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Cubs not looking much like the NL's best team
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More on the playoffs:
It was apparent early that Carlos Zambrano was missing his spots, and it didn't take long for the revived Dodger offense to make him pay. A hit-'em-where-they-ain't bounder to a vacated hole at short and Rafael Furcal bunt, two hit-'em-where-they-are miscues by the Cubs, and a capstone Russell Martin three-run double buried the Cubs for, in all likelihood, a 100th straight season. Now, after a sloppy, distracted and listless performance, the Cubs will slouch their way to Los Angeles. They'll do so with history and the odds terribly against them. An entire city — or, to be more accurate, half of a city — is left wondering: what happened?
It's a question without a single answer. The Cubs, who have now dropped eight straight postseason games, ran into a team that's better than they appear at first blush. The Dodgers' offense has been "orders of magnitude" better since Manny Ramirez arrived; Furcal is back and igniting; and Derek Lowe, the Game 1 winner, and Andre Ethier have been on another level since the break.
That's to say nothing of Joe Torre's wise decision to ignore tenure and play the kids rather than grinding it out with unproductive vets like Jeff Kent and Juan Pierre. So yes, the Dodgers have the worst record of any playoff team despite playing in baseball's weakest division. But they're better than that. Just ask the Cubs.
While the Cubs went 5-2 against the Dodgers in the regular season, they out-scored them by only one run. The Cubs also had the good fortune of playing the Dodgers after the injury to Furcal that sidelined him for almost five months and before their trades for Ramirez and Casey Blake.
So the Cubs, in the process of besting the Dodgers by one total run across seven games, were going up against those Dodgers at their weakest point — during May and June. The team that ritually abused them in Games 1 and 2 isn't the team they faced in the regular season.
On another level, it's two games, and anything can happen over the span of two games. This season, the Cubs — best regular-season team in the National League by a comfortable margin — lost two or more games in a row on 17 different occasions. It happens. That it happened now, when it means so much, may not be the residue of poor managing, or a team-wide character flaw, or a curse (especially not a curse). It may just be, as unsatisfactory as this sounds, one of those things.
Baseball, by nature, has a great deal of in-game parity, and as much hay as football makes off the "any given Sunday/Saturday" thing, it's baseball that provides the least predictability and the most uncertainty. Anything can happen, and in Games 1 and 2, anything did happen to the Cubs. Or, as Cubs manager Lou Piniella said after Game 2, "If you play the way we played, it doesn't matter who your opposition is."
Throughout Game 2, the booing in Wrigley was almost tidal in regularity. And it's easy to understand why. An error from every infield position? A 10-3 score that would've been worse if not for some charitable umpiring on the bases? Heck, Geovany Soto, in trying to get the ball back to the pitcher, turned into Mackey Sasser on a couple of occasions. If the Cubs were a high school team, then they'd have been running laps after the game.
As for passing out blame for what's happened in this series, it's a crowded list of offenders. Zambrano and Ryan Dempster, the Chicago starters, combined to give up 11 runs. The Cubs' offense had as many runs as the Cubs' defense had errors.
The Cubs are now tasked with coming back from down 0-2 and winning three straight games, two of which will be in Dodger Stadium. In the history of Division Series, just four teams — the '95 Mariners, the '99 Red Sox, the '01 Yankees and the '03 Red Sox — have come back from down zero games to two to advance. And of those, only the '01 Yankees did it after dropping the first two games at home. Stated another, more discouraging way, in the 52 Division Series to date, only one team has done what the Cubs must do.
So while the odds of a Dodger trip to the NLCS aren't quite as high as, say, the odds that you'll see another erectile-dysfunction commercial during the course of the postseason, they're still quite lofty.
Worse for the Cubs is that, in Game 3, they'll face a pitcher quite similar to the one who dominated them on Thursday night. That's Hiroki Kuroda, and like Chad Billingsley he's a hard-throwing right-hander who lives off his splitter and fastball. In all likelihood, the Cubs' 2008 season — all 97 wins of it — will end on Saturday in Dodger Stadium.
At least the booing won't be as loud.
Member Comments
I'm from Arizona, moved from Chicago in'66. Watched Cubs in spring training for many years and watched on WGN. That was before the D-Backs. Wished the Cubs and Sox made it last year. If there is one thing I learned while being a Cub fan is...Wait 'til next Year, and keep waiting.
Whitey311/16/2008 7:37:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
Wait a minute, wasn't this guy bashing he Dodgers a few days ago?
Spanky00610/6/2008 2:22:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
hey hey what do you say, all you cubs fans go away...!
thebigPerky10/5/2008 0:34:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
who knows what year the GOAT LADY put the curse on the cubs. i dont know myself i am a cardinals fan. but if baseball is a superstision sport it seems there is a reason!!!! lou (sorry my spelling i ve had a few) tryed a priest a sleep theripist, mabee the ought to put a goat in the dugout. oh that would be as wrong as not leting her in to beging with. why dont they after 100 yrs try to revers the curse and just do whatever she said in the first place
iammyown10/4/2008 23:22:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Please move out of the way Disneyland Dodgers and let the World Champion Boston Red Sox take center stage!
super310/4/2008 23:05:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
aw it's seems the blowhard that is elway the t/u/r/d/ has shown up... what's a matter nothing else to do since your super broncos got whacked last week by a ****/ team??
mayor9010/4/2008 17:57:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
That a boy Hanky.... you give us all faith in our fellow countrymen to know you enjoy others pain. Hope you get out of life what your putting into it!
SantoFan10/4/2008 16:11:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Wow the Cubs choking is a real shock cant say i feel sorry for all you losers
Mr.___Hanky10/4/2008 15:27:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
dude....you look like a convict in ur picture
ROCKSTAR9410/4/2008 15:14:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Hopefully as a Cubs fan I can sum up the series with the Dodgers so far...<br /><br />Other than they are not pitching, hitting, or fielding the cubs aren't playing that bad<br /><br />Dodgers: Hitting, pitching, playing defense and capatilizing on the cubs mistakes are playing horrible.
mayor9010/4/2008 13:27:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
I simply can not believe some of the comments here, The Dodgers did not win the games the Cubs lost? What games has this moron been watching? Simple fact, the Dodgers were managed all year long by Torre and he had work them into a team after a long season that is peaking at the correct time. Lou had a team that came out of the box hot and stayed that way for the first 3'4 of the year, but is fading fast..... Dodgers currently have better pitching, hitting and defense. To rip the dodgers for becoming a better team is poor sportmanship at it peak............. I was kinda feeling for the Cubs but, well I do feel bad for the Cubs,, but not some of thier idiotic fans....... WOW
cliffsdad10/4/2008 12:02:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Cubs fans I realize your boys made some uncharacterisitc errors the last game. But surely you do know that a baseball team has to score runs to win ball games. Not only is the Cubs defense pathetic, but your offense is a no-show as of the first two games.
10/4/2008 11:21:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
The Dodgers are a big surprise<br />Is it me or is Tony Gwynn terrible. TBS should replace him so that he could become a spokesman for "JENNY CRAIG"
SC_1_FAN10/4/2008 10:18:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
"MANNY DID NOT MAKE THE DOGERS WIN. IF ANYTHING ELSE HIS ANTICS ARE EMBARRASING THE CLUB. GO CUBS AND REDSOXS"<br /><br />Funny how you idiots didn't say that when the Red Sox were piling up wins on his back.<br /><br />The truth is that the Dodgers clubhouse has not looked this lively since Tommy Baseball retired as their manager. To say that Manny has not had a positive affect on every player in the clubhouse (except Kent) tells me that you are a f'in imbecile.
calgoldenbear10/4/2008 9:19:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
Sportsfan... what kind of comment is that? So your saying that 40,000 fans are all goofy looking? Maybe it's you that are goofy and goofy looking! Is that Ted Bundy that is your avatar or is it you? Probably not much difference.
SantoFan10/4/2008 8:05:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
The Cubs have the goofyest looking fans in all of baseball...the the Angels fans are a close second!
10/4/2008 7:32:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
ksw8888888<br />1. Dempster all year long was basically lights out at home that's why he got the start in game one<br />2. I agree with the fukudome point, he should have been riding the bench the guy is in a horrible slump.<br />3. No way should Lilly should have been put in the game unless say it was a game 5 situation. If he was pitched in game one who would have started in his place??<br />3. The bullpen which is said before is either lights out or lit up, got to live with what you have.<br />4. The manager and gm are fine need to shore up the bullpen in the off-season and get rid of wood's monster contract which I've also said before. If the gm does nothing to address what is needed then can his a/s/s.<br />4. As to Soriano they way his up there hacking away maybe he should be named Pedro Cerano.<br /><br />We now have Harden & Lilly on the bump, if the cubbies can win the next two then it's all hands on deck to pitch, hit, whatever it takes.
mayor9010/4/2008 7:31:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
I promised a buddy in Chicago I'd pull for his Cubs as the Cards didn't make it this year. After two games, I found myself on the balcony looking longingly at the asphalt below. How do Cub Fans do it? This has got to be the most frustraitingly futile team in the history of Baseball.
10/4/2008 6:56:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
This debackle goes rigt to the heart of the Cubs problem they simply cannot evaluate talent. Why would you start your 4th best pitcher Dempster in game1????? You bench ****udome for all of Sept. then amazingly not only start him in the playoffs, but bat him 2nd????? Why didn't they get Lilly up in game 1???? Why are we "saving" the bullpen ie Wood and Marmol??? I think the Cubs are going to have to take a look at the manager and gm in the offseason. Also as an aside what the fu## is up with batting Soriano 1st he should be 5-6.
ksw888888810/4/2008 6:40:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
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