Hooray! Jason Kendall Benched - Sort Of

Sweet Lou has decided to split the catching duties between Koyie Hill and Jason Kendall, at least for the time being.

"He's probably trying to impress," Piniella said. "We'll give him some time to work with [hitting coach Gerald Perry]. I'm going to play Kendall and Hill every other day for a little bit and see if we can get Kendall's bat going that way."

This is similar to what Lou said about Michael Barrett just before he was dumped, but I'd be shocked to see the Cubs make the logical move and get rid of Kendall when Henry Blanco is finally ready to return.

Speaking of Blanco, he continued his minor league rehab on Wednesday with Peoria. No word on a projected return date, but I think he can only stay down there for 10 days unless he gives the team permission for a longer rehab.

Hill caught Wednesday's gem by Ted Lilly and continues to be a spark plug when he catches, despite his lack of hitting. Heading into the game Cub pitcher's ERA with Hill was 2.58. With Kendall, Cubs pitchers era is 4.10. Continuing with the comparison, baserunners try to steal against Hill less than half as many times as against Kendall, .48 attempts per game compared to 1.08 for Kendall, the worst of any Cub catcher this season. Hill's wild pitch plus passed balls per game total is .190, Kendall's is a horrendous .650, also the worst total for any Cub catcher to step behind the plate this season. I don't care what Hill hits, if his defense stays near those levels and the pitching staff responds like they have, he cannot be cut.