Friday, July 17, 2009

Lilly's arm, Theriot's bat keeps Cubs in contention at midpoint of season

by Meghan Montemurro,

Somehow, despite injuries (including the fluke variety ... just the Cubbies' luck) and a terribly inconsistent offense which ranks 27th in total runs scored in the majors, the Chicago Cubs are only 3.5 games behind the Central Division-leading St. Louis Cardinals and 2.5 behind the Milwaukee Brewers.

Still, the Cubs sit only at .500 (43-43) at the break. While some franchises can consider this a success, Chicago features a big-name, big-money lineup - Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee, Milton Bradley and Aramis Ramirez - that only looks good on paper.

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Chicago Cubs Targeting Lefty B.J. Ryan to Bolster Bullpen

by Michael Wagner

Various media outlets have confirmed that the Chicago Cubs are interested in Toronto Blue Jays left-hander and former closer B.J. Ryan. Last week Ryan was placed on waivers by the Blue Jays and the Cubs will wait for him to clear waivers to pursue him.

Ryan has had a solid major-league career, in which he has complied an ERA of 3.37 and has 117 career saves. The reason for Ryan's major decline could likely be attributed to him having Tommy John surgery in 2007 but was very good for the Jays in 2008 with 32 saves and an ERA of 2.95.

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