Milton Bradley Playing His Own Game

Milton Bradley got a laugh from his poor showing Friday.

I, on the other hand, don’t find a .500 record in mid June so amusing–even if Chicago is only three games back in the division.

I wasn’t giggling when Bradley tossed the ball into the stands with one out, either.

That play alone makes it’s easy to question the Cubs’ focus, not to mention the lineup’s one walk vs. 12 strikeouts performance.

But give Kevin Slowey, the very underrated hurler, some credit. He stayed ahead in the counts and worked his off-speed pitches beautifully.

In just 51 starts with Minnesota, he’s now 19-1 when posting a quality start. Although the Cubs did him many favors Friday afternoon, namely swinging through a bunch of strikes.

Is it a stretch to say Randy Wells was overthrowing the ball knowing the Cubs can’t score?

I’ve been waiting for that to happen, and I cringe thinking about where this club heads should its starting pitching take a nosedive for a few games.

When Lou starts tinkering with the lineup you know he’s running thin on patience. But, whatever moves Piniella makes can’t hurt this club anymore than they’re hurting themselves.

Minnesota loves inter-league play. The Twinkies are 45-13 against the Senior Circuit since 2006. They also swept Milwaukee earlier this season.

As I said Thursday, if the Cubs lose this series against Minnesota, Monday’s off day should be a major re-evaluation period for Jim Hendry.

Maybe call up Jake Fox, work the waiver wire, or create a trade that can jumpstart the lineup.

We’ve all waited three months for the Cubs’ bats to come alive, but to no avail.

I feel waiting another few weeks to make an addition offensively may come too late.

• Cubs (29-29) are in fourth place.

• W: Slowey (9-2) L: Wells (0-3) S: Nathan (14)

• Chicago is 6-11 at home.

• The Twins are 3-7 at Wrigley since their last visit in 2001.

• The Cubs are 6-20 when committing an error.