144

CUBS WIN!!

What a great rebound game for the Cubs, especially after yesterday's horrible performance. It was nice to see some great home run love for Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome. The back-to-back-jacks from Geovany Soto and Marlon Byrd also looked great for the Cubs hitters. If only those seagulls started attacking the Arizona Diamondbacks, like in the Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Birds."

Updated to 144, Cardinals lost to the Reds.

146

Crazy wind and a walk off walk in the 10th all add up to a Cubs W.

Hawks also win to advance past Nashville. Good night for Chicago sports!

147

CUBS SWEEP THE BREW CREW!!!

Oh what a glorious day. The Cubs have once again won, sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers at Milwaukee. The bats were alive once more, giving Randy Wells more than enough support for his wonderful outing. Great pitching and hitting, am I dreaming? Now, let's see the Cubs keep this up at home, as well as on the road, and let's take care of our competition in our division.

148

Cubs win again in Milwaukee. Sweep possible today. GO CUBS!

150

CUBS WIN, CUBS WIN, CUBS WIN!!!

Yes Cubs fans, it feels like any Cubs win this early in the season must be cheered and trumpeted to the highest rafters. We here at Cubs Magic Number have heard and seen the anguish and anger in all Cubs fans across the country, and we know that one win is not going to calm the fears, so let us begin the debate of what should be done for our beloved team.

By now we know that one of the most consistent pitchers that we have had in the last two years is going to be back and starting for us tomorrow night. That is right, Ted Lilly is back, but is he ready to start? His minor league games were great and Lilly himself was quoted as saying that he feels ready and that he is locating his pitches. But let's be realistic, he just had shoulder surgery. Granted, Lilly is a workhorse and will make sure his body is ready to go, but should Lou Piniella push him so fast? At this point, having a solid and consistent starting pitcher would be nice, and maybe Lilly will have a good effect on all of the the pitching staff. As for the starters, Ryan Dempster looked great again in tonight's game, and Carlos Silva has looked great recently. Tom Gorzelanny and Randy Wells have been decent, but they have not gotten the run support and bullpen support they need, and "Big Z" is helping the bullpen (and himself) by taking a little hiatus from the starting ace position and bringing some love to the 'pen. What a crazy move. How many starting ace's are moved to the bullpen, and at the beginning of the season? Let's hope that Lou's move pays off.

Our hitters also got something going tonight. Kosuke Fukudome and Tyler Colvin homered, and Ryan Theriot and Derrek Lee got some RBI action. Maybe it will be okay if the Cubs keep hitting against our opponents in the Central Division (we will forget our home stand against the Houston Astros). It is frustrating however, when the Cubs can't bring their batting strength against teams that were absolutely pitiful last year (hello, did we forget that the New York Mets are horrible or have they rebuilt that quickly?). Whatever way you look at it, the Cubs hitters need to get going. Yes it is still early in the season, but if we do nothing now, then the Cubs should just throw in the towel. Let's see if the Cubs can bring their bats out again tomorrow night against the tricky Brew Crew. Go Cubs!

152

Big Z to the bullpen and Soriano hits a triple sparking the dormant Cubs offense! Are these the first signs that the apocalypse is upon us?

153

Cubs can't seem to win, but at least the Cards finally lost.

154

Cubs can't be dropping 2 of 3 to Houston at home. Need to pick it up.

155

Yes. Good game.

156

* Update *

Astros finally win a game, Cardinals lose. Number Drops. Too bad the Cubs could not pull off a rally.

Now back to Wednesday's post:

WOW! Big time come back for the Cubbies today! Hats off to Theriot & Fukudome with back to back clutch hits in the 8th. Off to a great home stand.

Remember to submit your pictures of opening day. Here's our first: Jim, Wayne Messmer and Marc enjoying the best opening day weather we can remember here at CMN before the first pitch.

Go Cubs!

157

Hey, Hey!!! Cubs Win Another Close Game!

Let the talking (some would say arguing) begin. This game was not very pretty for the Cubs, but we saw some great hitting in the bottom of the 8th inning to take the game away from the Milwaukee Brewers with a 7-6 win.

Once again, some bad defensive plays by Alfonso Soriano made this game a stomach churner, but thankfully, Lou Piniella made the great decision to make the double switch which bought in rookie Tyler Colvin. Is it time to bring up the kids from the minors? Maybe, but when we needed the older players to bring in their experience, Kosuke Fukudome and Ryan Theriot did just that. However, every baseball "expert" has said that the Brewers have the offensive power punch to give the St. Louis Cardinals a run for their money, but so far, the Cubs have managed to keep power hitters like Prince Fielder at bay.

As for the pitching, Randy Wells looked good, until Rickie Weeks adjusted to his pitches. The bull-pen looked shaky once again, but at least they didn't look as bad as Latroy Hawkins. It's nice to not see Hawking in a Cubs uniform anymore. With Ted Lilly getting ready to rehab in the minors, let's hope the bull-pen can hold on until Lilly can come back to his starting role and either Carols Silva or Tom Gorzelanny can give some much needed help to the bull-pen.

Bring out the brooms, Cubs fans. Hopefully, the bats and the pitching will propel the Cubs to another win tomorrow. Oh, and let's hope there are no more defensive errors.

158

Cubs Win! Welcome Home!

Ah, spring time is finally here in the Chicago area. Yes fans, baseball is back, and the Cubs are starting their home stay off right with a nice win over the Milwaukee Brewers, with the final score of 9-5. It did get a little scary with the 3-run homer by Ryan Braun in the 5th inning, but we saw some great pitching today by Ryan Dempster. Once again Carlos Marmol looked great in the 9th, and thank the baseball gods that the Cubs bullpen didn't look like they have over the last six games.

Alright fans, seven games are now in the books, and the Cubs are finally putting their bats to good use. So, if you make it out to Wrigley during this home stay, cheer our Cubbies on to some powerful wins. As always, we here at Cubs Magic Number would love to see some pictures, and if you have some quality opening day shots, send it to us with a description of what's going on in the photo and who happens to be in the photo. Go Cubs!

160

CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN!

Well, didn't see much of the game today because the weather was so beautiful in Chicago. Marmol was looking good. Jeff Baker with the pinch hit go ahead run. That's what we call nice.

No more losses to the Reds please. Come home .500!

161

CUBS WIN!

We're off to the races. Shut out! Cubs to avoid the sweep! Great outing by Wells tonight and Byrd has his 2nd homer for the series. Marmol with the (nerve racking) save! Cubs have a win under their belt.

I will admit after last night's fall behind and lose by one, I was getting ready to become a pessimist. No way does this team have the pitching or fielding or whatever you can think of... I listened to David Kaplan on WGN720 after Wednesday's game and he reminded me and the several irrational callers: "It's only been two games. The panic button is not necessary yet (wait for 10 Ls in a row)".

In 2008, the Cubs dropped their first two games at home against the Brewers. The Cubs weren't off to a great start. But they ended up winning 97 games.

Anyways, it is early. This team has potential. They are in a tough division, but hey. That's what this is all about. Nothing will come easy.

Baseball in April is always fun. Go Cubs!

163

Let the season begin! Be sure to check back here daily for your updated Cubs Magic Number all season long. Go Cubs!