Weekend Roundup: There's Trouble Brewing on the North Side

Are the Cubs Getting Along?
Bleed Cubbie Blue, a usually reliable Cubs fan site ran by Al Yellon, reported yesterday that the Cubs are having major problems in the clubhouse. A "trusted" commenter on the site told Al that the Latin players, led by Ramirez and Zambrano, have separated themselves from the rest of the clubhouse. BCB also reported that Aramis Ramirez has totally shut down. They said that Rami refuses to practice and barley wanted to take the field for games.

Bruce Miles, a beat writer who actually sees what happens in the clubhouse everyday, gave his take on the clubhouse in the comments on his blog. "It's never fun after losses, but it's not a "bad" clubhouse by any stretch. Dempster, Lilly, Soriano and Byrd are all pretty good guys from a leadership or accountability standpoint. Soriano is always there after tough games, and he always talks. Howry and Marmol seem to be helping the young pitchers adapt."

Miles elaborated on specifically Ramirez- He took BP and fielding right up to the other day when he had to rest his hand, and he was talking in earnest with Rudy Jaramillo (contrary to other speculation). I asked another writer this question a minute ago: "Do we have a bad clubhouse here?" He said, "A bad clubhouse? What are you talking about?"

BCB is a great site, but I trust Miles and the other beat writers who are in the clubhouse on a daily basis.

Koyie's Done Losing
Last night, in an interview on Comcast Sports Net, Cubs' catcher Koyie Hill pointed out that he is fed up with the way this team is playing. Hill even went as far as to describe the Cubs as "one of the worst fundamental teams". Rarely do you see a guy rip his own club, but I like that fact that he's tired of losing. Hill is willing to step up and be honest. Soto hasn't done that poorly, but Koyie's a gamer it'd be great to see him the lineup on a daily basis.

All Isn't Well for Wells
Cubs pitcher Randy Wells appears to be suffering from the dreaded "sophomore slump". There were a few reports on various radio stations this morning that Randy was out late last night celebrating with the Chicago Blackhawks last night and was not well rested to pitch his 1:20 game today. Wells denied those reports. The Cubs righty has been struggling all year, especially in the first inning as of late. With Tom Gorzelanny pitching well in the Cubs bullpen, it could only be a mater of time before Wells and Gorzo switch roles.

Lou VS Stoney
Steve Stone started the argument between the Cubs manager and the White Sox broadcaster when he said, "Lou doesn't have a good grasp on what to do with young players," and made other comment about the way Piniella is managing this club. Today, when asked about Steve's comments, Sweet Lou fired back (to the Daily Herald) "And Steve Stone?" Piniella said. "He's got enough problems doing what he does with the White Sox. What job has he had in baseball besides talking on television or radio? What has he done? Why isn't he a farm director and bring some kids around? Why isn't he a general manager? Why hasn't he ever put the uniform on and been a pitching coach? Why hasn't he been a field manager?
"There's 30 teams out there that could use a guy's expertise like that. You know? I'm tired of some of these guys, I really am."

Steve made a joke out of the situation by saying "Lou's probably grumpy because he only went 3-11 against me with no RBIs."

That's all the controversies for today! On a final note, it was great to see Alfonso Soriano hit his 300th career homer today. Hopefully this will get him going, because when he's hot Sori can carry the club.

I'll keep you posted on Everything Cubs as always!