Two good things happened Monday afternoon. Kerry Wood looked better, getting up to 97mph on the gun. He went 6.0 IP, allowing 5 hits, one ER, one BB and striking out four. Not too bad. Still a little wild though, with 85 pitches and 56 for strikes. Oh, and one extremely wild pitch that led to a run. Again, not 100%, but better nonetheless.
Perhaps more refreshing, especially after three one run losses to Atlanta, the Cubbies offense showed up again, led by Todd Walker, who went 3-4 with a two-run homer, three RBI and two runs scored. Even better, that dinger was given up by our "buddy" Kent Mercker. Sweet. How's that 7.45 ERA feelin', eh?
Matt Murton also came through with a 2-4 day with a solo homer and two runs scored. Tony Womack continues to perform, bringing in another good day with a 2-5 on the board and another run scored. He's making life difficult for Neifi and JHJ, which is fine with me. Woody also helped his own cause going 2-2 on the day with an RBI.
How about Aardsma coming in throwing the heat and shutting the Reds down in the seventh? Impressive, but I've seen him fail as well, so I'm quite reluctant to believe it's anything more than a lucky day. Get on out there again and show it to me and maybe you'll win me over. But, if the slate was clean, I'd say he looked great today. Someone buy that man a cold one.
Can the Cubs keep up the good work? Or is this just a glimmer of futile hope in an otherwise dreary season? Only time will tell, but I'm feeling a little better. With Mark Prior throwing 44 pitches today as well, maybe, just maybe, .500 isn't that unrealistic a goal for '06.
Hey, did someone slip some Blue in my beverage?