With Sunday's New York loss and Philadelphia win, the Mets are out, the Phils are in and the Wild Card-winner--either the Rockies or Padres--will hook up with the Phillies. That leaves the Cubs to meet Arizona beginning Wednesday.
Per cubs.com, Carlos Zambrano (18-13, 3.95 ERA) will square off against Brandon Webb (18-10, 3.01) in Game 1; Ted Lilly (15-8, 3.86) will start for the Cubs in Game 2 on Thursday. According to this story in the Arizona Republic, Lilly will go against Doug Davis (13-12, 4.25). Game 3, which would take place at Wrigley Field next Saturday, will match Rich Hill (11-8, 3.92) and Livan Hernandez (11-11, 4.93). The Republic says rookie Micah Owings (8-8, 4.30) would start a possible Game 4 for the Diamondbacks on Sunday.
The Cubs have said they would either bring Zambrano back on short rest for Game 4 or go to Jason Marquis. Today's game in Cincinnati, however, makes the idea of starting Marquis look downright reckless.
You're hearing it here first (assuming you don't own a television, radio or telephone, have any Cub fan friends or frequent any Web sites besides this one):
Thanks to a 6-0 Cub win tonight in Cincinnati and a 6-3 San Diego defeat of the Brewers, the Chicago Cubs are going to the playoffs!
After a bumpy season that included a fistfight with his batterymate and a metaphorical brawl with the patrons of Wrigley Field, Carlos Zambrano was on the spot tonight, and he came through with seven shutout innings against a club that had already beaten him four times this season.
Kudos also to Alfonso Soriano, who slugged yet another lead-off home run and collected his team-record-tying 19th outfield assist of the season in the fourth inning, when he threw out the Reds' Joey Votto at home, preserving a 2-0 Cubs lead.
Jacque Jones, who was maligned by every Cub fan I know and every idiot who writes a Cub blog, including the idiot who writes this one, had three hits Friday night, among them a ringing double off the leftfield wall.
Bob Howry relieved Zambrano and pitched a scoreless eighth. Ryan Dempster pitched a scoreless ninth, and just ninety minutes later, after Trevor Hoffman had whiffed Rickie Weeks to close out the San Diego win at Milwaukee, they were popping corks and spraying reporters in the Cub clubhouse at Great American Ball Park.
Jason Marquis seemed quite focused on dousing whichever Cub teammate was being interviewed on by Gail Fischer on Comcast SportsNite. Must have been that he was jealous. No time to worry about Jason's hurt feelings now, however.
The Cubs have a pennant to go after.
...that the National League's laughingstock division would produce baseball's laughingstock contender?
Florida's Cody Ross, who connected for a run-scoring pinch-hit double in today's Marlin win, their tenth in a row over the Cubs spanning the last two seasons, had this to say about the still possible National League Central Division champions:
"You can look in their dugout, and it's just like panic mode. They're pacing up and down. We would be in the same boat if the situation were reversed."
But then, the situation isn't reversed. It's the famously inept, unclutch, heartbreaking Cubs who are being crushed under the weight of reasonable expectations.
Typical of the way things have unfolded this year in the Central, the Brewers are currently losing 5-1 to the Padres in the fourth inning at Miller Park, so the Cubs could well see their magic number trimmed to two, despite themselves.
It's been a long day. Especially the part that began at 3:05 Chicago time.
Laid against the great success and high drama of the last homestand, the Cubs’ losses to the Marlins tonight and last night are striking in their awfulness. But if you look at the big picture of the 2007 season, these last two games look a lot like many of the preceding 157.
In the case of this evening’s 7-4 loss, we revisited the popular ’07 Cub themes of nitwit baserunning (Soriano), five-inning start from Jason Marquis (his 16th in 32 starts), golden scoring opportunities missed (e.g., Floyd’s leadoff double in the eighth, Ward’s one-out double in the ninth), and early scoring followed by complete offensive ineptitude once the opposition goes to its bullpen (tonight: 0 runs scored and just 3 hits in 5 1/3 innings of Florida relief work).
In other words, as frustrating as it was to watch, it shouldn’t be surprising. The Cubs are a little better than a .500 team, which means they’re going to lose a lot of games, even against third- and fourth- and, as in the Marlins’ case, fifth-place teams.
As the Cubs were being retired in their last at-bat tonight, Bob Brenly tried to make the case that the Cub offense was suffering because rainy weather in Miami the past two days had prevented the team from taking batting practice on the field and thus, deprived Cub hitters of the chance to acclimate themselves to the Dolphin Stadium hitting background. I guess that would be a more reasonable argument if the Cub offense hadn’t been so sporadic for much of the current season.
At this point, there is nothing much that Lou Piniella or Gerald Perry can do about that shortcoming of this Cub team. (Maybe Tom Skilling could pull some strings, however.) Same thing with Jason Marquis. He is what he is. We got his best early in the season and now we have no choice but to grip the arms of our La-Z-Boys a little tighter and hold on for dear life as Jason settles into his accustomed .500ish record, 4.50ish ERA.
(Unless the Cubs and Brewers have to meet in a one-game playoff next Monday, tonight's game could be Marquis' last of the season.)
I guess we all just have to hope for the best tomorrow afternoon and this coming weekend in Cincinnati.
In the meantime, our magic number is about to fall to 3. Thank God for the Cardinals!
(You'll never read those words on this Web site again. I promise.)
The 1951 New York Giants and the 1962 San Francisco Giants are the only teams in baseball history to recover from deficits of 3 1/2 games or more with seven games to play. That was the margin facing the Brewers entering Monday.
When I read that this afternoon at mlb.com, I felt so calm, so assured about the Cubs' immediate future. Obviously, the only kind of team that could possibly overcome a three-and-a-half game lead with seven games to play was one whose name included the word "Giants."
Then tonight, the Cubs went out and lost their eighth consecutive game to the Florida Marlins--the last-place Florida Marlins--and the Brewers slaughtered the Cardinals (again) and now we're looking at a two-game margin, which should still work for us, but...
I've been re-reading "Baseball Between The Numbers" in preparation for writing a piece for The Cub Reporter. My plan is to evaluate the Cubs' chances for playoff success based on those team statistics which Baseball Prospectus has identified as the most telling when it comes to making post-season prognostications. I think it's going to be a good piece.
And if the Cubs blow it for me between now and Sunday, I'll never speak to them again.
Memo to the St. Louis Cardinals: the Brewers have a home game Wednesday night. You guys should try to make it.
Good thing the Brewers' remaining schedule didn't include seven games against these sorry bastards or the Cubs might be in second place by Saturday night.
Allowing five unearned runs in one game?! Unless you're playing co-ed softball, you should be ashamed to get back out on the field.
On Sunday, John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus listed Cardinals Manager Tony LaRussa and GM Walt Jocketty among those baseball men who might be practicing their trade elsewhere or not at all in 2008:
Jocketty’s salary finally got over $1 million this year in his 13th season, and he has hinted that he doesn't feel particularly appreciated by Cardinals'ownership. La Russa has sent mixed signals in recent weeks about his desire to stay, but he has full control over personnel moves with the Cardinals, which should outweigh his rather irrational belief that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is out to get him. Look for both to stay one more year, and many feel La Russa will then retire.Regarding our Boys in Blue...
As of last night, something called coolstandings.com said the Cubs had a 97.4% likelihood of making the playoffs. (Baseball Prospectus had them at 95.6%.) Sounds good to me. But I'm still not going to have a solid bowel movement until it's official.
Since the conclusion of this afternoon's 13-8 Cub victory over the Pirates, I have been trying to think of something I could write that would be different than what I am sure you would read on most every other Cubs blog this evening. I can't come up with anything, so I'm just going to join the chorus:
LOU PINIELLA--SET GEOVANY SOTO FREE!
In case you missed the game or tonight's Sports Central show with David Kaplan on WGN Radio or the Jeff Dickerson program on WMVP (ESPN Radio) in Chicago, here is where the Soto love is coming from:
The big boy went 2-for-4 Friday, connecting for his third home run and raising his season average to .400 (14-for-35) with six RBI. He has contributed defensively as well--no passed balls and no throwing errors in 67 innings behind the plate.
Lou is not blind to what Soto has brought to the Cubs.
"This kid, he's played awfully well, both behind the plate and with the bat," Piniella said. "It's hard to come to the ballpark and not put his name in the lineup."
None of this is to say that Jason Kendall, who joined the team from Oakland on July 17th, has been a bust. Kendall is hitting .284 with a .376 on-base percentage as a Cub, and by all accounts, he is well regarded as a receiver by the Cub pitching staff.
Offensively, however, Kendall is completely without power (1 HR in 162 at-bats and a .377 slugging percentage). Defensively, he is challenged to say the least. Try just 2-of-51 base-stealers foiled; .46 passed balls and/or wild pitches allowed per game vs. .13 for Soto. (Soto has played in just 12 games as a Cub, so it's hardly a perfect comparison, but still...)
I'm glad the Cubs traded for Kendall and the improvement he has offered over what came immediately before him--Rob Bowen and Koyie Hill--is significant. But considering the holes in the 33-year-old Kendall's game and some of the Cubs' shortcomings as a team--e.g., pitchers who can't hold runners and an agonizingly inconsistent offense--I'm thinking that playing Soto more often can only help the Cub cause down the stretch.
There have been reports in the sporting press that the Astros’ Director of Baseball Operations Tal Smith phoned Cubs GM Jim Hendry earlier in the week to explain why Houston would be starting three rookie pitchers in their series against the Brewers. I haven’t seen any details of that conversation, but that’s okay.
That’s what reckless supposition is for.
JH: (PICKING UP HIS PHONE) Hendry here.
TS: Jim, it’s Tal Smith down in Houston.
JH: Tal, how are you? You boys gave us a helluva ride last week.
TS: It’s a pennant race, right? We wouldn’t want to make it too easy on you, you know what I mean?
JH: (LAUGHS) Well, I’d say you did your job. How can I help you? You looking to trade Oswalt? (GUFFAWS)
TS: No, no. The reason I’m calling is...
JH: (INTERRUPTING) Pence? You want to move Pence? I love that kid.
TS: That’s good to hear, and we love him, too. No, the reason I’m calling is to let you know we’re gonna have to start some of the kids against Yost this week, and I wanted you to know why.
JH: Hold on. The Brewers are coming in with a title on the line and you’re going with kids?!
TS: Hear me out, Jim. Oswalt’s wife is having a baby so we’re giving him a pass on Tuesday.
JH: You’re doing what?! Doesn’t he have a kid already? After the first one, there’s nothing new to see.
TS: That’s really not the point, Jim. And the guy that’ll be going in his place—Felipe Paulino—throws gas. Like 98, 99.
JH: Paulino? You’re pitching a catcher...against the Brewers?! What the fu....
TS: (INTERRUPTING) Jim, Jim, you’re thinking of Ronny Paulino with Pittsburgh. He’s a different...
JH: (STEPPING ON SMITH) This is bullshit, Tal. Texas-sized bullshit. What about Wednesday? Tell me Woody is going Wednesday! I know he's older than dirt, but...
TS: He’s not starting. Cecil wants to take a look at Juan Gutierrez, who we like a ton.
JH: You like him a ton? Cecil likes him a ton? Fine. Take him out for a fucking all-you-can-eat at Bonanza. But don’t put him into the middle of a pennant race so he can piss himself the first time he sees Prince Fielder in person.
TS: Jim, we’re looking to build something. We're tired of coming up short around here. I thought, if anyone, you’d understand.
JH: What the hell’s that supposed to mean?
TS: I’m gonna say three words to you, then wish you good luck and hang up: Nineteen-forty-five. Bye, Jim.
(HANGS UP, BUT HENDRY CONTINUES SCREAMING)
JH: That’s two words, you pennant-race-ruining bastard. I hope they bring Ed Wade in there and he packs your ass off to some retirement village! And I’ll be right there with him, loading you into the old people’s van! (HENDRY SLAMS THE RECEIVER DOWN, THEN SCREAMS INTO THE OFFICE NEXT DOOR). Angela, bring me a Bromo Seltzer...now!
Some year, just for fun, I'm going to follow one of those teams that plays normal games.
In the meantime, my heart, my blood pressure and my borderline ulcerous stomach will all have to make peace with the fact that the Cubs find torturous ways to lose and on nights like tonight, uncommonly exciting ways to win.
Ted Lilly, starting on short rest, was heroic, never more so than in the top of the seventh inning, when he had to pitch around a Derrek Lee error by striking out David Ross and Alex Gonzalez with men at first and third to preserve a 2-2 tie.
Geo Soto's game-tying home run in the fifth; Alfonso Soriano's killer throw to Soto to nail Norris Hopper at home plate in the top of the eighth; Ryan Theriot's hustling into second base while Ken Griffey juggled his drive into rightfield, thus setting up the game-winning run in the home half of the eighth; Bob Howry's two-inning save. Such is the stuff of unforgettable, pennant race victories.
All of which is to say nothing of the macabre turn of events following Derrek Lee's single in the eighth, when Griffey, preparing to rifle the ball back to the infield to hold Theriot at third, collapsed in a spasm of pain so painful to watch that it may define the "groin strain" for generations to come.
It was a high-pressure, high-reward game for the Cubs aptly summarized by WGN's Pat Hughes as he called the top of the ninth inning:
"It's one of those games that feels like it's worth more than one victory."
(The night just got more rewarding. Thanks, Hunter Pence. I thought you only beat up on the Cubs.)
Jerry Crasnick of espn.com offers a nice profile of Cub manager Lou Piniella, who's not as intense now as when he was throwing Rob Dibble around a lockerroom, but is more intense than you might imagine.
If you think I'm avoiding writing about tonight's game, you're right. The last time I wrote in a fit of anger and frustration following a loss, I regretted how childish it came off.
Ted Lilly goes Thursday. The Cubs need him to be as gritty as Carlos Zambrano was tonight. Just better.
Amazing game, that baseball.
Right after the top of the sixth inning tonight, I began mentally composing a game review complete with rants about:
- The way Rich Hill pitched (well at first, but ultimately disappointingly, considering we had actually given him a 3-1 lead)
- How Jacque Jones plays centerfield (badly) and throws (even worse)
- Alfonso Soriano’s baserunning (labored-looking going from home to second; boneheaded when Soriano got himself thrown out at third base on Ryan Theriot’s routine groundball to short)
- The defensive coordination between Theriot and Soriano (nonexistent on a pop-up that Theriot staggered under and Soriano wasn’t close enough to so he could bail out his shortstop)
- The fact that the Cub offense once again failed to exploit the league’s most ineffective bullpen.
Cubs 7, Reds 6; Cubs maintain a one-game lead in the NL Central over Milwaukee.
And your winning pitcher?
Will Ohman, for God's sake.
Amazing.
Sleep well tonight, Brewers.
AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast
First of all, I don't know who commandeered my computer earlier in the week to throw up a post (which I have since deleted) predicting that the Cubs would be at least two games behind the Brewers by the time they hit St. Louis and that the Cardinals would probably knock the Cubs out of the race altogether by Sunday night.
Maybe one of the kids was screwing around with the blog. I'll punish both of them when they get up in the morning, just in case.
By now you know about tonight's drama and the Cubs' newly minted one-and-a-half-game lead. I caught only a few minutes of the game, early on, before Carlos' excellence tonight was fully established and long before Ryan Dempster made like LaTroy Hawkins and had to be bailed out by Bob Howry.
I was able to catch David Kaplan's post-game show on WGN Radio, however. Most interesting was Lou's press conference, in which he brushed off Dempster's rough outing as simply being one of those nights when a pitcher doesn't have his usual stuff and another example of how, as Piniella sees it, a closer can falter when he's thrust into a non-save situation. Something about not working off the usual amount of adrenaline, as I recall Lou's analysis.
The main thing is that per the manager, if the Cubs find themselves in a save situation tomorrow, Lou will be handing the ball to Ryan Dempster.
One other aspect of the Kaplan show was striking to me: every person who called in to celebrate the victory pointed out that at no time this season did they ever doubt that the Cubs would eventually seize control of the National League Central. Isn't that something?! All of those clairvoyant baseball fans phoning in to the same radio show on the same evening.
I'm fortunate to have tuned in.
The Cardinals lost to the Reds Thursday afternoon to complete an 0-7 road trip and fall four-and-a-half games off the NL Central lead. That means upon landing in St. Louis, the Cubs are either going to encounter a down and dying team ready to be pummeled or a down and dying team ready to take some bear cub flesh and thus salvage a shred of dignity in an otherwise lost season.
Speaking of the bear cubs...
Tonight is the game Steve Trachsel is starting in place of Carlos Zambrano, so Zambrano can pitch the series opener Friday in Saint Loo. In case you had the memory of Trachsel's last start surgically excised, he was terrible on Sunday in Pittsburgh. He threw 47 pitches in just two innings during which he yielded six runs and six hits. As I mentioned earlier in the week at The Cub Reporter, tonight marks just the sixth time in Trachsel's long career that he has started a game on three days rest. In those five previous starts, the last in 2000, he has gone 1-3, 6.04, allowing six home runs in 28 1/3 innings.
His opponent tonight will be Gregory Scott "Woody" Williams, who has been tough on the Cubs this year, going 1-1 with two no-decisions and allowing just six earned runs in 24 IP (2.25 ERA). Considering that Williams recently celebrated his 72nd birthday, this strikes me as quite an accomplishment.
Need I point out how sweet it would be to win this game with Trachsel pitching, thus gaining a half-game lead on the Brewers while allowing for the strategic shift of Zambrano's spot in the rotation? Need I?
No, I didn't think so.
Which is the more appropriate response to Wednesday night's victory nearly gone sour:
Joy that the Cubs held on and have once again pulled into a tie with the Brewers for the NL Central lead?
Or frustration that this team really can't hit, isn't capable of pressing an early advantage against a bad pitcher and putting his team away, and appears to be no more than an even match for the Houston Astros...or the Cincinnati Reds...or the Pittsburgh Pirates?
I can't decide.
So I'm just going to bed.
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
The Brewers were beaten 9-0 in Pittsburgh Monday night, so the Cubs and Milwaukee are once again tied atop the NL Central, three games ahead of the Cardinals.
We would all like to think that Monday afternoon's 12-run fusillade is the beginning of big things for Cub hitters and maybe the trigger of the hot streak that Lou Piniella continues to suggest the Cubs still have in them. But I'm not convinced.
If the first one-hundred-and-forty-three games have demonstrated anything, it's that the Cubs have .500 (maybe .494, maybe .518) written all over them and tatooed in places we can't even see. Our stars aren't able to elevate their teammates with any regularity. And up and down the rest of the roster, we have so many question marks and soft spots--e.g., Cliff Floyd's power, Alfonso Soriano's lead-off skills, Jason Kendall's defense, our middle relief corp's ability to keep a game close, Jacque Jones's...well, Jacque Jones's everything--that the Cubs are vulnerable to having very bad things happen almost any game, against almost any opponent.
So how do we ensure that the final 19 games break our way? I'm looking to Lou to deliver the bold stroke that will shake things up just enough to help the Cubs break the bonds of mediocrity...at least for the final 19 games.
It could be a wrinkle in the batting order (e.g., batting Floyd between Lee and Ramirez, which Lou tried today), giving one of the young guys a shot at the 5th spot in the rotation (which Lou talked about, then backed away from earlier today), or some other creative stunt along the lines of Tony LaRussa's ongoing pitcher-hits-eighth gambit (which didn't prevent the Cardinals from getting gutted at Wrigley Field today, but still...). Whatever it is, Lou has shown himself over many Major League seasons to be a confident, decisive field leader who is capable of turning things in his team's favor, and I am hoping he will be able to do that for the Cubs.
The thing is, without some form of intervention--divine, chemical or managerial--these last weeks of regular season play in the National League Central are going to involve three teams of relatively equal ability in one big round of Russian Roulette. And if something isn't done to alter the odds, I have a unsettling feeling that I know one of the teams who won't come out of it alive.
AP Photo/Brian Kersey
With tonight's one-sided defeat at PNC Park to one of the losingest teams in the National League, the Cubs' season record against the NL Central's Three Stooges--the Astros, Reds, and Pirates--stands at 15-18. Not exactly the stuff champions are made of.
The offense generated just a single, meaningless run against Pittsburgh pitching (though it was nice to see Ronny Cedeno behind it), and Rich Hill looked lost from the outset.
On the positive side, Geovany Soto had two more hits and did something regular catcher Jason Kendall has only done four times in 51 opportunities as a Cub: thrown out a would-be base-stealer. Also, the Brewers lost at Cincinnati, underscoring the fact that they're as miscast as division leaders as our Cubs. St. Louis, currently leading 2-1 in the fifth inning at Arizona, will climb into a three-way tie for the top spot if they win.
As you may know by now, the pennant race isn't the only reason the Cardinals are going to be in the sports headlines.
Lots Of Blame To Go Around, But Not As Far As The Suburbs Of Sacramento
Posted by Cubnut at 9/06/2007You can blame Thursday afternoon's loss to the Dodgers on Ryan Dempster, Bob Howry, Daryle Ward, and various others in the Cub batting order not named Alfonso Soriano.
But you can't blame it on Dusty Baker.
He's busy somewhere else.
Wednesday morning, I posted this question at The Cub Reporter:
If the entire Cub season were going to turn on one game–based on the way our starters have been performing lately–who would you choose to start?
The question prompted a good variety of answers and arguments on behalf of just about every pitcher on the staff, relievers included.
I think if I were to ask the question Thursday morning, Ted Lilly, who had been struggling, would get an overwhelming majority of the votes. In part, that's because as Cub fans, we have short memories--I think it's a required defense mechanism--and in part, it's because Lilly pitched very well in the Cubs' 8-2 win.
The lefty scattered six hits and a walk over 6 2/3 innings, allowing just two Dodger runs, one of which scored after Lilly had been lifted in favor of Carlos Marmol. Lilly also broke a string of seven consecutive starts in which he had been touched for at least one home run. Now 14-7, he is just one win short of his career season high, set last year for the Blue Jays.
Up at Miller Park, unfortunately, the Brewers beat the carcass known as the Houston Astros to remain within a half-game of the Cubs. The Cardinals, however, were thumped by the Pirates, slipping two games off the division lead.
The Cubs and Dodgers conclude their four-game series Thursday afternoon, with Jason Marquis going up against groundball-throwin' Derek Lowe. Though Marquis is coming off a terrific start on Saturday against the Astros, this, like the Brad Penny-Steve Trachsel matchup the other night, is one of those pairings that doesn't seem to favor the Cubs.
Let's hope.
Note: In the latest Playoff Odds Report at Baseball Prospectus, prepared before Wednesday night's game, the Cubs rate a 46.7% likelihood of reaching the post-season (46.5% chance of winning the NL Central; .2% chance of taking the Wild Card). The Brewers stand at 32.1% to win the Central and .25% for the Wild Card. The Cards are at 21.4% to win the division; .1% for the Wild Card.
AP Photo/Jerry Lai
In the eighth inning of tonight's loss to the Dodgers, Jacque Jones scampered back to the centerfield wall to retrieve the Russell Martin-hit line drive that had sailed past his outstretched glove. Along the left edge of the tv picture, I could see that there were a few brown leaves among all the green ivy.
In other words, mingling right there with all the vibrant life was a little hint of death.
Which brings me to the details of another dismal effort by the home team, whose NL Central lead over the second-place Brewers is back to just one-half game (one game up on St. Louis). Recently acquired Steve Trachsel started against 14-4 Brad Penny, a match-up that wouldn't appear to favor the Cubs even on Trachsel's best day and Penny's worst.
Well, Trachsel acquitted himself pretty well, allowing three runs over six innings, and when the Cub bullpen took over in the visitors' half of the seventh, the Cub deficit was just 3-2.
But the bullpen was horrible. Kerry Wood was tagged for four runs in an inning and Will Ohman pitched to three hitters and retired none. Only young Kevin Hart, called up earlier Tuesday, emerged without giving up a run.
What's worse than horrible? That's how I would describe the Cub offense on a night when the Cubs scored two runs and rapped into five double plays. The two runs are typical; the five double plays are terrible.
Even for the Cubs.
Others have said it, and I'll second it:
The National Central Division doesn't deserve to be included in the post-season. For their part, the Cubs are well on their way to playing themselves out of it.
Update: As it happens, Carlos Zambrano didn't mean what he said or what I wrote about yesterday. Carlos says he is sorry. I am sorry, too.
Recently Carlos Zambrano joined Clemens, Rodriguez, Ramirez and Jeter in the pantheon of baseball stars being paid more than $18 million per year.
Today, per the official Chicago Cubs Web site, he joined LaTroy Hawkins, Corey Patterson, and Dusty Baker in the community of Chicago Cubs who "know all about how the fans can turn on them."
Zambrano's talent and timing were keys to his admittance to the first club; his selfish, boneheaded play this afternoon, on top of his stunning ineffectiveness for the past five weeks when the Cubs have really needed him to shine, enabled him to join the second club.
This was a terrible loss, made worse by an overly emotional star who needs to learn how to cover his ears and shut his mouth.
Has a baseball player ever demanded a trade within three weeks of signing a $90 million contract with a full no-trade clause?
Maybe Carlos is on his way to becoming the first.
I was at Wrigley Sunday, but for reasons having to do with the car accident I got into on my way to the game, we wound up leaving in the top of the eighth inning. In between the time we left the park and got back to the car, Derrek Lee hit the go-ahead home run. As my son pointed out, we missed Lee's homer twice: in person and on the car radio.
(By the way, if you're the parasite behind the wheel of the gold/tan Honda with Illinois plates who hit my car on Lakeshore Drive then drove off, I hope you go to hell. Parasite hell, bad driver hell, beater gold Honda hell...however it happens to work out.)
As happy as I was to learn that the Cubs had taken the lead, knowing we--I'm sorry, I-- blew our chance to be part of the party back at the park made me sick to my stomach. Then, as Pat Hughes described the top of the ninth inning on WGN Radio and tried to characterize the electricity still crackling in the air because of Lee's longball, he just HAD to say, "...and not a soul has left Wrigley Field," and I felt a little worse. One out later, Ron Santo just HAD to say, "That game we won on Ramirez's home run was big, but I think this might be the biggest game of the year," and I felt yet worse.
Of course, I'm glad they won. But I'm thinking that for as long as I live, this will be the game I remember as the one that reached its crescendo while three boys and I were walking back to our car, instead of perched on the ends of our seats; the game that would have provided us the explosive joy of seeing our favorite team come all the way back from a 5-1 deficit in the middle of a desperately tight pennant race...if only we hadn't left 15 minutes before the decisive blow.
But like I said, I'm still glad the Cubs won.
