Cubs notebook: Things are getting weird …

The Cubs' Aramis Ramirez blew his stack in the sixth inning of Sunday's game against Houston at Wrigley Field, and in the weird chain of events that followed, closer Ryan Dempster was nearly tackled by bullpen coach Lester Strode in the ninth.

In a rare show of emotion during the Cubs' 6-5 win, the normally stoic Ramirez was angered by umpire Tony Randozzo calling a third strike against him in the sixth.