Cub All-star count falling

Cub All-stars are dropping like flies hit to Brant Brown.

Alfonso Soriano was officially replaced on the roster this week by Mets' 3B David Wright after Wright failed to win the final fan vote. Colorado's Matt Holliday will take Soriano's spot in the starting lineup.

Now, Kerry Wood has a blister on his finger and won't be able to play. He has not been replaced on the roster yet because the injury was only discovered yesterday.

By the way, that does not excuse Lou Piniella for leaving Carlos Marmol in to blow a five run lead against the Giants in the ninth inning yesterday. When Marmol is good, he's unhittable, but when he's bad, nobody is safe out there. Not the hitter, not the catcher, not the umpire, not even the guy in the on-deck circle. It's not hard to tell when Marmol is off his game because he misses the plate by feet, not inches.

Marmol hasn't been good much lately, and yesterday was no exception. Piniella did have the sense to get Sean Marshall up in the pen, but even after Marshall was ready, he left Marmol in to implode. Marmol's last outing was the other night against Cincinnati. He had a four run lead when he took the mound in the ninth. After getting the first two guys out, he lost it. He gave up a hit, threw a wild pitch, and walked two more before Wood came in and got the third out. This time, Lou didn't pull the trigger, and the lead went away.

That poor decision cost Rich Harden a win in his debut with Cubs. He pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out 10. It was a hot, humid day and he threw 96 pitches, so that's why his day was a little short.

The Cubs did come back and win in the 11th with a rally started by a lead-off single by Marshall, so the only victim of Piniella's slow hook was Harden.

However, Marmol's ineffectiveness has to be a concern going into the break. In his last 12 appearances, dating back to June 19 at Tampa, Marmol has retired every batter he has faced only four times. Keep in mind that he rarely pitches for more than one inning. In the other eight trips to the mound, he has given up 14 runs, 13 earned, 11 hits, 10 walks, 4 hit batters, and has watched his ERA balloon from 2.09 to 4.13.

Probably no Cub needs the all-star rest more than Carlos.