Cubs are hurting!

Your crazy... They can do it without them. Zambrano hurts a lot more than Soriano, but this Cubs team has more depth than the cubs of the past. Losing Fukudome for  bit hurts to. Every team has slumps and the cubs were over due for one. They will ride this out, Lou will get them back on track and just as the cubs heat back up the Cardinals and breweres should be due for their next slump and the whole thing will even back out.

Also Dempster has pitched lights out all year and finally got roughed up. Johan Santana got beat up his last game to but that doesn't mean he is a bad pitcher.  I would rather it happen now than later so those players that are struggling like Dempster can learn to work through it and will be a little more savy come playoff time.

I think you should say "if" Carlos Zambrano returns.  All indications are that he will return just fine, but you never know with pitchers.  The Cubs can get by without Soriano, but they will suffer quite a bit if Zambrano doesn't return.

Ted Lilly is not a number 1 pitcher.

What Pinella is doing is resting a lot of his players in positions that take a beating.  You need to be solid up the middle at catcher and in centerfield defensively and yo0u don't want those players wearing out.  He is simply just giving those players rest when he can. 

Regarding the pinch hitting issue, Lou knows hitting better than any coach in the MLB.  We have the highest BA over any team even with our pitcher batting 9.  I don't think any of us are in the position to critisize his moves when it comes to hitting.

A lot of Cubs fans remember we are just getting to the half way point.  Lour likes to turn it up in the second half, so i would say we are in real good shape.  To go along with that we are 1st in the NL central without Soriano and Zambrano.