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The Cubs have picked up 2.5 games on the division leaders in the last week.  First place, here we come!

Of course, they're still 2.5 games behind where they were two weeks ago...

Shortstop Starlin Castro and second baseman Darwin Barney have 158 combined hits, the most among middle infielders on one team in the Majors. The Yankees' double-play combination of Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter (now on the disabled list) is second with 139 combined hits.

The good news is that Barney will get some time off.  The bad news is that this will make it even harder to get Castro any time off.  I suppose he'll have to get injured before Quade will rest him.

Darwin Barney will be placed on the 15-day DL Wednesday with a Grade 1 PCL strain in his right knee. Barney suffered the injury Monday night sliding into home with the eventual winning run.

Barney does not think he needs more than a week to be back at full strength but feels it is best for him and the team to spend the next two weeks on the shelf.

Alfonso Soriano is expected to be activated from the DL before Wednesday night's game against the Brewers. With Barney headed to the DL, the roster decisions should be a little easier for the Cubs on Wednesday.

So basically LeMahieu will be playing backup to Jeff Baker for another two weeks, which means he'll be going a full month as a backup player? 

This is why Bobby Scales is the one who should have been called up.  Hopefully this is something the Cubs will correct once Soriano comes off the DL and when Montanez likely gets DFA'ed.

This is why Bobby Scales is the one who should have been called up.  Hopefully this is something the Cubs will correct once we have a new GM.

Fixed that last part for ya, JR.

It doesn't look as if Barney is definitely going on the DL at this point.

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110614&content_id=20481874&notebook_id=20512410&vkey=notebook_chc&c_id=chc

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-mri-shows-barney-sprained-knee-dl-likely-20110615,0,4144344.story

Cubs new fashion statement, from Bruce Miles:





Zambrano will probably take crap for this tomorrow (even though there are at least 8 Cubs wearing the shirts) because he's the easy target and the only identifiable player in the picture.

Tom Ricketts has put the kibosh on players wearing the goat shirts while fans are in the park.

Quotes from Ricketts from Bruce Miles' blog.  Vote of confidence for Hendry.

"The fact is, I have 100 percent confidence in Jim," he said. "We're just going forward right now. We'll see what the off-season looks like. We're comfortable with Jim. I'm confident in his ability to keep us moving forwars."

--Ricketts said he has "never bought into, 'I should have a baseball guy to watch my baseball guy and his baseball guys.' Then what do you get, a baseball guy to watch the baseball guy who's watching your baseball guys?"