Spring Marches Onward

And the Cubs lose again. Quite meaningless, as (a) Felix Pie was the lone regular; and (b) the pitchers who matter pitched well.

Carlos Zambrano had the best day of any Cub. He homered and pitched three solid innings of one hit ball. Allowing only one walk, Zambrano struck out three and faced just 10 batters.

Rich Hill followed, facing his now nemesis Diamondbacks. He threw three innings of no-hit ball, but walked the bases loaded in the 4th and gave up a run.

Tyler Colvin had a rough day, striking out three times. He'll probably start in Tennessee (AA), and should do well there. Don't expect him to be in the bigs until 2010.

Henry Blanco got the start, and is going to be on this team, barring injury. I'll still hold out for JD Closser's bat, and Koyie Hill still can't hit.

Michael Wuertz finally showed up, and, show up he did. Wuertz pitched a perfect 7th and struck out two. I guess he's ready to go. Which confirms the lack of space in the bullpen.

Kevin Hart and Tim Lahey have both looked good - but Lahey gave up a walk and two hits while blowing the save and taking the loss today.

Micah Hoffpauir and Luis Figueroa joined Big Z in the home run hitting club. Hoffpauir will be an injury away from the big leagues, and Figueroa is an extreme long shot for the utility job.

Expect to see more regulars tomorrow against Oakland. I'll be back later tonight with a preview of that game.

Here's an updated look at those "other" battles.

Lefty

Pitcher     INN  SO  BB  ER  HR 
Campusano   1.1   0   1   2   0 
Cotts       1.2   0   4   5   0
Eyre        2.0   1   1   1   0
Jones       1.0   1   0   0   0
Pignatiello 2.1   1   0   0   0

Righty

Pitcher     INN  SO  BB  ER  HR
Ascanio     3.1   1   1   4   1
Ceda        1.2   2   2   2   0
Hart        3.1   3   0   0   0
Lahey       2.2   1   1   1   0
Mateo       2.0   0   1   0   0

Back-up Catcher

Batter       AB   H  BB  SO  SB XBH
H. Blanco     4   0   0   2   0   0  
Closser       6   3   0   0   0   1  
Hill          8   1   1   1   0   1  

Utility

Batter       AB   H  BB  SO  SB XBH
Cedeno       13   3   1   3   1   0  
Cintron      20   6   0   2   0   3   
Figueroa     12   5   0   0   0   2   
Fontenot     17   6   4   2   0   3   
Patterson    13   3   1   3   0   1   

All of Ronny's hits came in one game. Not good. He also got nailed on the bases twice in that game. I also "cut" Bobby Scales and Andres Blanco.