The Cubs outscored the Brewers 25-4 during the three game set.  In the Cubs 12-2 victory on Sunday, Ryan Theriot led the hit parade by going 5-6 with a double and three RBI.  The outburst raised his batting average to .329.  Tyler Colvin got the start in center field and went 3-4 with a double, home run, and three RBI.

In Sunday’s tilt, Randy Wells earned the victory.  He went 7.0 innings giving up seven hits and two earned runs.  He struck out six and allowed zero walks (that’s a nice ratio).  Ryan Dempster earned the win in the first game of the series on Friday, and on Saturday, Ted Lilly made his season debut by coming off the DL for the win.  Carlos Zambrano made his first appearance of the season out of the bullpen, going 1.1 innings and allowing two hits and one earned run.

Earlier in the week, the Cubs offense looked like it might be waking up, and it left no doubt over the weekend in Milwaukee by pounding out 41 hits.  The Cubs started the week with only two players (Mike Fontenot and Koyie Hill) hitting over .300.  By week’s end, eight different Cubs (Alfonso Soriano, Ryan Theriot, Kosuke Fukudome, Tyler Colvin, Marlon Byrd, Koyie Hill, Geovany Soto) are hitting over .300.  Unfortunately, both Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez are struggling at the plate.

The Washington Nationals come into Chicago for a three game set at Wrigley this next week.  After the Nationals, the Cubs will host the D-Backs in a four game series beginning on Thursday.

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What are the Cubs going to do about finding a bullpen arm to handle the 8th inning?  Zambrano can fill in just fine for a while, but keeping him in the bullpen long term is probably not in the cards.

The Royals placed reliever Juan Cruz on waivers and rumor has it that the Cubs will be interested in bringing Cruz back to Chicago.  However, there has been some talk that Cruz did not leave the Cubs under the best of circumstances during his previous stint with the club.  The rumor is that he was a distration in the clubhouse, although the rumors are rather short on details.  Even if the Cubs are interested in signing Cruz, there’s a good chance that they will not be the only team interested in claiming him off waivers.

Another possibility is making a trade for a bullpen arm.  One candidate the Cubs likely have their eye on is Heath Bell.  The San Diego closer has been a hot name on the trade market since the beginnig of the season.  It’s likely that the Padres would want a king’s ransom for the right hander.  Would the Cubs be willing to part with two or three players/prospects for Bell?  And if they traded for him, would he handle the 8th inning for Carlos Marmol or vice versa?

Another possible trade with San Diego that hasn’t been talked about quite as much involves the Padres Mike Adams.  Adams is 31-years old and has closer-quality stuff.  He currently serves as the Pads set-up man.  I don’t think the Cubs would have to give up as much for Adams as they would for Bell, and Adams might be an even better fit.

If the Cubs don’t sign a reliever off waivers or trade for one, then they’ll have to look at bringing up one of their young arms.  The most likely candidate (at least in my mind) is Andrew Cashner.  Cashner is a former highly regarded college closer from TCU that the Cubs are in the process of turning into a starter.  I’d like to see him given a chance to serve as a set-up man in the big leagues.  Cashner is currently 1-1 pitching for AA Tennessee.  In 24.1 innings he has a 3.33 ERA and has struck out 29 while walking seven. 

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Following Saturday’s win in Milwaukee, Lou Piniella said that he would not be using Carlos Zambrano in back-to-back games, at least not for a while.  At first I disagreed with this decision, but the more I think about it, the more I think it makes sense.

Zambrano is used to have at least five days rest between starts.  He’s not used to the bullpen, nor is he used to pitching without substantial rest between his appearances.  Of course, he will be throwing many fewer pitches in relief than he did as a starter, but I think it makes sense to allow him to settle in.  I don’t think it will take long for Zambrano to get used to his new role though.  In 10 days to two weeks he should be ready to start going on back-to-back games.

In a separate Tweet, Stark says that there are “2 or 3″ other teams interested in Bradley.  Earlier in the day, one of those teams was identified as the Kansas City Royals and the rumor was that they were interested in trading Gil Meche to the Cubs for Bradley.  There was also a rumor that Meche would go to the Mets, Luis Castillo to the Cubs and Bradley to Kansas City.  However, Royals GM Dayton Moore shot down the rumors calling them “unbelievable” and saying that there were no talks going on with either the Cubs or the Mets about a potential deal.

Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald wrote that the Mets might be interested in trading directly with the Cubs to acquire Milton Bradley.  If Bradley couldn’t handle the bright lights of Chicago, I’m not sure how he’s going to handle New York, but if a trade can be made, that would not be the Cubs problem.

Away from the Milton Bradley front, Miles opined that Ted Lilly may not be back from injury and ready to pitch until May 1.  I’m liking the Cubs starting rotation less and less.  To start the season, it looks like Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster and Randy wells will be the Cubs top three starters.  Tom Gorzellany and Sean Marshall will likely be the other two starters to start the season with Jeff Samardjzia waiting in the wings. 

What happens if Zambrano or Dempster gets hurt?  What if Randy Wells suffers a sophomore slump?  I sure would feel better about the Cubs rotation if they had another legit pitcher as their number three or four starter.  Even if Ted Lilly comes back when expected, the cubs could still use an “insurance” arm.

Could that arm be Braden Looper?  Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com wrote that Looper would love to pitch in Chicago.  His three kids go to school there and he’d like to pitch “at home.”  The Brewers declined his $6.5 million option and instead chose the $1 million buyout.  The 35-year old right hander was 14-7 last year with a 5.22 ERA.  His career ERA is 4.15 and he has been durable, especially over the past three years.  If the Cubs could sign him to one-year at a discount (he earned $4.75 million last year), it might not be a bad signing. 

Morosi also reports that the Cubs are showing interest in right handed reliever J.J. Putz.  Putz is coming back from surgery and held a throwing session in Arizona last week to showcase his arm.  Putz could be a nice, inexpensive picjup for the bullpen.  However, since quite a few other teams are also interested in Putz, he might not be too cheap afterall.

Another rumor that made the rounds today involved San Diego sending Heath Bell to the Cubs.  It was unclear who the Cubs would send to the Padres, but two names throw out there were Geovany Soto and Ryan Theriot.  Bruce Miles had commented earlier in the day that San Diego might be interested in moving Bell because they have Mike Adams ready to take over as their closer. 

Phil Rogers of the ChicagoBreakingSports.com ran with that thought and suggested that the Cubs and Padres had discussed such a trade.  In a later post, Miles debunked the rumor started reported by Rogers by saying, “Cubs GM Jim Hendry laughed off a Chicago-based rumor that had the Cubs interested in Padres closer Heath Bell, with possible trade bait being catcher Geovany Soto or shortstop Ryan Theriot. As I blogged this morning, the Cubs like Bell, but he’s not on their radar at all because he’ll have a big raise coming this fall, as he’s arbitration-eligible.”

In non-trade news, the Cubs announced that Ryne Sandberg will manager the AAA Iowa Cubs next year.  This will be Sandberg’s fourth year as a manager in the Cubs minor league system.  He spent two years in Peoria (2007-08), a year in Tennessee (2009), and now a stint in Iowa.

It would appear that the Cubs are grooming Sandberg to take over after Pinella retires after the 2010 season.  He told the Des Moines Register,  “I’ve been very pleased with the progression,” Sandberg said in a telephone interview today with the Des Moines Register. “Getting closer to the major leagues is very gratifying. I’m looking at this as another stepping stone.”

But wait, is Piniella really going to retire after 2010?  He’s not saying he will and not saying he won’t.  He told Bruce Miles, “I’m going to do the best job I possibly can, and at the end of this year, we’ll see what happens,” he said. “I can work on a handshake.”

All of this is a moot point, at least for now.  Decisions will be made sometime next year, and the decisions will likely revolve around how well the Cubs do in 2010, as well as how well Sandberg does managing in Iowa.

What’s in store for Today?  I’m sure there will be plenty of more rumors and maybe even some action.  Stay tuned.