.86 in five career appearances (four starts) vs. the Mets. His last two starts against them, one in 2007 and one in 2008, were both wins, the last one in the April 22, 2008 game mentioned above. The current Met who has the most AB against Ted is Gary Sheffield; Sheffield is only 5-for-28 against him.

Cable-only today in Chicago (CSN) and New York (SNY). For other games today see the MLB.com Mediacenter.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Mets site Amazin’ Avenue.

Overflow comment threads will post today at 2:15 pm, 3:15 pm and 4 pm CDT.

Discuss amongst yourselves.