Happy Birthday Piniella

Yesterday was Cubs' manager Lou Piniella's 65th birthday. For most of the game, until the 8th inning, he looked all 65 years of it. After the Cubs fell behind 4-1 in a matchup with the dangerously powerful Philadelphia Phillies until the 8th inning came and the Cubs rallied for the win. After a solo shot by Mike Fontenot to lead the inning off, Soriano doubled, Theriot singled, and Lee walked. With the bases juiced, Aramis Ramirez tore the cover off the ball with a screaming 389 foot grand slam out to center field. 6-4 Cubs. Aramis has been lauded for his clutch hitting before and this is definitely a huge display of his ability, especially in a game that seemed to have a playoff atmosphere to it. In the 9th, however, the Phillies came dangerously close to tying the match when a deep ball came just short of a homerun. In the end the Cubs won 6-4, and while it may have been more fitting for the score to be 6-5 (Piniella's age), Piniella is happy with the bigger margin of victory. "It was a great come from behind win," stated Piniella. "I've had enough fun for one night." It was a great way to celebrate a birthday.

Tonight the Cubs play game 2 of the 4-game series with the Phillies. Rich Harden faces Joe Blanton at 1:20 p.m. CDT.