Perhaps the rainout today will give the Cubs a chance to reflect on why they had such a terrible first week.

They have scored only three runs in the last 27 innings and lost four out of five to Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, two teams most expect will be fighting for fourth place with the Brewers.

One reason why the Cubs have a decent shot at the wild card is that, with the unbalanced schedule, they get to play these three teams which combined for a .403 winning percentage last season a total of 53 times. So, while on paper several teams look better than the Cubs as wild-card contenders, they have stronger intradivisional rivals to contend with.

But in the end, it doesn’t matter if the Cubs can’t score runs to win these games. Moises Alou says he won’t let the Cubs down, but he’s been put on the disabled list for the third year in a row. This injury, a strained right calf, apparently has given Alou trouble for the last two years, but once he came back off the DL he was good to go.

I sure hope that holds true this year. As good as Roosevelt Brown looked in spring training, his bat has done little so far, and newly signed Mario Encarnacion and Darren Lewis aren’t going to fill that No. 5 hole.

Sure, the Cubs’ slow offensive start could be due to the cold weather, but this second week is crucial. The Cubs need to get back to .500 or close to it, because they cannot afford to get into a big hole early in the Central.

On the bright side, Matt Clement looked strong before being rocked in the sixth inning on Saturday.

I agree that the Cubs shouldn’t panic, but they shouldn’t take this slow start too lightly either. After all, they haven’t had back-to-back winning seasons since 1971–1972. I don’t want a repeat of 1985, 1990 or 1999.

Well, the Cubs looked a lot better today than they did on Tuesday. Scoring 10 runs is a big deal for a team that last year finished seventh in the National League in runs scored.

Other encouraging signs: Corey Patterson continued his late spring training and opening-day success by going 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored. Maybe he won’t be all hype, after all. He’s batting .714 and has even walked three times.

Kerry Wood was wild but went five innings and only gave up two runs while striking out 10.

Todd Hundley came through with a two-run home run — the Cubs need some production out of the catcher’s spot if they are going to compete for the Central, not to mention the wild card. It’s also good to see that Baylor started him on opening day and the next day.

Hundley’s confidence was badly shaken by Baylor’s lack of confidence. I don’t blame Baylor, since Hundley played terribly, but what are the options? Neither Girardi nor Machado has anywhere near Hundley’s offensive potential, and neither has a $24 million contract, either.

A not so encouraging sign was Antonio Alfonseca, who struggled in the ninth inning, giving up two runs, a hit, a walk and looked very unsteady. That comes on the heels of Jeff Fassero‘s pathetic, losing outing on Tuesday, in which he beaned three guys in 1.2 innings. The Cubs may well rise or fall with their bullpen.

Lieber also didn’t burn it up on Tuesday. Is the Cubs’ vaunted pitching staff not all it’s cracked up to be? Will Alou be plagued by minor injuries that prevent him from getting into a groove and giving the Cubs the kind of 3-4-5 pop they need?

We’ll start to get the answer to another burning question tomorrow when Juan Cruz pitches. He impressed with his strong showing when called up last August to help shore up the starting rotation when Wood went down, going 3-1 with a 3.22 ERA. That he added 14 pounds to his svelte frame is good news.

For the Red Sox, things look much worse. Pedro Martinez, arguably the pitcher most valuable to his team (though Randy Johnson and Mariano Rivera are up there), got shelled by the Blue Jays on opening day. He says he feels fine, physically, but his first start (three innings, nine hits, seven earned runs, three walks, two hit batters) doesn’t augur well for the Sox’ season.

And neither does Dustin Hermanson‘s leaving in only the second inning tonight with a strained right groin. Pedro can’t be the lone wolf this year — the Sox need another starter to pitch some quality innings and keep some heat off a bullpen that was scorched last year down the stretch.