Odds are, if I mention the name Randy Wells, it means, well, absolutely nothing to the majority of you.  Some of you might think I mistyped the first name and was thinking of portly lefthander David Wells, who once threw a perfect game.  Hockey fans might think I was talking about journeyman defenseman Jay Wells, who had a long career in the NHL playing for a myriad of teams.  College and pro football fans might be contemplating former Ohio State tailback Chris "Beanie" Wells, who was selected in the first round by the defending NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals.  If you go further back, the name Warren "Going to the" Wells might cross the mind of fans of the John Madden coached Oakland Raiders.

None of those would be correct, for you see, Randy Wells was not a typographical error.

Wells is a little known lefthanded starter for the Cubs, who came up when Carlos Zambrano was on the disabled list last month with a hamstring injury.  He was solid in his first two starts, not yielding a run, but came up with a pair of no decisions as the bullpen let a 2-0 lead against Milwaukee slip away and then Kevin Gregg imploded against Houston, giving up a 4-0 lead in the ninth.  The Cubs would lose to the Brewers 3-2, and come back in the bottom of the ninth of that contest against Houston to win 5-4, when Alfonso Soriano blooped a single down the right field line to score Bobby Scales.

Tough losses to the Padres and Dodgers would follow, though he would give up a total of five runs in fourteen innings spanning those two starts.  The issue?  Lack of offense, as the team would tally just two runs in those contests, only one of which came when he was on the mound.  So, Wells, who easily should have had at least two wins, if not more based on his performances, entered Tuesday's game against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field with a mark of 0-2, despite an ERA of 1.80 in twenty five innings.

Wells did his part, no hitting the Braves for 6 and two third innings, leaving after facing two batters in the eighth with a 5-1 lead.  He allowed what would turn out to be two runs on two hits, one of those earned, with no walks, four strikeouts and a hit batsman in his outing, lowering his ERA to 1.69 with a strikeout to walk ratio of 27 to 7.  His WHIP is an impressive 0.97, and he even singled home a run in the game, his first big league RBI.

However, while he got his first hit and RBI, he's still looking for his first big league win. 

The bullpen coughed up the lead, as Carlos Marmol failed to harness his wildness in the eighth, walking the first man he faced, hitting another, and then walking Kelly Johnson with the bases loaded to force in a run.  Not only did Marmol walk the first man he faced, it was the remarkably difficult to walk Jeff Francouer, who drew just his sixth walk in 195 plate appearances this season and the 121st in 2344 major league at bats in his career.  Even worse, it was a four pitch walk.  Atlanta would plate their third run on a sacrifice fly, and the Cubs led 5-3 going to the bottom of the ninth.

Gregg had a chance to put the game away, but failed to.  He retired Brian McCann on a fly ball to left, and struck out Garrett Anderson.  However, the third strike was on a wild pitch, allowing Anderson to reach.  One out later, Francoeur tied the game with a two run shot to left center field, and the Cubs were left stunned.  The game went to extra innings, but it was merely prolonging the inevitable, as Atlanta would win in the twelfth on a base hit by Yunel Escobar, who stole second, and then scored on a single by Chipper Jones.

One has to wonder what it will take for Wells to get a win.  When you buzzsaw through a lineup and carry a no hitter into the seventh, leave with a four run lead in the eighth, and still come up empty, what else is there to do?  Does he have to throw a perfect game to get a win? 

I have to wonder if taking Wells out at the juncture that he did was a case of bad judgment by Lou Piniella and Larry Rothschild.  He had been dominant, only throwing 83 pitches at the time of his removal, and may have been able to work out of the bit of a jam he got himself into in the eighth.  This walking the tightrope with the bullpen is getting out of hand.  The pen is blowing games left, right and center, and that won't keep you in the playoff race for long should that continue.  It might be time for Marmol to take over the closer role, or for Jim Hendry to start making inquiries about obtaining one or more live arms to help out in the pen, because the guys out there are simply not doing their job.

A tip of the cap to Wells for a great outing, even if the result was not there.  The Cubs and Braves continue their series tomorrow at 7 ET/ 6 CT, as the Cubs send Ted Lilly against the Braves and sinkerballer Derek Lowe at Turner Field.  It should be a great matchup, as both pitchers are excellent, and are capable of shutting down opposing lineups.  Lilly looks to build on his successful outing against the Dodgers last Friday, when he gave up one run in seven innings, and the Cubs look to snap a seven game road losing streak and get back on the ball.