It wasn't a conventional game last night.  Maybe that was what the Cubs needed though.  The game washed out after 5 innings giving the Cubs a 6-1 win over the Pirates last night and breaking their 8 game losing streak.

Probably the best news of the last two days has been the return of the Cubs offense.  They still have been playing shorthanded with Lee ill and players getting nights off (Fukudome and Fontenot on Tuesday night, Soto last night).  Fontenot and Bradley are finally starting to come around.  Their swings started to get better last week, and their results have been coming so far this week.  They will be two to watch as they are key people in the middle of the Cubs lineup while Ramirez is out.

Unfortunately, the Cubs also have two infielders whose role should be as the second backup middle infielder.  Freel and Miles are just fine to have on a bench as versatile insurance, but neither one of them is cut out to be the primary backup.  And with Ramirez out, they are showing quite clearly why that is.  When Ramirez comes back, I could see Freel being released in favor of Scales, but until then I think we're going to have to live with that duo getting a decent percentage of the starts.

The Cubs will probably have to tinker with this roster a little bit.  There are still some bullpen issues near the back of the bullpen.  12 pitchers has probably run its course since Patton barely ever pitches, and they can't even really claim him as a true long man that they're saving for when a starter goes only two innings.  The Cubs could use an extra bat for the late innings, especially when the position players seem to have minor ailments constantly this season.  They've also built themselves a little bit of a hole with this losing streak.  But overall, the veterans seem to be coming around on offense.  And with that combined with the starting pitching, this Cubs team is still going to make some noise in the Central.