Beckham later hitting a home run that was the difference in the game.

Beckham later hitting a home run that was the difference in the game.

Geovany Soto going down with a meniscus tear that will require surgery; he'll be out at least a month. Soto is not yet on the DL; 29-year-old Blake Lalli was recalled from Iowa as a temporary backup to Welington Castillo. To make room, Chris Volstad was optioned to Iowa. Yes, apparently Volstad did have options left. The Cubs will need to make another roster move before Tuesday, which would have been Volstad's next start; Travis Wood is the likely candidate. Steve Clevenger was seen hitting in the cage today; perhaps he can be activated soon. To replace Kerry Wood, I assume yet another move will be made Saturday. Jeff Beliveau, who is on the 40-man roster and has been throwing well at Iowa, is a prime candidate. With Wood's retirement, the 40-man roster will have an open slot.

Samardzija threw another nice game; his two mistakes, the homers by Konerko and Beckham, were the difference. Philip Humber threw his best game since his perfect game, which was also a day game. Humber's day-game ERA was more than a run lower than his night-game ERA before today; maybe that's the difference for him. Humber throwing behind Bryan LaHair, though -- that was ridiculous. No need to start that kind of thing.

There's probably something I forgot on what was probably the nicest weather day of the season so far, 76 degrees at game time with a light southeast breeze. What would be nicer would be some Cubs victories. Maybe the bullpen will get some of the help it needs.
But for now, again, thank you, Kerry Wood, for the baseball memories you've given me