Wells plays catch for first time since DL trip

CHICAGO -- Cubs pitchers Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner were to be examined Monday night by the team orthopedic specialist, but Wells took a positive step in his rehab and started playing catch.

Cashner and Wells are both on the disabled list and were scheduled to see team orthopedic specialist Dr. Stephen Gryzlo at Wrigley Field. An official update was expected Tuesday.

Neither pitcher has any pain or discomfort. Cashner, who has a strained right rotator cuff, and Wells, who has a strained right forearm, were placed on the disabled list April 7 and told they could not pick up a baseball for two weeks.

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Watched the game for about 5 minutes last night

i live in the southwest and the games don't come on very often unless the cubs are playing the rangers or the astros. So i turn on the tv last night and see the cubbies are playing the astros. w00t!!! flip over the foxsports network crack open a brew and the ragefest began almost right off the bat. (pun intented). The cubs defense looks like a bunch of little league amatuers. after 2 innings i couldnt watch anymore and switched over to the new season of dealiest catch

Chicago vs. Milwaukee

With the back of their starting rotation in flux due to injuries, the Chicago Cubs will need players like Jeff Baker to step up offensively.

The second baseman will likely get another chance to do so Saturday night when the Cubs continue their series against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.

Chicago (4-3) placed pitchers Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner on the 15-day disabled list prior to Friday's 7-4 series-opening win. Manager Mike Quade will use call-ups Casey Coleman and James Russell as part of a patchwork staff in the interim.

Front-line starter Carlos Zambrano extended his mastery of the Brewers at Miller Park, but it was Baker who delivered the offense, going 4 for 5 with a three-run homer and four RBIs. He improved to 6 for 11 against left-handers this year, a promising sign with the Brewers scheduled to start Chris Narveson (0-0, 0.00 ERA) on Saturday.

"Baker? Jiminy Christmas!," Quade said. "Just unbelievable swinging the bat."

Baker is 7 for 15 overall this season and a .308 lifetime hitter against lefties. He is batting .420 (29 for 69) with two homers in 25 career games versus Milwaukee.

"It's just about getting good pitches to hit whether it's right-handed or left-handed and not trying to do too much and let the ball travel a bit," he told the Cubs' official website. "I've been able to do that against lefties, and I'm trying to do that against righties as well."

Narveson had little to show for a solid season debut Monday, scattering three hits and three walks in six scoreless innings before his bullpen squandered a lead in a 2-1 loss to Atlanta in Milwaukee's home opener. He has fared well versus the Cubs, going 3-0 in two starts and nine overall appearances against them.

Matt Garza (0-0, 3.86) takes the mound for Chicago after a quirky debut for the team Sunday. He allowed three runs and 12 hits - all singles - and struck out 12 in seven innings, missing out on a victory when Pittsburgh scored two in the ninth for a 5-4 victory.

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Inaugural ball raises $1.1M for Cubs Charities

CHICAGO -- The inaugural Bricks and Ivy Ball on Wednesday night raised more than $1.1 million for Chicago Cubs Charities.

The event took place in Navy Pier's Grand Ballroom in downtown Chicago, where the 2011 team and coaching staff mingled with more than 750 guests.

"When my siblings and I became owners of the Cubs, we made participation in our community one of the pillars of our stewardship," said Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts in a statement. "Since then, we have invested our ideas and our dollars to develop a winning team both on and off the field.

"We are extraordinarily grateful for the help of Cubs fans, our players and coaches, their wives and the Cubs' staff who participate alongside us in these efforts and who made Wednesday's event such a success," Ricketts said. "The proceeds from [Wednesday] night's event allow us to continue to support inner city youth baseball and so many other programs and organizations to foster health, fitness, literacy and education throughout our great city.

"The dollars raised will allow us to extend our reach and improve the lives of children and families in Chicago and around the United States," he said.

In addition to supporting youth sports, health and fitness throughout Chicago and particular needs of the Lakeview Community, Chicago Cubs Charities will donate a portion of the net proceeds to charities supported by Cubs players. Among the agencies to receive funds are the Ryan and Jenny Dempster Family Foundation; Carlos Zambrano's Big Z Foundation; Make A Wish -- Illinois; the ILAC Center fighting diabetes and hypertension in the Dominican Republic; and Wounded Warrior, which provides programs and services to severely injured service members.

The Cubs have supported donations of more than $15 million since 1991, including grants by McCormick Foundation's Cubs Care of more than $1 million per year for each of the last six years.

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Zambrano ready for Brewers

It's a division rivalry in the truest sense of the words, a collision of two teams closely matched in geography and in the standings. When the Cubs and Brewers meet each other in Friday's series opener, they'll be celebrating the start of a new season and a shared destiny, a sense that either team will have to beat the other to have a successful year.

The Cubs haven't lost the season series to Milwaukee since 2005, and they've gone 45-34 against the Brewers over the last five years. Chicago had been 3-2 before Wednesday's loss, and that's only noteworthy because the Cubs hadn't been over .500 since the end of the 2009 season. The Cubs were at .500 four times in 2010 but never pushed to a winning record.

Now they find themselves with a chance to push ahead again, with only one of their closest rivals standing in the way. The Cubs took nine of 15 games from the Brewers last season and have gone 93-82 in this series in the last 10 years. Still, if you ask around the Chicago clubhouse, you'll find that the individual Cubs have a lot of respect for the Brewers.

"That whole staff, that whole lineup, that team -- top to bottom, new manager -- they have energy over there," said Chicago outfielder Marlon Byrd. "You have to go up there and play hard. We need to keep doing what we're doing: pitching, defense and get some timely hitting. It's going to be a long road trip, and we need to come back with a winning record."

Indeed, the Cubs will play nine games in a 10-day trip to Milwaukee, Houston and Colorado before they return to the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. All six of Chicago's games this season have been decided by three runs or fewer, and they'll go into Friday's series opener with a matchup of veteran starters in Carlos Zambrano and Randy Wolf.

Zambrano is 13-8 with a 3.66 career ERA against the Brewers, and he went 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in this series last year. But the Cubs hope he's fully recovered from the right hand and hamstring cramps that forced his exit in the seventh inning of his first start this season.

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Day Off

after yesterday, I'm glad the cubs aren't playing today. The defense looked like complete amateurs yesterday. Take away the dumb errors and they would have won.

Cashner headed to DL

CHICAGO -- The Cubs rotation took a double hit on Wednesday, when both Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner were sidelined with strains in their forearm and shoulder, respectively, and both are headed for the disabled list.

Wells has a strained right forearm, which he felt Tuesday, the day after his start, while Cashner has a mild strain in the back of his right rotator cuff. Both had MRIs, and the good news is that neither has structural damage in their arms.

"We're not going to put a time frame on any one of them because we're going to be careful in April," Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said Wednesday.