Welcome to June, Chicago Cubs fans.  And if you think there’s something about it strikingly similar to last month  - you’d be right.

Besides entering the third leg of the 2009 season the same way the second ended - with Tuesday’s embarrassing loss - the Cubs continue to look more like a team ready to tank than a club certain to meet pre-season expectations.

Confused.  Discombobulated.  Lethargic.  You pick the adjective.  As long as it doesn’t include words like confident,  competent or energetic we’d be talking about the same team.

Looking at this 2009 edition of Chicago Cubs baseball, it’s hard to imagine that the core of this club won a National League best 97 games last year.  Then again, last year’s team included veteran players like Henry Blanco, Jim Edmonds and Mark DeRosa, any of whom would be a welcome sight in a Cubs uniform this year.

Instead, Chicago gm Jim Hendry shuffled the deck in the off-season, clearing payroll and steady play for the likes of switch-hitters Aaron Miles (.204 BA, 0 HRs, 4 RBIs) and Milton Bradley (.220 BA. 5 HR, 14 RBIs).  Throw in backup catcher Koyie Hill (.269 BA, 2 HRs, 7 RBIs)  and you’ve got the Replacements.

Hendry and manager Lou Piniella wanted left-handed bats after 2008’s October collapse in the NLDS.  I guess neither got the memo that reminds us to be careful of what we wish for.

All three of the above are switch-hitting position players.  But if you combine their statistics (.244 BA, 7 HRs, 25 RBIs), it still doesn’t equal one DeRosa (.263 BA, 9 HRs, 37 RBIs).  And if that’s not WTF enough for you, consider that when third baseman Aramis Ramirez got hurt, Hendry and the Cubs had to go out and pick up utility player Ryan Freel, who got exactly 18 at-bats in before joining Miles, Ramirez and starting pitcher Rich Harden on the disabled list.

Speaking of injured players, it would be unfair to go on  without mentioning the man with the Golden Calf - Milton Bradley.  I should say it’s the Golden Calf for this month.  In April it was his quadriceps and in spring training it was the groin.

And for the $30-million man, you can also throw in a one-game suspension for arguing with an umpire.  It was a suspension he could have served during those times of healing.  Instead, Bradley waited till he was healthy to take a day off.

Still, the excuses continue to drip off the lips of Hendry and Piniella.  Even with the injuries, it’s a hard pill to swallow - this continued lackadaisical effort and underachieving performance from a team that comprises a $134 million payroll.

I have news for both general manager and manager.  This team doesn’t need coddling - it needs a cattle prod.