The Home Run Derby is tonight in St. Louis. It should be interesting with its stacked power hitting lineup. Everyone is probably going with the favorites like Pujols or Howard, but not me. I am going with Rangers slugger Nelson Cruz. It may sounds stupid, but I am sticking with him to see if a longshot will win. Agree with me or not, I would like to know who you guys have winning it.

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Today's game was a nationally televised game on Fox. I was hoping that the Cubs would not embarrass themselves like they did yesterday. Our lineup was like usual except Jeff Baker got the start at second. With that said here's a quick review if how it went down:

All Star Ted Lilly got the start today for the men in blue and young pitcher Brad Thompson was on the mound for the Cardinals. The Cubbies got on board first in there first trip to the plate. Bases were loaded for Milton Bradley. The count reached to 0-2 and I did not have a good feeling. The next pitch however, plunked Bradley and a run scored. Jeff Baker was up next and added two more for the Cubs by getting a 2-run single.


Cubs added two more insurance runs in the fifth when Aramis Ramirez knocked in Ryan Theriot on a fielders choice. Alfonso Soriano drived in Derrek Lee with a two out double. Derrek Lee left with neck spams but it shouldn't be too serious.

Carlos Marmol entered the game in the ninth. He got one quick out. His next came on a tough throw to second. He then gave up a run to make the score 5-2. Skip Schumacher pinch hit for the Cardinals and Marmol's first went wild and advanced the runners to second and third. Lou was mad and I don't blame him, so he turned it over to closer Kevin Gregg to save it.   Gregg got the strikeout and CUBS WIN!!!           

So, I planned to do a full game analysis for game one of the four game series. Up until around the 5th inning I had been taking all my notes, taking everyone's at bats and so on. Well, it turns out the Cardinals posted four runs in that inning to extend the lead to 5. I was just fed up and upset, I decided not to fully analyze this game.                                    

Instead, I will just give you some news and my thoughts. One good thing for me was that Wayne Messmer sang the National Anthem today. He is my favorite anthem singer because of the way he says the word brave at the end. It sounds weird, but I think he's cool.

It started off as a good hitters day at Wrigley with the wind blowing out. The game was delayed a good while, but not too long. Geovony Soto will be placed on the DL tomorrow with a left oblique strain. In my opinion, this is a big loss because Koyie Hill has been doing way too much catching behind Geo, and we don't really have a good backup in the minors. Oh and by the way Rich Harden who had terrible stuff on the mound, went 2 for 2 at the plate. The only high point for my cubbies was that Derrek Lee blasted a three run homer. Hopefully the cubs will turn it around in the next three games because we have already fallen 4.5 games out of first.

The first game was set to start at 6:05. We arrived at the stadium around 6:20. I really wanted to snag some baseballs and watch the game. Around the second inning catcher, Dan Jordan, tossed me my first ball of the day. He was in the bullpen, the ball rolled foul, and I stood up so he tossed it to me. The throw was a little off but I still got it.

Later in the game, we found out former wrestler Jimmy Hart was there. We walked around, found him and I got him to sign my ball. To be honest I had no idea who he was but whatever. More on this later.


Well, overall it was a fun game. We spent the last couple innings outside the wall in the parking lot hoping to snag a homer. We didn't catch one but all was good. I finished the day with two balls and a signed ticket stub.

The Cubs have there first off day today in well over two weeks. This off day comes at a rather good time. After losing 2 out of 3 to the Braves and having an upcoming 3 game set against the division leading Cardinals, the day should give us some good and needed rest. Our offense is showing some signs of turning around. Derrek Lee continues his offense production with a stellar month of June and carried into July. Also, Kosuke Fukudome moved into the lead off spot and Alfonso Soriano dropping to sixth. I think this was a smart move considering Soriano's ability to hit homers. Another big addition for the Cubs is that three aces came back to club. Aramis Ramirez, Reed Johnson, and Angel Guzman all retured from their stints on the DL. Ramirez was batting well over .300 before his early exit due to a dislocated shoulder.

Today Griffey Jr. remembered Michael Jackson by sporting only one white glove. Also, as he came up to bat the King of Pop's famous song "Billie Jean" played. This was a great way to remember a legend.

Hello everyone, my name is Peter Skiadopoulos. I am from Chicago and am a true Cubs fan. In my blog, I will be talking about all things baseball and new interesting findings I stumble upon. Hope you enjoy it and spread the word about it.