Come to Think of it...Thoughts on Saturday's Cubs Victory

The Cubs beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-2 on Saturday, using a big, six-run seventh-inning rally to win back-to-back games for the first time since late April.

So you'd think I'd be happy, right? Well, yes and no.

I'm happy for the win, of course, and with Zambrano scheduled to take the mound on Mother's Day Sunday, the Cubbies are in position to sweep the first-place D-Backs, despite the fact that the Big Unit (Big Z's Sunday opponent) is 12-0 lifetime against our Cubs.

It's just that I need to get some things off of my chest, which shouldn't surprise my regular readers.

First off, what is Carlos Marmol doing pitching the ninth inning of a game well in hand? Isn't that why we have relievers like Wuertz and Chad Fox? Hello, Lou, anybody home?

Soriano isn't running well. True, he had four hits on the day, which brought his batting average all the way up to a pedestrian .223. But twice while rounding the bases on Saturday, Soriano slowed down, even stopping for a moment, and only clever slides overcame what could have been outs at second and at home.

Sori claims nothing's wrong, he just needs to get confidence in his legs in cold weather, whatever that means. But I'm concerned.

Along the same lines, why didn't Soriano get pulled after the Cubs big seventh inning?

Ryan Dempster is throwing too many damn pitches. He needs to get more economical so that he can pitch longer into games, and avoid blowing his arm out early this season. 118 pitches in six innings is a lot for anyone, especially a pitcher whose arm hasn't been conditioned to start for several years.

On an unrelated note, why is it absolutely no surprise to hear that a certain No. 22 pitching in the San Diego Padres system has had yet another setback?

Speaking of injured pitchers, it was good to see Stevie Ire (as Lou would call him) get a victory in his first action since last year's forgetful playoff series.

Daryle Ward was 0-for-14 with six walks as a pinch-hitter this season before his seventh-inning single. Last year, he was the National League's best pinch hitter. Hopefully, this is the start of something good. It's about time.

All in all, it was a good day for Cubs fans on Saturday. Should be a good matchup on Sunday, though bad weather is on the agenda. Come to think of it, it'll feel like summer with another victory.