Cubs beat Giants, ace Lincecum in 8-6 win
Alan Trammell has been getting a good look-see as a managerial candidate for the Cubs. He's in his second recent stint as interim manager with Lou Piniella away again on family business.
Trammell was at the helm again Tuesday night as the Cubs grabbed a 4-0 first-inning lead against Giants star Tim Lincecum. They knocked Lincecum out after 4 innings and went on to an 8-6 victory.
Ryan Dempster pitched into the seventh inning for his second straight win while Aramis Ramirez added 3 hits for the Cubs, who ended a season-high six-game losing streak on the road. It's only the Cubs' third win in their last 15 games.
Another Cubs managerial candidate getting a Hall of Fame endorsement is Ryne Sandberg, a Hall of Famer himself who's managing the Cubs' Class AAA Iowa affiliate.
Sandberg is a candidate for the Cubs' job, and he just got a huge vote of confidence from Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith.
"To me, there's one guy," Smith told the Quad-City Times this week. "He has paid his dues. He has been a standup citizen. He is a Hall of Famer. I don't know exactly what it is they are looking for, but I think it should be a no-brainer."
Smith starred with the St. Louis Cardinals while Sandberg was carving out his Hall of Fame career with the Cubs.
"Wouldn't it be great if he were to come back and get that franchise into prominence and, who knows, win a world championship?" Smith told the paper. "Wouldn't that be a great story?"
Sandberg has done what the Cubs asked him to do when he applied for the job Piniella got four years ago. Before moving up to Iowa, where his team is in first place, Sandberg managed two years at Class A Peoria and one at Class AA Tennessee.
Trammell had the Cubs off and running in the first inning Tuesday. Tyler Colvin led off with a single and stole second base. Starlin Castro singled Colvin home and also stole second.
Micah Hoffpauir, called up from the minor leagues Tuesday, grounded to the right side to advance Castro. Aramis Ramirez singled Castro home, and Kosuke Fukudome hit a 2-run homer to give the Cubs their 4-run lead.
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<li><a href="/story/?id=399860">Soto, Lee out; Castillo, Hoffpauir in<span class="date"> [8/10/10]</span></a></li>
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<p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Bruce Miles' game tracker</b></p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">Cubs vs. Giants</p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">Worth a grand: Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez picked up the 1,000th RBI of his career when he singled in the first inning. It was his 684th RBI as a Cub, 15th in team history. </p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">He's human: The Cubs knocked out two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum after only 4 innings. Lincecum gave up 8 hits and 6 runs, including a homer to Kosuke Fukudome in the first. </p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">Error of their ways: The Cubs were charged with 2 errors and a passed ball in the early going. Second baseman Blake DeWitt fumbled Aubrey Huff's grounder in the first. Micah Hoffpauir couldn't come up with Andres Torres' groundball in the second. Koyie Hill was charged with a passed ball that inning. </p>