Despite 6-2 win, Cubs concur: Situation urgent

It's not too early to say it's getting late for the Cubs.

Manager Lou Piniella did not disagree when asked about it before Wednesday night's 6-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics at Wrigley Field.

"We need a little hot streak," Piniella said. "We haven't had a hot streak in quite awhile. That's what we need. It's time. Let's hope it's right around the corner."

The Cubs scored twice in the third inning and three times in the fifth as they improved to 29-36. In stark contrast to Tuesday's sloppily played 9-5 loss to the A's, the Cubs played a much crisper game, were aggressive on the bases (not always with success) and got enough good pitching.

"We need a combination of things," Piniella said. "You need the rotation to function, and you need the bullpen to hold. And then you need to score runs. And then you need to play good defense. Last night, we actually swung the bats a little better, which was encouraging. The rest of it, including our baserunning, wasn't good."

General manager Jim Hendry, the man who put together this team, also acknowledged it's high time the Cubs get going in the right direction.

"Absolutely," he said. "We need to start playing good baseball the next two or three weeks. Fortunately, as poorly as we've played the last couple weeks, you're still 71/2 games behind. If you just have a good two or three weeks, you can find yourself 31/2-4 back in two weeks.

"Things change fast in this game, but we need a good two or three weeks to get it going. It's not early anymore. It's not disastrously late, but it's time to play better baseball. You can't play baseball like we have the last two weeks and think you're going to be a contender."

Hendry said it was premature to say the Cubs would be "sellers" and begin trading off some players.

"I don't ever plan direction either way June 15," he said. "To start thinking about you're going to be sellers, then you're hanging your heads and thinking you don't have a chance. We're not 17 back, we're 7 back. I'd like to think these guys know they spot they're in."

Wednesday's game marked a 180-degree turnaround for first baseman Derrek Lee, who committed 2 errors in one inning the night before. He homered to lead off the second, tying the game at 1-1. He also made a nice stop on a ball in the seventh.

"Last night was no fun," he said. "We haven't been playing well overall. It was a good team win."

The victory went to starter Ryan Dempster, who worked 62/3 innings. Dempster said the Cubs aren't focused on the next two or three weeks.

"We had a real good game Sunday, and we had a tough one yesterday, and we bounced back and made some really good plays," he said. "The biggest thing is we've just got to enjoy every game we play, each game, and not really worry about where you are in the standings, those kind of things. If you just take the approach of playing to win today's game and going out there and giving your all, you can find yourself in a good position weeks from now, and most important, at the end of the year."

<p class="factboxheadblack">Bruce Miles' game tracker</p>

<p class="News">Cubs 6, Athletics 2</p>

<p class="News"><b>Dempster doings:</b> Starter Ryan Dempster (5-5, 3.67 ERA) worked 62/3 innings, giving up 8 hits and 2 runs. He threw 120 pitches, marking the fourth time this season he has thrown at least 120. </p>

<p class="News"><b>Hey, it's a bunt:</b> Alfonso Soriano laid down a sacrifice bunt in the fourth inning. It was his first sacrifice since June 25, 2006 while with Washington. "You've got to do something to score some runs," he said. "I said on deck that if (Xavier) Nady got a hit, I was going to bunt. If I bunt for a hit, the bases are loaded. If not, it's a sacrifice."</p>

<p class="News"><b>The X factor:</b> Speaking of Nady, he singled twice, driving in a run in the Cubs' 3-run fifth. Soriano followed with a 2-run double. </p>

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