» Cotts

Carlos Zambrano pitched 6 innings on Monday to get the Chicago Cubs quest for a third straight division title rolling. Zambrano left the game in the 6th with two men on, Heilman was able to get a DP but not prevent the run scoring, he could do nothing about that. Cotts got the man to end the the 7th, Marmol pitched a good 8th, and Gregg got the save in the 9th, allowing one run on a sac fly.

Alfonso Soriano got the ball rolling with a lead-off home run in the first inning and the Cubs never looked back, Ramirez added a solo shot of his own and Theriot and Hoffpauier each added a RBI. Fontenot was the star man on the day going 3/4 with 2 runs scored, as he looks to show Lou Piniella that he made the right decision naming Fontenot as the second base starter.

The Cubs will be back in action Tuesday as Ryan Dempster takes the mound.

Sean Marshall Secures 5th spot

I have been quite busy over the past 24-48 hours with work and some cricket, a great game that should be more popular in the US if you ask me. However i did hear that Sean Marshall will be the Cubs 5th starter this season. I am absolutely delighted about this, Sean has done a great job over the past couple years doing whatever he was asked, leftie relief, some spot starts and he did a commendable job every time.

This means that Aaron Helman will move into the bullpen and Jeff Samardzija will either move with Heilman to the bullpen or move down to AAA as a starter to stay stretched out.

The Cubs will carry 12 pitchers this season, this includes the five starters, Zambrano/Dempster/Harden/Lilly and Marshall. Lou commented that 5 spots in the bullpen have already been secured, likely Marmol/Gregg/Cotts/Heilman and Vizcaino, which means there are two spots still up for grabs, Samardzija/Gaudin and David Patton who has done well this spring with a 1.17 ERA as well as Randy Wells.

David Patton has never pitched above A ball, so to think that he will start the season with the Cubs is a long shot, however the way that he is pitching has led Lou Piniella to say that he is in the mix, and if he continues to impress then why not give him a go.