The Cubs are in St. Louis this weekend for what's sure to be a series of great baseball. Neither team is on much of a hot streak at the moment, with the Cubs narrowly avoiding being swept by the Diamondbacks and the Cardinals doing the same by grabbing the 3rd game of the series from the Phillies, with Jim Edmonds hitting a walkoff home run in the bottom of the 13th.

The Chicago bats started showing signs of life on Wednesday, and with Woody Williams troubles so far this season, things are looking good for the Cubs in the first game on Friday. Kerry Wood has been consistently good in his starts this season with 32 strikeouts already, and if the offense can jump on the Cardinals early to give him some breathing room, he could have a very good outing.

Don't underestimate the Cardinal's hitting, though, as they're tied for 2nd in the NL for total runs scored. If Kerry starts hanging sliders, don't think Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds, among others, won't jump all over them.

As for the rest of the series, Matt Clement is coming off one of the best outings of his career, striking out 13 against the Mets on April 25th, and should perform well. Jeff Suppan last outing was a win against the Brewers where he allowed only one earned run. This one could go either way, although given each team's offense, expect high scores rather than a pitcher's duel.

Carlos Zambrano and Sergio Mitre will have a harder time in their games, having just gotten shelled in Arizona. Matt Morris and Jason Marquis are off to decent starts this year, and if they go long in the game, the Cubs could be in trouble. The difference maker in this series could be the bullpens, and if that's the case, its a little easier to favor the Cubs.

While the Cardinals are 2nd in runs scored, they're 5th in runs allowed this season, and this fact makes me pretty confident that the Cubs could leave St. Louis having taken 3 of 4. If Wood or Clement stumble though, a split is more likely, but hey, Zambrano and Mitre have shown they know how to pitch, so we'll see.

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There's a pretty good article on Kerry Wood that can be found on espn.com. Click here to read it.

- posted by Mike J. @ 11:15 AM
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In a particularly dismal showing by the Cubs, one of the few positives in the series was Greg Maddux's excellent pitching performance in the third and final game. Limiting the Diamonbacks to two runs through six, Maddux shut down the Arizona offense, with the exception of Steve Finley, who knocked three solo shots into the stands. While Alex Gonzalez hit the winning home run in the ninth and Maddux didn't get the decision, the Cubs desperately needed to shut down the Diamondbacks, who outscored them 18-1 in the past two games, and he provided the room the Cubs' bats needed to get something going.

Not like we'd expect anything less, of course. Now that he's had two solid performances back to back, I think Maddux has an excellent chance to keep his 16-season streak of winning 15 games or more alive.

- posted by Mike J. @ 11:04 AM
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1. Boston Red Sox
They managed to take 6 of 7 from the Yankees despite having some problems with injuries. Ex-Cub Mark Bellhorn has gotten on base over forty percent of the time while only managing a .207 batting average. Apparently, Mark has become one of the most feared hitters in baseball.

2. Florida Marlins
Dontrelle finally didn't get a hit, ruining his bid for both the Cy Young and the batting title yet this team just keeps winning and has built a nice 3 game lead in the AL East. Keep an eye on this stadium deal as the Marlins may be moving to Las Vegas if they can't get their stadium.

3. Minnesota Twins
The return of Torii Hunter has added some pop to this lineup as Ron Gardenhire continues to will this team to win without the biggest names. Let's not forget that my namesake is having a nice start to his season.

4. Anaheim Angels
With both Vlad and Troy Glaus killing the ball early in the season the Angels have so far had the better of Oakland out in the West but the real story is the performance of reliever Francisco Rodriguez who has struck out 18 in 10.2 innings this season and has yet to give up a run.

5. Chicago Cubs
The two stinkers against Arizona notwithstanding the Cubs are pitching well and making all the plays defensively. With the worries about the Cubs' defense it is nice to see a 9 game stretch of error-less baseball.

- posted by Mike R. @ 3:38 PM
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Welcome to Old Style Cubs, a Cubs baseball blog run by two guys both named Mike. Here you'll find notes on the Cubs games, key stats for Cubs players, and news about Major League Baseball in general (with a Cubs slant, of course).

Our site is called Old Style Cubs for a few reasons:

-Last year ended with a heartbreaker of a series, but for the first time in three generations, the Cubs are actually expected to do well this season. The last back to back playoff appearances by the Cubs turned out well for them, so here's hoping they play a little more old style this season and get to the World Series.

-We're giving a loving tribute to Old Style, the Chicago Cubs official swill. I mean beer. Yeah.


Actually, that's about it. If you got any questions, send either Mike an email at m-jansen@northwestern.edu or mjr9@aol.com.

- posted by Mike J. @ 11:51 PM
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