Aug 25 2008
Cubs First To Reach 80 Wins, Derosa Hot on Getaway Day
Tim Falletti
CHICAGO- Hitters are streaky. One moment they can be 0-50, the next they can be 50-50. In utility man Mark Derosa’s case, he is the later. The hottest hitter on the Cubs hit his fourth homer in as many games yesterday to lead the Cubs to a 6-1 win. This is the Cubs’ 8th straight series win. They haven’t done that since FDR was president in 1937. The Cubs are now 80-50, the first team in the majors to hit the 80 win mark. They are also 30 games over .500 for the first time since 1984.
Pitcher Rich Harden continued to look impressive with a career tying 11 strike outs over 7 innings. Harden is 4-1 with the Cubs with an incredible 1.47 ERA since his July 8th trade from Oakland. So what caused this transformation?
I don’t know,” he said. “I think definitely you have to give a lot of credit to (catcher Geovany) Soto. We’ve been working pretty well together. I’m comfortable with him behind the plate. I think a lot of it is mixing up pitches, keeping them guessing.”
Speaking of Soto, the red hot catcher also posted some history yesterday when he hit his 19th homerun tying Randy Hundley for most homeruns by a rookie catcher. Soto seems a lock for N.L. Rookie of the Year.
