I made the three-hour trip to Oklahoma City last night to catch the Iowa Cubs. It's more or less a yearly trip for us; this is the fourth time I've seen the I-Cubs in OKC, and they've lost every time. Come to think of it, I saw them in New Orleans once, and they lost that game, too. Hmmm...

Anyway, last night was particularly ugly, as the Cubs were shut out 11-0, on only four singles. Most of the damage was done against Raul Valdez (10 ER in 2.1 IP), a 27 year old Cuban junkballing lefty. I'm not positive as to why Valdes even has a spot in the Cubs organization, as he's having a rather poor year, and I did not see him hit higher than 83 mph on the radar last night. Now, I'm not one that thinks a radar reading is the be-all and end-all, but it's easier to sell someone on finesse when you're not giving up 10 runs in 2.1 innings.

After Iowa manager Mike Quade was tired of seeing Valdes get shelled, former first-round pick Bobby Brownlie came in to pitch. Brownlie was better (how could he not?), although to my untrained eye, he didn't seem to have great stuff. His fastball topped out at 90, and his much-vaunted curve seemed a bit flat. That may explain why he's been rather mediocre (4.75 ERA, 66.1 IP, 38/31 K/BB) this year, and I'd say his star has faded quite a bit. Still, he only gave up one run in 4.2 innings, and even that one run wouldn't have happened if Corey Patterson hadn't lost a ball in the lights, turning a routine shallow fly ball into a triple.

Brownlie was followed by Scott Williamson, rehabbing from elbow surgery, and he looked great, throwing an easy 1-2-3 eighth while striking out two. Hopefully, he can get to Chicago soon, because he looks like he could take over the setup role very easily.

As for the offense, there's not much to say. As noted, they only managed four singles, and got only one man got as far as second base. Whatever Patterson was sent down to learn, it hasn't sunk in, as he was 0-4 with a strikeout, popup, and two weak groundouts, in addition to the botched play in the outfield. Interestingly, the Oklahoma crowd was somewhat abuzz regarding his presence; a couple gentlemen noticed my Cubs hat, and asked me what he was doing down in AAA. "He's having a tough year," I said diplomatically.