Michael Bowden

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Chicago Cubs - INSIDE PITCH Anthony Rizzo is starting to heat up for the Cubs. The first baseman recently signed a seven-year contract extension worth $41 million. He got off to a slow start, batting .173 (14-for-...

MLB Team Report - Chicago Cubs - INSIDE PITCH Small steps. After looking like they would bury themselves early with a lack of timely hitting, bullpen blowups and shoddy defense, the Cubs quietly have begun to right the ship. Call it one little victory,...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Chicago Cubs - INSIDE PITCH Could the Cubs go with a six-man rotation soon? It's possible, but manager Dale Sveum said it might only be for a week or so. The subject came up before Tuesday night's 9-4 loss to the...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Chicago Cubs - INSIDE PITCH The Cubs this week continued their trend of locking up for the long term young players they feel will be big parts of their future. On Monday, they gave first baseman Anthony Rizzo a...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Chicago Cubs - INSIDE PITCH Sooner or later, somebody has to go. Ace starting pitcher Matt Garza will come off the disabled list sometime in May, and when he does, the Cubs will have six starting pitchers on the...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Chicago Cubs - INSIDE PITCH The Cubs are an epic fail with runners in scoring position. During this week's two-game series against St. Louis, manager Dale Sveum marveled that the Cardinals were hitting about .330...

The Cubs bullpen blew its ninth save in 18 chances in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Cardinals, a recurring nightmare that only Kevin Gregg seems to have immunity from so far. Starter Carlos Villanueva was the victim of Wednesday's collapse, watching James...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Chicago Cubs - INSIDE PITCH The ever-changing Cubs bullpen picture appears for once to be clear -- for now. Manager Dale Sveum, after several seeks of being non-committal, finally announced Wednesday that right-...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Chicago Cubs - INSIDE PITCH Cubs' manager Dale Sveum didn't sound like he was exaggerating Tuesday night when talking about lefty Travis Wood. "He's the best starter in baseball, pretty much," Sveum said after...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Chicago Cubs - INSIDE PITCH To general manager Jed Hoyer, there's no real surprise to the Cubs' 13-20 record. Hoyer is not singing the popular tune in some club quarters that the losing record easily could be flipped...

The Sports Xchange By Jack McCarthy, The Sports Xchange Cardinals 5, Cubs 4 CHICAGO -- John Jay singled home Yadier Molina in the eighth inning to break a 4-4 tie as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 5-4 on Wednesday afternoon to split a...

The Sports Xchange By Jack McCarthy, The SportsXChange Cardinals' bullpen shuts down Cubs in 5-4 win CHICAGO -- Jake Westbrook didn't get a decision in a landmark appearance on Wednesday, but he was glad the bullpen had his back as the St. Louis...