[8] The Cubs got off to a poor start after the first two months of the season, posting a 22–29 record going into a home series against the Atlanta Braves during the first weekend after Memorial Day.

[9] On the Friday start at Wrigley, Carlos Zambrano took the mound and the Cubs fell behind 7–1, including allowing five runs (four earned) in the fifth inning.

[10] Zambrano was pulled from the game after the scuffle in which he gave up thirteen hits and had zero strikeouts, and Barrett was replaced by backup Koyie Hill.

[11] The Braves regained the lead in the eighth against reliever Will Ohman, but in the bottom of the frame, rookie Ángel Pagán led off by lining a ball into the right-field corner, and stopped at second with a double.

[11] Allegedly, Piniella kicked umpire Wegner, and was reported to the MLB offices by crew chief Bruce Froemming.

[12] The Cubs ultimately lost the game 5–3 in extra innings on another contentious play where Barrett dropped the ball on a throw to the plate.

The Cubs ended the first half of the season 4.5 games out of first place, behind the Milwaukee Brewers, with a record of 44 wins and 43 losses.

The Chicago Cubs got off to a good start in the second half by sweeping the Houston Astros at home and taking three of four from the San Francisco Giants.

In those series Ted Lilly won his third and fourth starts in a row, helping pitch the Cubs to 9–3 and 9–8 victories.

They failed to win three consecutive series, and later temporarily lost Alfonso Soriano, Ángel Pagán, and Will Ohman to injuries.

At their final home game, the Cubs' organization reported that they had set a franchise attendance record of 3,252,462 fans over the season.

The Cubs won another seventeen games during that month; taking three of four from the Nationals, sweeping the Giants, two of three from the Cardinals, and two of three from the Phillies.

During this three-month-long hot streak, the Cubs managed to sign Carlos Zambrano to a five-year, ninety million dollar contract.

Going into the last week of the season, the Cubs won ten of twelve games and had a three-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers.