CHICAGO -- Question of the day: When is an eight-game losing streak bearable?

Answer: When it is followed by a nine-game winning streak.

	Kerry Wood pumped up the Cubs with his one-hitter against the Brewers.

Just when it looked like time to write off their fast start as a fluke, the Cubs managed that seldom feat last week. After losing eight in a row to Milwaukee, St. Louis, Houston and Arizona, Don Baylor's pitching-like-crazy team has run off nine wins in a row against Arizona, Cincinnati and Milwaukee.

With a 10-5 win over the Reds on Tuesday at Cinergy Field, the Cubs climbed to a season-high 10 games above .500. Suddenly the most hot and cold fans in sports were dreaming about the World Series again.

"Only good teams come back," said Ron Santo, who has witnessed the rise and fall of Cubs teams since 1960. "You lose eight games, you don't know how good you are. Right now the guys in the clubhouse know how good they are."

They're having fun, too. Rookie first baseman Julio Zuleta emerged as a spiritual leader on May 19, borrowing a bit of magic from the movies.

With the Cubs stuck in the eight-game losing streak, Zuleta started a bonfire of newspapers in the dugout and used it to bless the bats. He also set cans of deep-heating balm underneath them and rubbed old chicken bones on them. He waved apples, bananas and oranges at them. If this scene sounds familiar, that's because Zuleta ripped it off from Pedro Serrano, a character in the movie "Major League." But, hey, if it works ...

Zuleta has repeated the scene every day since then. "Whatever it takes, we'll keep doing it," he said. "It's nothing about voodoo. The bats, they get tired. They need to eat a little. I thought they were hungry, so I put some fruit in there."

Before one recent game, Zuleta gave Matt Stairs' bat a personal inspection. "He had a doctor's telescope -- or stethoscope, whatever it's called -- and he was listening to my bat and said I had one hit in hit," said Stairs, who got an RBI single. "It was a big hit but he shouldn't be afraid to tell me there's a home run in it."

It figures the Cubs would need a rookie to show them how to make lemonade out of lemons. Few teams know more about losing streaks.

When the Cubs dropped those eight straight from May 10-18, it marked the 10th time in the last three seasons that they had endured a losing streak of at least five games. The difference was what followed this skid.

After seven of the previous nine losing streaks, the Cubs lost at least three of the next four games following the streak-breaker. But this time, like this team, has been different. The Cubs are fighting back like they did in '98.

That team answered a seven-game losing streak in late June by winning six of the last seven before the All-Star break, restoring momentum from a quick start. The 2000 Cubs are on a streak that has put them on pace to win 96 games.

That would be an improvement of 31 victories from 2000, when the Cubs went 65-97 to earn the second pick in next week's draft. The franchise made its biggest ever turnaround from 1983 to '84, going from 71-91 to 96-65 and an NL East title.

It is hard to see this year's team competing toe-to-toe with a loaded St. Louis team, which swept the first series of the year against the Cubs. But don't count out a team that has pitching and character.

Despite an admirable performance by Sammy Sosa, the Cubs have struggled to score runs all season. They were 11th in the NL with an average of 4.5 runs per game through Monday, including four or less four times during the winning streak. But pitching still cures a lot of things.

Los Angeles and St. Louis are the only NL teams with an ERA lower than the Cubs' 3.85. It has been a total staff effort. That point was pounded home by the wildly different styles used by Kerry Wood and Jon Lieber in their back-to-back one-hitters last week, with Wood's power contrasting Lieber's finesse.

The Cubs used their initial five-man rotation for 48 of the first 49 games, with Manny Aybar getting only one spot start. They have used only 13 pitchers overall, making roster moves only because of injuries to Tom Gordon in spring training and Mike Fyhrie on May 1.

Jeff Fassero kept the bullpen afloat with Gordon out. It has often been a thing of beauty since Gordon returned. These guys don't mess around.

Four of the Cubs' relievers are averaging at least 10 strikeouts per nine innings: Gordon (18.0), Kyle Farnsworth (14.7), Todd Van Poppel (14.1) and rookie Courtney Duncan (10.0), who struck out seven when he was extended to a career-high four innings Monday in Cincinnati. Then there's Wood, who raised his average to 13.8 per nine innings with 14 strikeouts in his one-hitter against Milwaukee last Friday.

While GM Andy MacPhail keeps searching for ways to improve his lineup -- prospect Corey Patterson has raised his batting average to .275 at Triple-A and could soon be in center at Wrigley -- he's been thrilled with the way Ron Coomer responded to the loss of third baseman Bill Mueller.

Mueller shattered his left kneecap against an advertisting sign at Busch Stadium on May 13. Baylor pushed MacPhail to sign Vinny Castilla but Houston beat the Cubs to him. That looked horrible when Castilla had a homer and two doubles in his Astros debut -- at Wrigley Field, of all places -- but doesn't anymore.

Coomer was 14-for-34 with 10 RBI in nine games before straining his left calf last Thursday. Veteran Miguel Cairo, acquired from Oakland in a trade that allowed the Cubs to send Rule 5 pickup Scott Chiasson to the minors (he's tied for the Southern League lead with 11 saves at West Tenn), has played solidly in place of Coomer, who could return to the lineup any day.

Mueller had been a quiet catalyst for the Cubs before getting hurt. He's due back in July but hopes to beat that prognosis. The odds are against him but they were against his team, too.

Spotlight on: Ryan Klesko, 1B, Padres
In seven big-league seasons, Klesko has never driven in more than 93 runs. But the San Diego first baseman is having a breakout season as his 30th birthday approaches.

	Ryan Klesko First Base San Diego Padres Profile
	2001 SEASON STATISTICS GM HR RBI R SB AVG 47 12 46 41 13 .300

Klesko is hitting .300 with 12 homers and 46 RBI over 47 games. In his last 11 games, he's 17-for-42 with five homers and 19 RBI.

Padres coach Alan Trammell compares him favorably to Kirk Gibson, who helped his teams win the World Series in Detroit and Los Angeles. "He has more talent overall than Kirk," Trammell said. "Kirk willed himself into some things, but overall Ryno has more ability. ... This guy here could be one of the best all-around players in the game. I really believe that. Right now, granted, we're seeing a hot streak. But my God."

Klesko had back-to-back two-homer games last week in Houston. "The man can flat-out punish the baseball," manager Bruce Bochy said. Some of the balls he's hitting are scary. The [Houston] crowd even gave him a hand."

Klesko is hardly a base-clogger, either. He had 23 stolen bases last year and already has 13 in 2001. He joins Todd Helton and Larry Walker in being among the NL's top-five in both RBI and runs scored (41).

Klesko helped the Padres recover from a 7-14 start to take over first place in the NL West last Thursday. They lost three in a row to Arizona over the weekend, falling two games out of first, but have served notice that they deserve to be considered among baseball's surprise teams.

Series to watch
Giants at Rockies, Friday through Sunday
Although the forecast calls for it to rain this weekend at Coors Field, it is the place to watch hot hitters. This series features the white-hot Barry Bonds, who leads the majors with 26 homers, along with Todd Helton, the major-league leader with 58 RBI. But that's not all.

Dusty Baker and Buddy Bell also have four of the league's top 10 in batting average -- Rich Aurilia (.363), Todd Walker (.347), Larry Walker (.343) and Neifi Perez (.335). Bonds and Larry Walker are tied for third in the NL with 49 RBI apiece. Oh, yes, reigning MVP Jeff Kent is tied for ninth with 39 RBI.

Neither of the teams' aces, Livan Hernandez and Mike Hampton, is scheduled to work in the series. The Giants are starting Kirk Rueter, Ramon Ortiz and Mark Gardner while Colorado starts rookie Shawn Chacon, Denny Neagle and Pedro Astacio.

Bonds hasn't hit like you'd think he would at Coors. He's a career .276 hitter with eight homers in 123 at-bats at the Rockies' inviting home field. Kent, too, has been underwhelming (.305 with nine homers in 118 at-bats). But watch out for Aurilia. He's hit .397 with six homers in 73 at-bats at Coors.

New face: Rockies RHP Shawn Chacon
Not only is Chacon a homeboy but he's good, too. He beat San Francisco and Los Angeles in his last two starts, raising his record to 3-1 with a 5.51 ERA.

Chacon was 2-0 at Triple-A Colorado Springs when promoted on April 29. Pitching coach Marcel Lachemann was so impressed with his stuff that he persuaded manager Buddy Bell to stick with him after he got knocked out in the second inning of his second start, an 11-3 loss at Pittsburgh. That has proved to be a wise move, as Chacon is 3-0 with a 2.42 ERA in his last four starts.

Unlike so many other pitchers, Chacon isn't intimidated by Denver's thin air. That's because he grew up pitching in nearby Greeley. He pitched so well for Greeley Central in 1996 that the Rockies selected him in the third round of the draft. He throws in the mid-90s and complements his fastball with the kind of breaking pitch that Darryl Kile dreamed about during his disastrous stay with the Rockies.

"It's not so much I feel I belong, but I know I can pitch here," said Chacon, 23. "I feel I can come out every day and compete. I'm not just Shawn Chacon from Greeley. I'm a member of the starting rotation with the Rockies."

Team to watch: Marlins
Responding to a clubhouse mutiny led by reliever Dan Miceli, Florida GM Dave Dombrowski dropped a Memorial Day hammer on manager John Boles. Given Boles' status as the most loyal footsoldier in baseball, this is a sign that Dombrowski is suffiently unimpressed with the Phillies, Braves and Mets, and believes the Marlins can contend for a division title.

Perhaps they can but managerial changes didn't exactly spur Tampa Bay and Texas. The Devil Rays were 4-10 when Larry Rothschild got fired and have gone 10-26 under Hal McRae. The Rangers were 11-17 when Johnny Oates resigned and have gone 7-14 under Jerry Narron. That's a .357 winning percentage before the changes and a .298 winning percentage afterward.

Dombrowski did not have a replacement in place when he fired Boles. Interim manager Tony Perez says he doesn't want the job on a permanent basis, leaving Dombrowski to conduct a quick job search. Chris Chambliss, the Marlins' Triple-A manager, is a possibility. Ditto Rothschild, who was Jim Leyland's pitching coach when Florida won the '97 World Series, and former Marlins' first baseman Darren Daulton, who is a coach with Tampa Bay.

Florida has been under .500 all season, falling to 22-27 by losing six of its last eight. The schedule gives them the opportunity to make a move before the All-Star break. From June 15 through July 8, they play 17 of 23 games against Philadelphia, Atlanta and woeful Tampa Bay.

Perez's immediate challenge is to win more close games. The Marlins are 8-13 in one-run games. The bullpen has a respectable 3.65 ERA but hasn't gotten the big outs, going 4-12 and converting only 10 of 16 save situations. No one has been more responsible than the outspoken Miceli, who developed into a big brother for young relievers last season but this year is 0-5 with a 7.23 ERA.

Dombrowski said he's taken away the players' excuse with Boles' exit. "The players believe in themselves," he said. "It's an onus on them, which is good. I do think we have the talent to play with people. I don't think we should take a back seat to anybody at this point. Are we ready to win? We'll find out."

Careless whispers
Expos' managing partner Jeffrey Loria has quietly increased his ownership share from 24 percent to 92 percent. That will make the team easier to move or dissolve after this season. ... The Diamondbacks don't believe Matt Williams' hamstring will be fully healed this season. ... Chicago fans no longer want to hear about the White Sox' wealth of young pitching, but it is hard to ignore. With David Wells sidelined for at least one start by a strained groin muscle, the Sox rotation includes kids Mark Buehrle, Rocky Biddle, Jon Garland and Kip Wells. The only one of those four who wasn't a high draft choice is Buehrle, who might be the best of all. He's held opposing batters to a .215 batting average in nine starts, which doesn't include three hitless innings lost because of a rainout at Texas. The oldest of the White Sox foursome is Biddle, who just turned 25. Then there's Gary Glover, who has allowed 10 baserunners in 17 innings since being moved from the Sox bullpen into the Triple-A rotation. ... Two Australian pitchers signed by the Dodgers are in the big leagues. Luke Prokopec is 6-1 with the Dodgers and Brad Thomas replaced disabled lefty Mark Redman in the Twins' rotation. ... The Astros have moved Jose Lima and his 7.14 ERA to the bullpen. ... Pirates catcher Jason Kendall is such a good athlete that Lloyd McClendon doesn't rule out playing him in center. He made his left field debut last week. ... John Kruk left a job as an instructor in the Phillies' farm system to pursue a TV career with Fox.

Phil Rogers is the national baseball writer for the Chicago Tribune, which has a web site at www.chicagosports.com.