Chicago Cubs Wiretap

Cubs Bench Theriot, Starts Fontenot

Cubs manager Lou Piniella benched infielder Ryan Theriot on Monday and started Mike Fontenot in his place.

"I'm not going to say one way or the other," Piniella said when asked how long the move would last. "This could be more than a one-day thing, yeah."

Mike Fontenot, who is batting .337, started in place of Theriot and batted fifth on Monday against the Pirates.

Theriot's slump has been so significant that Piniella had his numbers ready to recite.

"One walk in one month," Piniella said of Theriot, who entered Monday batting .286 after staying over .300 for most of the season. "That's kind of hard to do."

Via ESPN

Chicago Cubs

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Zambrano Likely To Start On Wednesday

The final decision on Carlos Zambrano's return to the rotation will come Sunday, but the Chicago Tribune writes that he'll likely start on Wednesday.

Zambrano hasn't started in five weeks.

His days as a reliever appear over after he made back-to-back appearances Friday and Saturday against the Cardinals.

"We can let him go 75-80 pitches, no problem," manager Lou Piniella said.

Via Chicago Tribune

Chicago Cubs

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Blake Accuses Lilly Of Cheating

Casey Blake accused Ted Lilly of cheating on Thursday, trying unsuccessfully to persuade the umpires that the Chicago Cubs pitcher should have been cited for starting his windup on some pitches from in front of the rubber.

"I know he doesn't have an overpowering fastball," Blake said. "I know he's trying to get as much of an edge as he can. But he moved in.

"That's cheating. You've got to stay on the rubber."

"Sometimes a batter will get in the box and he'll step out, and behind the box, and on the lines," Lilly said. "I don't think he's trying to cheat. It might not be intentional."

By pitching from in front of the rubber, Lilly said, a pitcher would lose the leverage of pushing off the rubber. Any such deliveries were strictly inadvertent, he said.

"I might have done it a couple times, just trying to gain my footing," he said.

Via Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs

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