WHO'S YOUR DADDY?

I just watched the game between the Cubs and Reds. I like Ted Lilly, the Cubs new SP weapon. He's accused of throwing a lot of pitches, but he's also a strikeout monster. He dueled Bronson Arroyo, one of my favorite pitchers from last year. Both men went deep and were relieved competently. Didn't see much batter performance, but that's OK cuz the Cubbies won, fairly decisively, 4-1.

The real story with this game was Lou Piniella, who is clearly sending a message: we will try to steal bases often, we will aggressively run the bases, and I have no patience for closers who squander comfortable leads in the 9th.

Lou came running out in the 9th to school Ryan Dempster. He ran (ran!) to the mound and said fewer than ten words, wheeled around, and stormed back to the dugout. Dempster started pitching again before Lou even made it back.

I think it's safe to say that Dusty Baker's warm-and-fuzzy days are over.

Ted Lilly was brilliant. He even got a single (his first career RBI) and a terrific infield play, hustling to get a man out at first by a hair. I love it when pitchers also have some offense and defense in them.