The Cubs have placed 31-year old lefty reliever John Grabow on the 15-day disabled list with a left knee sprain. Grabow has pitched in 28 games (0 starts) for the Cubs so far this season and he is 1-3 with a 7.36 ERA and a 1.87 WHIP. He has given up 35 hits (5 homers) in only 25 2/3 innings this season. The Cubs have recalled 24-year old lefty reliever James Russell to replace Grabow in the pen. Russell pitched in 20 games (0 starts) earlier this season for the Cubs in which he was 0-1 with a 4.71 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. Russell can’t be any worse than Grabow has been this season.

The Cubs would love to find a taker for 33-year old lefty swinging RF Kosuke Fukudome. He has played in 65 games for the Cubs this season and he is 51 of 189 (.270 avg, .791 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 6 homers, 24 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Fukudome came to the Cubs three years ago from Japan with the reputation of being a big power hitter but he hasn’t shown much power in the majors yet. Fukudome has now played in 361 games in his three years with the Cubs and he is 309 of 1,189 (.260 avg, .771 OPS) with 182 runs scored, 27 homers, 136 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. The Cubs really want to move Fukudome so they can give the full time starting job in RF to 24-year old lefty swinging rookie Tyler Colvin. Colvin has played in 67 games this season for the Cubbies and he is 40 of 135 (.296 avg, .945 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 10 homers and 27 RBIs.

Cubs’ starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano lost his mind today in the Cubs’ dugout after a rough first inning. He gave up 4 earned runs in the first inning before confronting Derek Lee about not diving for a ball on a Juan Pierre grounder. Lou Piniella sent him home during the game and after the game it was announced that he was getting suspended indefinitely. Zambrano has been pretty awful this season working in 22 games (9 starts) in which he is 3-6 with a 5.66 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. Zambrano might be frustrated because he has been awful this season but he can’t start pointing fingers and yelling at other players. He needs to look in the mirror and start acting like an adult.

The Cubs have designated 30-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B Chad Tracy for assignment. Tracy has played in 28 games for the Cubs this season and he is 11 of 44 (.250 avg, .622 OPS) with 6 runs scored and 5 RBIs. The Cubs needed a roster spot for Aramis Ramirez who came off the D.L. today so Tracy was picked to go. The Cubs probably hope that he’ll accept a minor league assignment so they can keep him around.

UPDATE: (7/2/2010) - Chad Tracy has been released at his request by the Cubs. He is now an unrestricted free agent.

31-year old righty swinging outfielder Xavier Nady is swinging a hot bat for the Cubs this year. He has played in 48 games for the Cubs this year and he is 28 of 103 (.272 avg, .776 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 4 homers and 19 RBIs. Nady could be prime trade bait for the Cubs if they don’t start to turn things around soon. Of course the better option is to start winning games and keep Nady around as a weapon off the bench.

30-year old lefty swinging 2B Mike Fontenot saw a big cut in paying time after the Cubs called up rookie shortstop Starlin Castro which moved Ryan Theriot to 2B. But Fontenot is still focused and he’s helping the team at the plate off the pine. Fontenot has played in 47 games for the Cubs this year and he is 36 of 122 (.295 avg, .780 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 1 homer, 15 RBIs and 1 stolen base. If the Cubs continue to fade Fontenot could be a decent trade chip or the Cubs’ starting 2B if they would move Theriot. Of course though it would just be better if the Cubs starting playing up to their ability.

The Cubs have tried almost everything to fix Carlos Zambrano this season but nothing has worked to this point. He has pitched in 19 games (6 starts) for the Cubs this year and he is 2-4 with a 6.05 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP. He has given up 50 hits and walked 21 batters in only 41 2/3 innings this season for the Cubs. He looks nothing like the pitcher he was in his first 9 years with the Cubs. In his first 9 years with the Cubs, Zambrano pitched in 259 games (238 starts) in which he was 105-68 with a 3.51 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Zambrano is still throwing the ball pretty well which even adds more to the mystery for the Cubs. If they can’t get his straight soon they might have to start using him as a mop up man out of the pen.

The Cubs have placed starting 3B Aramis Ramirez on the 15-day disabled list with a bruised left thumb. Ramirez has played in 47 games this season for the Cubs and he is 30 of 179 (.168 avg, .517 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 5 homers and 22 RBIs. Righty swinging Jeff Baker and lefty swinging Chad Tracy (called up to replace Ramirez) will platoon at 3B until Ramirez returns to action. Baker has played in 29 games for the Cubs this year and he is 19 of 80 (.238 avg, .700 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 2 homers and 9 RBIs. Tracy played in 19 games earlier this year for the Cubs and he was 6 of 22 (.273 avg, .652 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Look for Tracy & Baker to give the Cubs more offense than Ramirez was giving them.

3B Ron Santo was a good baseball player for the Cubs without a doubt but he just doesn’t have Hall of Fame numbers. In his 14 years with the Cubs, Santo was a All-Star 9 times and he won 5 Gold Gloves. Santo played in 2,126 games in his 14 years with the Cubs and he was 2,171 of 7,768 (.279 avg, .838 OPS) with 1,109 runs scored, 337 homers, 1,290 RBIs and 35 stolen bases. Santo is #5 on the all-time list in games played with the Cubs with 2,126. He is also #7 in hits (2,171), #8 in runs scored (1,109), #4 in homers (337), #5 in RBIs (1,290), #9 in doubles (393) and #2 in walks (1,071). If Santo would have played a couple of more years I think he might have had the numbers for the Hall of Fame but he will have to settle for the Hall of Good.

UPDATE: (12/5/2011) - Ron Santo has been elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame by the Veteran’s Committee. He will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 22nd.

24-year old righty reliever/starter Mitch Atkins is pitching really well in AAA-ball right now. Atkins has pitched in 13 games (5 starts) in AAA-ball this year and he is 3-2 with 1 save, a 2.79 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He has only given up 33 hits in 42 innings so far this season as he is pitching very well. He made his major league debut in 2009 with the Cubs working in 2 games in which he worked 2 scoreless innings allowing only 1 hit. Atkins should get a call soon if he keeps pitching well and the Cubs’ bullpen continues to stink with the exceptions of Sean Marshall and Carlos Marmol.