Jerry Crasnick of espn.com offers a nice profile of Cub manager Lou Piniella, who's not as intense now as when he was throwing Rob Dibble around a lockerroom, but is more intense than you might imagine.

If you think I'm avoiding writing about tonight's game, you're right. The last time I wrote in a fit of anger and frustration following a loss, I regretted how childish it came off.

Ted Lilly goes Thursday. The Cubs need him to be as gritty as Carlos Zambrano was tonight. Just better.