No-hitters, 20-inning games, and losing to the Houstons

First off, congratulations to Ubaldo Jimenez on his no-hitter last night. I only caught the bottom of the 8th and the 9th innings, but his last pitch was as 97 mph. Wow. And no-hitting that Braves lineup might temper some of the expectations of Braves fans - I think they're a good team, but I still think they'll be battling the Marlins for second place in that division. Halladay makes the Phillies just too good. Still, it was Jiminez' night - congratulations again.

Secondly, the Cards and the Mets played a 20-inning game last night and I'm SHOCKED that LaRussa didn't run out of pitchers by the 6th inning. This is a guy who uses the lefty/lefty and righty/righty bullpen matchups so wantonly I really can't believe he only had to use two position players as pitchers.

And the Cubs lost to the hapless Astros yesterday, but there were encouraging signs. For the second straight day, the Cubs made a late inning comeback and nearly pulled it off in the ninth. The Cubs didn't do much with Oswalt, but most of the time nobody does much with Oswalt. When he's on, he's filthy, and he was on yesterday. I don't really mind losing to Oswalt, but we really need to pull out a series win today. The bullpen pitched better and Marshall was fantastic once again. It was also good to see them on TV out the night before at the Blackhawks hockey game - from everything I've read this is a chemistry event that never would have happened last year. I'm glad to hear that Gorzellany escaped relatively unharmed from what could have really been a nasty moment in the 3rd inning, when a liner came right back up the box and nailed him. Apparently he just has a bruise, but that doesn't really help his chances to stay in the rotation - I think he'll have to be pushed back a couple of days, just to be safe, and by then Lilly will be back. Combine that with the way Silva has pitched and I think TG is bullpen bound to take what was Marshall's spot. It now looks like Marshall will be the 8th inning guy for the forseeable future.

I'm also getting tired of the reception Soriano is getting at home. We knew when we got him that his defense was a problem, so don't expect Torii Hunter in left with him. His hitting has been respectable, and he will still have streaks where he carries the team for weeks at a time. I think the reaction he's gotten has goaded him into pressing, into trying too hard. Byrd will patrol most of center and left, and he has taken control over the outfield - Friday's gaffe with The Fuke nonwithstanding. Soriano will be fine - the guy has too much of a track record to cast off, as SI has been suggesting the Cubs want to do. Just understand what he brings to the table and what he lacks, and accept that. The guy is a proven commodity when healthy, and one of these days Jaramillo will teach him to identify a slider. Go Cubs Go!