29-year old righty starter/reliever Carlos Zambrano has looked pretty decent since coming off his suspension. Since July 31st, Zambrano has pitched in 7 games in which he is 2-0 with a 2.60 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP. His control has been off a tad as he has walked 20 batters while whffing 19 in his last 27.2 innings but that’s nitpicking a bit as he somehow seems to keep getting himself out of trouble. He has now pitched in 29 games (13 starts) for the Cubs this year and he is 5-6 with a 4.64 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP.

66-year old manager Lou Piniella stepped down as the Cubs manager after yesterday’s game to go home and take care of some family matters as his mother is very ill in Florida. Piniella led the Cubs to a 51-74 record (40.8%) this year. In four years with the Cubbies, Piniella was 316-293 (51.9%). Piniella managed for 23 years in the majors and he finished with a career record of 1,835-1,713 (51.7%). His crowning achievement was when he led the Cincinnati Reds to a sweep of the heavily favored Oakland A’s of 1990. Sweet Lou will be missed in Chicago but here is to hoping that his family situation works out for the best. 3rd base coach Mike Quade will take over as the Cubs’ interim manager for the rest of the 2010 season.

The Chicago Cubs probably won’t use a straight platoon of 31-year old righty swinging Xavier Nady and 30-year old lefty swinging Micah Hoffpauir at 1B because they want to showcase Nady for a possible deal in the last two weeks before rosters freeze for the playoffs. Nady has played in 80 games for the Cubs this year and he is 42 of 178 (.236 avg, .675 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 4 homers and 23 RBIs. Micah Hoffpauir has played in 3 games for the Cubs earlier this year and he was 0 for 7 (.000 avg) with 4 whiffs. He also has played in 113 games in AAA-ball this year in which he was 114 of 413 (.276 avg, .883 OPS) with 77 runs scored, 22 homers and 92 RBIs. Hoffpauir has played in 141 games in parts of three years with the Cubs and he is 81 of 314 (.258 avg, .760 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 12 homers, 43 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Neither of these guys will likely be the starting 1B for the Cubs in 2011.

24-year old lefty swinging 2B Blake DeWitt was one of the key players the Cubs got back in the Ted Lilly, Ryan Theriot trade with the Dodgers and he’s off to a fast start. He has played in 17 games for the Cubs now and he is 16 of 56 (.286 avg, .783 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 2 homers, 7 RBIs and 1 stolen bases. The power has been a nice surprise for the Cubs and they hope he keeps up the good work because the depleted Cubbies’ lineup needs all the help it can get right now.

I know that there were detractors when the Cubs signed 32-year old righty swinging outfielder Marlon Byrd but he has silenced his critics as this year. Byrd has played in 117 games for the Cubbies this year and he is 136 of 444 (.306 avg, .817 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 11 homers, 53 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Byrd has been a decent CF and he’s a very aggressive player in the field, at the plate and on the basepaths as he is fast becoming a fan favorite at Wrigley Field.