Chicago Cubs week-in-review: April 2-8

Cubs weekly record:
4/2 L 1-5 @ Cincinnati Reds Box Score
4/4 W 4-1 @ Cincinnati Reds Box Score
4/5 L 2-5 @ Cincinnati Reds Box Score
4/6 W 9-3 @ Milwaukee Brewers Box Score
4/7 W 6-3 @ Milwaukee Brewers Box Score
4/8 L 4-9 @ Milwaukee Brewers Box Score

Cubs overal record: 3-3 (tied for 3rd in the NL central)

Notable Season Stats at the end of the week:

Derrek Lee: .440 AVG 4 R 3 2B 3 RBI
Aramis Ramirez: .440 AVG 4 R 1 HR 4 RBI
Mark DeRosa: .333 AVG 7 R 2 HR 6 RBI
Alfonso Soriano: .214 AVG 2 R 4 2B
Michael Barrett: .158 AVG 1 R 3 RBI

Carlos Zambrano: 1-1 6.00 ERA 12 IP 8 K
Ted Lilly: 1-0 1.29 ERA 7 IP 9 K
Jason Marquis: 0-0 1.50 ERA 6 IP 1 K
Rich Hill: 1-0 1.29 ERA 7 IP 6 K
Wade Miller: 0-1 13.50 ERA 4 IP 0 K
Scott Eyre: 0-0 22.50 ERA 2 GP 2 IP 3 K
Ryan Dempster: 0-0 0.00 ERA 2 GP 2 IP 3 K

Player of the Week: Aramis Ramirez

Important Fact of the Week: Cubs are 3-1 when scoring 4 or more runs

The Cubs started the season with a record of 1-2 after the Cubs' offense only scored seven runs in the first three games. The Cubs had a good shot at winning two out of three against the Reds in the final game of the series, but Bob Howry blew a 2-1 lead in the 7th and Reds eventually won 5-2. Against the Brewers, the Cubs' offense did better and averaged 6.33 runs per game during the three game series. After winning the first two games, Wade Miller had a bad game in the final game of the series allowing six runs in only four innings and the Brewers won 9-4 on Easter Sunday.

Player Notes:

Carlos Zambrano

Zambrano has shown that he can't pitch well on opening day:

Opening Day 2007: 5 IP 6 H 5 ER 5 BB 2 SO 2 HR
Opening Day 2006: 4.2 IP 7 H 5 ER 5 BB 5 SO 2 HR
Opening Day 2005: 4.2 IP 7 H 3 ER 4 BB 8 SO 1 HR

Could it be a fluke that Zambrano pitches bad on opening day? Maybe. However, I think he gets too excited on opening day. It is probably hard to be the first pitcher of the first game of the season. If Zambrano struggles during opening day, how will he do in the playoffs?

Zambrano in the 2003 playoffs:

2 GS 0-1 5.40 ERA 16.7 IP 5 BB 12 SO

Those aren't great stats. If the Cubs reach game 7 of the world series, they might have to consider maybe having someone other than Zambrano start.

Ted Lilly

Great game for Lilly during the Cubs 4-1 win over the Reds on April 4th:

(W) 7 IP 3 H 1 ER 1 BB 9 SO

This is why the Cubs got him and I hope he can be a 15 game winner with a sub-4 ERA.

Rich Hill

In the first five innings of Hill's first start on April 6th, Hill allowed no hits and no walks. Hill pitched seven innings, allowed just one hit which was a home run ending his bid for a perfect game and a shutout, and walked zero batters. If Hill can keep it up, he has a chance at being a NL All-Star this year.

Mark DeRosa

I was hoping he would be good but I didn't expect him to be leading the Cubs in home runs after the first week of the season. So far, he is hitting better than Alfonso Soriano. DeRosa ranks 1st on the Cubs in home runs and RBIs and rank 3rd on the Cubs in batting average. I don't expect him to hit 40 home runs, but he is off to a great start.