The Cubs won their second game of the Spring on Monday, nearly coughing up a 6-2 ninth-inning lead against the Mariners, but holding on to win 6-5.

Jon Lieber was tagged for two runs and three hits in two innings of work as he returned to Cub pinstripes. Jeff Samardzija pitcher two scoreless relief innings and was credited with the victory.

At the plate, DH Jake Fox (double and a triple), Ronny Cedeno (3-for-5), and Ryan Theriot (2-for-3) led the way. Kosuke Fukudome went 0-for-2 and is now 1-for-7 in Cactus League play. Lou Piniella is considering letting Fukudome hit second to see if he is "more comfortable there."

Speaking of Fukudome, Chris Jaffe of the Hardball Times offered this note on Monday, which, in case you needed it, serves as a handy reminder of why the Cubs pursued the Japanese star so relentlessly over the winter:

"The 2007 Cubs had an historically large split between their righty and lefty bats. The former posted an impressive sOPS+ of 112, while the latter floundered at a replacement-level mark of 74.

"That 38-point edge in sOPS+ for right handers is the seventh-greatest in the last half century. In two-thirds of the team's at-bats, righties went .283/.345/.453 while their counterparts poked an ineffectual .248/.309/.358. Righties had an OPS similar to Miguel Tejada's 2007 while the southpaws hit as badly as Craig Biggio did in his swan song.

"Could be worse though—the 2005 Cubs had the fifth-biggest gap favoring righties."

– Cubs pitchers and catchers report for duty in Mesa on Wednesday. When they arrive, they'll find new security measures around the team's spring training complex.

That's because three young players already in camp, Jeff Samardzija, Jake Fox, and Tyler Colvin, had a variety of personal items stolen from their lockers a couple of weeks ago. The alleged thief, one Todd Robert Smith, was arrested on Saturday and charged with going on a burglary rampage that included the thefts in the Cubs complex.

– Pat Hughes was named Illinois Sportscaster Of The Year on Tuesday and dedicated the award to his constituents, Cubs fans, whom Hughes called "the greatest fans in the world."

Milo Hamilton, who lives in Texas, wouldn't have been eligible for the award, but I bet he's still bitter he didn't win.

– My favorite Baseball Prospectus writer, Joe Sheehan, offered his Spring Preview of the NL Central on Monday, and of the Cubs, Sheehan wrote:

The Cubs return the good players from the division titlist of 2007, and have upgraded in right field as well as added some depth. The middle infield is pretty lousy for a contending team, which is why the pursuit of (Brian) Roberts, even at a cost of (Felix) Pie, has made sense. It will be harder to hold off the Brewers this season, and even the Reds could make some noise if things break right. Still, you’re looking at the favorites, part of the cluster of teams that can lay claim to being the second-best in the league behind the Mets.

Nice to read the Cubs being referred to as favorites to win anything, isn't it?

Interesting to read mention of the Cubs pursuing Brian Roberts. Strange--I really hadn't heard anything else about that.