It looks like Monday’s day off was exactly what the Cubs needed. Coming off of playing 20 games in 20 days, it was clear the team needed a respite. Going up against the (then) 13-19 Padres to start a six straight at Wrigley was just the right recipe for some good home cookin’. Three games resulted in three wins and the Cubs now stand at 20-14; only a half game behind the division leading Cardinals. The midweek series with San Diego saw the offense flex its muscles, literally. The great plate presence is the focus of this edition of Triple Play:
 

Cubs’ shortstop Ryan Theriot continues to pound the cover off the baseball, adding two more home runs in Wednesday’s rain-shortened victory. Theriot drove the first pitch he saw in his first at-bat in that game to the left field bleachers, and then gave the fans more souvenirs in his next at-bat.

With five homers on the year, Theriot is now two shy of matching his career total of seven. There really is no explanation for this recent power surge other than The Riot is seeing the ball extremely well. It also must be factored in that all of his homers have come at Wrigley, quite the hitter-friendly ballpark when the wind is blowing out. Still, Theriot has been playing in this same ballpark for four years and hasn’t knocked balls out like he is now.

The increase in home runs has also brought upon an increase in strikeouts. In 149 games in 2008, Theriot struck out 58 times. Through 34 games this season, he has already fanned in 22 at-bats. But, he has already hit nearly half the RBIs (17) as he did in ’08 (38). Enjoy the power trip while it lasts, as it is a fun one, but keep tabs on Theriot throughout the year to see what kind of player he becomes.

2. Tipping the Scales

The career minor-leaguer Bobby Scales has made a splash landing in Chicago, and the fans can’t get enough of it. In only 18 at-bats through six games, Scales has a hit in each game, totaling eight with five RBIs. The San Diego Series was the “Bobby Scales Show.”

Playing in the first game against the Padres, Scales pinch-hit in the seventh inning. Edwin Moreno took the mound as a reliever and fired a two-seam fastball over the middle of the plate. In only his fourteenth career at-bat, the 31-year-old rookie launched that first pitch deep into the right field bleachers, and proceeded to sprint around the bases in about 15 seconds like he was legging out an inside the parker.

In game three of the series, Scales smacked doubles off Padres pitchers Chad Gaudin and Luis Perdomo, respectively, to drive in a pair of runs each time. He also drew one of 10 walks on the day.

The feel good story of the year is doing his best to put the pain of Aramis Ramirez’s injury in the back of everyone’s minds. He is not starting regularly (yet), but performing as he has is making it hard for manager Lou Piniella to keep Scales out of the lineup.

3. Coming Around?

The $30 million acquisition Milton Bradley has seen better days. Not only has he gotten off to an incredibly slow start, but the boo birds have been flying over Wrigley to let him know about it too. The pressure of performing combined with the increasing anxiety of Cubs fans is not a formula for success.

Bradley must have found some kind of reagent for the mixture because he has certainly picked up his game. In the midst of a seven game hitting streak, the Cubs right fielder is batting .263 for the month of May and has raised his season average to .194. A .194 clip is still incredibly weak, but it will take a fair amount of time to get back to respectability after batting .118 the first month of the season.

During this seven game streak, Bradley is batting .320 with six runs batted in. In the first game of the series against the Padres, he came up to the plate in the fourth inning with a man in scoring position. True to form this season, he struck out. The walk to the dugout was a long one, as the “Friendly Confines” became a misnomer for Bradley.

His next at-bat in the sixth inning was a much different story. Bradley connected for a moonshot to centerfield that made the 39,963 fans in attendance erupt. Was it sweet vindication for someone who was vehemently booed in his previous at-bat? "Well, I mean, they should understand that I'm a good hitter, and you're going to go through this (a slump) sometimes. But I need their support. Part of the reason I came here was because they have great fans and they're going to be into the game. I like that life (of the fans)."

Let’s hope Bradley gives us more reasons to cheer in the weekend series against the Astros.
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Closing Quote: "I'm still in a stage right now where I'm trying to slow the whole game down. It's awful fast out there. There's still points where my mind is working too quick and it makes your body work too quick." –Cubs rookie sensation Bobby Scales

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