Cubs 9, Brewers 3

Floyd finds cure to sleepless nights

4-hit effort, Lilly's pitching help Cubs end losing streak

By Paul Sullivan | Tribune staff reporter

11:46 PM CDT, April 25, 2007

After having some trouble sleeping since he returned home to Chicago, Cliff Floyd found the perfect sleep aid on a chilly Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

Floyd knocked out four hits and drove in two runs in the Cubs' 9-3 victory over Milwaukee that ended a three-game losing streak and helped the Cubs avoid a sweep.

"I'm going to sleep like a baby tonight," Floyd said.

The Cubs were able to hoist the "W" flag for only the fourth time this season thanks to a 16-hit effort by the offense and the solid pitching of Ted Lilly, who allowed one run on six hits over seven innings to improve to 2-2.

Lilly even contributed his first hit since Aug. 19, 1999, after an 0-for-30 stretch the last seven years.

"When guys talk about going into slumps, I don't think they know," Lilly said with a grin. "I hadn't had a hit since '99. The guys who have gone through slumps like that, they don't get to play anymore."

For the first time in days, the Cubs were able to laugh at themselves and have some fun along the way.

"We needed a win today," manager Lou Piniella said. "It was a long homestand, and it's good to finish it on a winning note, especially when you're going on the road."

Ryan Theriot scored a pair of runs after being given the starting shortstop job. Felix Pie went 2-for-4 and is hitting .400 over his last four games. And Derrek Lee had a career-high nine total bases and his first home run in a four-hit afternoon, before receiving the silent treatment from his teammates when he returned to the dugout.

"That was pretty funny," Lee said. "They had been on me about hitting home runs. Today I had to finish it off."

The 21-game homer drought to start the season was the longest of Lee's career, surpassing a 10-game dry spell to start the '03 season with Florida.

The Cubs broke through with a five-run fourth off reliever Elmer Dessens after Brewers starter Ben Sheets was removed with a groin strain. Theriot's two-run, bases-loaded single started the rally and Floyd followed with a two-run double after coming into the at-bat in a foul mood because he grounded out in the first.

"It's amazing how things can turn around if you put a little focus, a little anger into some things sometimes," Floyd said.

Lee's home run in the fifth made it 6-2, and the Cubs put it on cruise control the rest of the way.

In a candid assessment of the team's play before the game, Floyd admitted the Cubs were playing "tight."

"I don't think we're like overly, out-of-our-minds tight," he said. "I think we're just a little tight because of the team we have and we know we're supposed to be good. We know we're supposed to win games.

"We have a team of guys who can play every day. These guys, the Theriots and Cedenos, they deserve to play and could play for a lot of different teams. The coaches have their hands full."

After a day off Thursday, the Cubs begin a six-game trip to St. Louis and Pittsburgh. They still are five games below .500, and need to follow the lead of Floyd, who never knows when he's going to be in the lineup but prepares himself the same way whether he's playing or sitting.

"All I know is what we talked about in spring training—staying focused and staying on top of my game whether I'm in there or not," Floyd said. "I have to be ready to help this team, and that's the same for everybody."

No one has enjoyed the Cubs' disastrous start, particularly Piniella, who took the job because he wanted to go out a winner after three aggravating seasons with Tampa Bay.

Now Sweet Lou finds himself in last place with a $100 million payroll.

"You don't want to be in this position," Piniella said. "We just have to work our way out of it."

psullivan@tribune.com

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