Friday, October 03, 2008
No joy in Wrigleyville
After dominating at home all season long, the Cubs are on the verge of being swept out of the playoffs after dropping two virtually uncontested losses to the Dodgers in Wrigley Field. The things they did well all year and brought them to this point, playing good defense and drawing walks, have been completely absent in the first two games of this series. The Cubs are playing tight.
Apparently four errors in a playoff game mark a new record, the sort Cub fans are used to aquiring.
This will likely all be over Saturday in L.A., after which I can go back to enjoying the developments in the financial markets, which by comparison might be better for my mood and general sense of well being.
Carlos Zambrano and the infield defense fell apart during a five-run second inning of an 10-3 loss to the Dodgers, putting the Cubs in a 2-0 hole as the series heads to Los Angeles for Saturday night's Game 3.
"I don't think you can win 97 ballgames playing that way," Piniella said. "That wasn't good baseball. In fact, the last two games were probably the two worst games we played all year, from a walking and errors standpoint. It wasn't fun to watch, I can tell you that."
Zambrano lasted 61/3 innings, allowing seven runs on six hits, leaving to a standing ovation from the crowd of 42,136. Russell Martin's three-run double on a 3-1 pitch in the second broke the game open, after Mark DeRosa and Derrek Lee errors opened the door to the big inning.
The Cubs have lost eight straight playoff games dating back to the 2003 NL Championship Series, when they took a 3-1 lead over Florida before losing the final three games.
Apparently four errors in a playoff game mark a new record, the sort Cub fans are used to aquiring.
This will likely all be over Saturday in L.A., after which I can go back to enjoying the developments in the financial markets, which by comparison might be better for my mood and general sense of well being.
1 Comments:
By 
, at
Fri Oct 03, 10:09:00 AM:
What's astonishing is that after 25+ years here in Chicago, rooting for the Cubs, I still have a measure of hope . . . .
