Agony & Ivy

Hendry Memoirs Would Be a Real Page Turner

According to the Tribune's Paul Sullivan, a fake press release was inserted with the game day media notes in the Miller Park press box Friday describing a fictional book authored by Jim Hendry.

A Fitting Tribute to Billy Williams

Whenever announcers or writers refer to a star athlete as "a natural," I believe that they are discounting all the hard work that it takes for that player to make it to the top of his profession.

Much has been said and written about the wonderful, "sweet" swing of Cubs Hall of Famer Billy Williams, and it is often said that the Hall of Famer was blessed with that swing. It is true that Williams brought a great deal of natural ability with him when he became the Cubs everyday left fielder in 1961, but I wonder how many people realize how hard the man worked to become one of the finest hitters of his era.

Astros 4, Cubs 0

Heroes: Relievers Marcos Mateo, Sean Marshall, and Justin Berg set down the final nine Houston hitters.

Astros 7, Cubs 3

Hero: Tyler Colvin went 2-for-4 with his fifth triple of the season and drove in a pair.

One Hack of a Season

The story of Hack Wilson's incredible 1930 season began the previous autumn, on Oct. 12, 1929 at Philadelphia's Shibe Park.

Cubs 5, Astros 4

Hero: Geovany Soto snapped a 4-4 tie with his 17th home run of the season,off Wilton Lopez (5-2), with two outs in the bottom of the eighth.

The 'W'ave Is Not Part of a 'W'ay of Life

It wasn't easy sitting through the Cubs' 18-5 loss on Sunday. It was especially bothersome to watch Starlin Castro get doubled off first base after the rookie forgot how many outs there were in the bottom of the seventh. But it was the fans who were attending Sunday's game at the Friendly Confines who really ticked me off.

Mets 18, Cubs 5

Hero: Aramis Ramirez (2-for-4) collected his 1,600th career hit with an RBI single in the first inning and his 1,601st with a two-run homer (22nd of the season) in the third. Ramirez, who is hitting .243 on the season and .295 since the All-Star break, has hit safely in 12 of his last 16 games and has 25 multi-hit games on the season.

Cubs 5, Mets 3

Hero: The renaissance of Carlos Zambrano (7-6) continued. Zambrano allowed two runs (both earned) on four hits in seven superb innings while striking out eight and walking just two. Big Z - who passed Kerry Wood for third place on the Cubs all-time career strikeouts list - topped out at 93 MPH, exhibited sharp breaking stuff, and had better control than in other of his recent outings. Since rejoining the starting rotation on Aug. 9, Zambrano is 4-0 with a 1.98 ERA. A parting of the ways between the Cubs and Big Z this offseason once seemed inevitable, but if he continues to pitch like this, who knows?

A Prior Engagement

Former Cubs right-hander Mark Prior signed a minor-league contract with the Texas Rangers and was expected to report to their Triple-A Oklahoma City affiliate on Saturday.