Game One Hundred Thirteen - Cubs 0 Astros 2 - 8 innings
WP - Brian Moehler (7-4) LP - Ryan Dempster (12-5) Save - None
After two rain delays and not much offense, the Cubs-Astros game was called on Monday night with 1-out in the 8th inning with Mike Fontenot at the plate and a 0-1 count against LaTroy Hawkins.
Not even a rain delay could wake up the Cubs offense on Monday night at the Friendly Confines. Before the rain and thunder and lighting caused the first delay of 2 hours and 45 minutes, Brian Moehler mesmerized the Cubs offense for the second time since the All-Star break. The Cubs were very aggressive at the plate and managed only 4 hits in 5 innings without a walk against Moehler and for the second time this homestand, the Cubs were shutout at home.
After the delay, the closest the Cubs came to tying the game came in the 7th inning. Geovany Soto led off the inning with a hard single to left off of Geoff Geary. Two outs later, Mark DeRosa pinch hit for Chad Gaudin and hit what appeared to be a game tying home run to left....but the ball died and Carlos Lee drifted back and made a leaping catch with his back on the ivy to end the inning.
Ryan Dempster turned in a solid outing despite walking the eighth place hitter in the Astros' lineup to force in the second run of the game in the 4th inning. Once the rains came and the sirens blared, Dempster was done for the night after 5 innings and 75 pitches.
With the wild night and loss against the Astros, the Cubs slipped to 41-16 at Wrigley Field and to 21 games over .500 on the season.
The Cubs must figure out the Houston Astros pitching staff, and soon. The Astros have had the Cubs number all season and Lou Piniella's crew has won just 4 of the first 10 meetings. The rest of the division has allowed Houston to get within shouting distance of the wild card spot which could make it real hard on the Cubs for the remainder of the year....the Cubs still have eight games left against Houston, six in September alone.
The offense must start making pitchers like Brian Moehler work. It is amazing they take pitches against the likes of CC Sabathia and Dan Haren but swing early and often against crafty right-handers.
The Astros' runs came in the 1st and 4th innings. Miguel Tejada reached on a 1-out single to center and advanced to 2nd on a fly out to the track in center by Lance Berkman. The original Cub Killer, Carlos Lee, followed with a single to right. Kosuke Fukudome airmailed his throw to the plate, Tejada scored easily and Lee advanced to 3rd on Fukudome's throwing error. Jim Edmonds saved a run with a spectacular diving catch on a sinking liner off the bat of Hunter Pence.
The second run came in the 4th after three straight singles and a bases loaded walk. Carlos Lee singled to left center with 1-out and advanced to 2nd on a single to right by Hunter Pence. Ty Wigginton followed with another single to left to load the bases.
Ryan Dempster struck out Darin Erstad for the second out but Dempster threw four straight out of the zone to Humberto Quintero to force in Lee from 3rd. Dempster struck out Brian Moehler to end the inning.
Dempster gave up 2 runs on 5 hits in 5 innings with a walk and 7 strikeouts.
Lou Piniella wanted to give several of his regulars the night off and between all of the delays, the rest of the team did not appear to get into a rhythm with the 'make shift lineup'.
What makes this one a difficult loss is so many of the games at Wrigley this year have been decided in the last two innings....we'll never know.
Rich Harden will face the Astros for the first time in his career on Tuesday afternoon. The Cubs offense must make Wandy Rodriguez work and pickup a much-needed win against the hard charging Houston Astros.
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Wow, when Lou decides to forfeit a game, he goes all out, and the players follow his lead. The "mighty" home team has already been shut out twice during this stand. With Marquis going on Thursday, there is a chance for another less than impressive homestand. I guess they see the Brewers self destructing, and have decided to put it on cruise control.
We swept the Brewers, took 2-3 from the Pirates (after getting shutout the first game), up until last night we won 7 of our last 8, with 4 of those coming on the road and because we lose the first game of the series we are now all of a sudden playing in "cruise control"? Someone even said in last night's post that today is a must win.
It is one game, we are not going every home game.
The Brewers series was as satisfying as it gets for a regular season match-up, but that was only one series and does not grant them a bye to the World Series.
For perspective, I recommend you examine the consensus AL representative to the W. S., the Angels. The Angels are 29-14 over their last 43 games The Cubs are only 22-21 over that same period. That's not a blip on the radar, that's over a quarter of the season and easily qualifies as a trend. The Angels are taking the path you would expect a champion to take.
I mean, who here would be satisfied with a "nice season" but not a World Series championship? For me, expectations are very high, and anything less would be a major disappointment. So, anytime the Cubs don't look like a team that want's it all, and they don't look like the best team in baseball, I get anxious and frustrated. Since we fans have absolutely zero control over the outcome of the team we love, our only outlet for our frustration is to voice our displeasure. I will NEVER apologize or abdicate my right to do so. And it DOES NOT make me a bad fan.
Gary, a couple things, I Know that just because we swept the brewers it does not gaurantee us a trip to the world series, I never once said that or implied that. And I also NEVER said you were a bad fan or implied that. You, me and everyone else are on this sight because we are die hard fans. I was simply saying we have been playing pretty good ball over the last week, and losing one game does not mean we are relaxing and becoming complacent.
I am with you, I will not be happy with just a "nice season". I, along with everyone else here, want this team in the Series. And I honestly think we have the team to do it.
People like Nick, Gramps and many others on this site seem to have built their team and player performance judgements on the realities of baseball and its 162 game season. The realities include the facts that winning 60% of the time amounts to team greatness and individually doing something positive when hitting 30 to 40% of the time means doing very well. Pitchers with ERA's of less than 3.50 for starters and less than 3.00 for relievers rank high on performance charts. Aspects of the game calling for close to 100% success inlcude the defensive, hustle and mental aspects of the game.
Some others on this site choose to equate baseball to college basketball and especially the NCAA tounament. If Illinois only wins 60% of the time, it doesn't make the 65 team tournament field. If Illinois does make the tournament, the one and done rule applies. Lose once, and it's all over. Baseball is very much different from the one and done mentality--except when the season comes down to one game.
Supporting and judging our baseball team and idividual performances, it seems to me, is more enjoyable, appropriate and rational when done with a perspective of multiple games, at bats and pitching appearances. It is true that every win and loss has some importance. And all of us can rise to MOMENTS of anguish or elation over a single play, a single game performance or a short series. But it's only the decisive games in the last week or so of the season and any post season games that should rise to the levels of sustained anger or emergency room-like trauma. And that too should end with the following spring training.
It is everyone's right to express opinions--however rational, and most of us are capable of extreme emotional responses to various situations, occasionally. One of the signs of maturity is tempering immediate impulses with perspective. For the older among us, perspective may also be a sign that our get up and go has got up and gone. Ours is not a perfect world.
And now Cubs team, "Hear This!" Win 60% of all your remaining games, and we will all celebrate our first world series win since 1908.
This game had the feeling of a "give away" game from the begining. The replacements that played were swinging at everything thrown there way and the entire team looked like they were in a hurry to get somewhere. I know it is a long season and we need to rest players but i think we should rest them one or two at a time (not 3 or 4 of our better players). All that being said, it is still just one game and we need to get back on track today with our 1A starter going. One more thing, why don't we call up Hoff and give him some time at 1B because Ward has just not cut it lately. We could use Hoff to spell Lee, Soriano, and even Fukudome who looks completely worn out at this point of the season. Let's get a win today! Go Cubs!!!