Game Seventy-Four - Cubs 0 Pirates 3
WP - Ross Ohlendorf (7-6) LP - Ted Lilly (7-6) Save - Matt Capps (18)
An extremely bad month for the Chicago Cubs came to a fitting end on Tuesday night in Pittsburgh. The Cubs were shutout for the eighth time this season and the third time on the current 10-game road trip (second time in two games) that concludes Wednesday with the finale against the Bucs. A day after putting together a solid win against Zach Duke, the Cubs reverted to the bad habits that led to an 11-14 record in June.
Ted Lilly didn't pitch that badly and for the third time was on the wrong end of a shutout. Half of Lilly's six losses this season have come in games when the Cubs did not score a single run. Lilly put together a quality start but his wild pitch and error led to the Pirates first run.
Lilly gave up three runs, two earned, on eight hits in seven innings with two walks and seven strikeouts. Freddy Sanchez continued killing Cubs' pitching this season. Sanchez recorded three of the Pirates eight hits off Lilly, drove in two and scored the other. The final score could have read: Cubs 0 - Freddy Sanchez 3
Lou Piniella's crew made Ross Ohlendorf look very good in his first career start against the Cubs. The offense managed only four hits and Ohlendorf struck out eight ... a new season high. The Cubs did not make him work. He threw 93 pitches in seven innings and did not walk a single batter.
The Cubs had a chance in the eighth to make a game of it. After a single by Ryan Theriot and an infield single by Milton Bradley, with a little help from an error by Jack Wilson, the Cubs had runners on second and third with no outs ... with the top of the lineup due up.
John Grabow struck out Alfonso Soriano swinging on four pitches. Kosuke Fukudome struck out looking on three pitches and Derrek Lee grounded out to second to end the inning. The Pirates were conceding the run and the Cubs could not put the bat on the ball.
As with a .500 team as soon as it appears they are taking a step forward, the show up in Pittsburgh and lay an egg.
The Cubs lack of fundamentals is more than concerning. Bad baserunning has plagued this organization for years and it continued on Tuesday night. If that was the 'only' fundamental problem this team had it could possibly be overlooked. But from sacrifice bunting to hitting behind runners to changing their approach at the plate with two strikes to sacrifice flies with runners on third and less than two outs, this team struggles with all of it on a daily basis. The 'little things' are what wins ballgames ...
The Pirates first run came on a bizarre play in which Freddy Sanchez scored all the way from second base on a wild pitch. Sanchez reached on a bloop single, the Pirates first hit, to start the fourth inning. Andy LaRoche singled to left on a 1-2 pitch with two outs. With Brandon Moss at the plate, Lilly uncorked a wild pitch that took a high bounce ... Moss swung and missed strike three. Sanchez hustled to third and made the turn as Geovany Soto retrieved the ball. Soto threw to Lilly covering home and he did not catch the ball. Sanchez scored, 1-0 Pirates.
The Pirates tacked on in the fifth after Jack Wilson led off the inning with a bunt single to the first base side of the mound. Ross Ohlendorf sacrificed him to second. Lilly struck out Andrew McCutchen but Freddy Sanchez delivered a single to center on a 0-1 pitch.
Freddy Sanchez drove in the Pirates third and final run in the seventh. Steven Pearce doubled to left on a 2-2 pitch with one out. Pearce hit for Ohlendorf and John Russell's gamble paid off. Lilly retired McCutchen for the second out on a fly out to center ... but Sanchez doubled to left center and plated Pearce. Both of Sanchez's RBI came with two outs ...
The Cubs are a pathetic 2-7 on their current 10-game road trip with one more left to go. The Cubs must re-group ... Wednesday is a beginning to a new month.
Randy Wells will face Virgil Vasquez in the series finale on Wednesday night.
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Thanks Neil. A tough night for reporting, Santo was beside himself when he talked about the player of the game. Pat Hughes in his post game show was trying to reach for a Cubs Highlight "brought to you by Lexus"...He said, paraphrasing of course "I have been trying to locate a Cubs highlight for the night, and for the life of me I cannot find one...I do apologize but I am sure our sponsors will understand...Here's to 2 Cub highlights after tomorrows game"
Wow, and speechless.
Night Cub fans, June's swoon is beyond us, Let's see what July brings us...
PS: If Cubs.com has another article about Sorryano needing votes for the all star game I am boycotting the site!
MY GOD.....this team is killing me!! They are so horrible that they are a joke, it's embarrassing. The hitting and run production is just amazing how bad it is! Now the defense is going and everyone is playing with their heads up their ass.
The WHOLE team needs to be mixed up, I'm talking possition players. EVERYONE needs to find a new home. I'd keep the starting pitchers (ass many as possible) with Marshall and clean house. Build this team around Haufpauir, Jake fox and Hill. That's it! This team SUCKS ASS and we need to clean house, and start setting an example....you don't hit, you sit or better off, leave. GET SOME BALLS and do something! FOR GOD'S SAKE!
This is crow time for me.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=290630119
Jason Marquis just 2-hit LA at Dodger Stadium -- and is 10-5 with a 3.87 ERA...
Very solid stuff, and I never thought he had this in him.
Indians just released Jose Vizcaino.
we are now tied with the Astros...for 5th place in the division...and we have a $135 million payroll. In fact, we just might finish the worst in history for a team with a top 5 payroll in the league.
While teams like the Cardinals, Pirates, Nationals, and others are making moves, Jim Hendry is sitting on his throne with his hands folded...maybe his thumb up his ass, sucking on his pacifier, and constantly making excuses for his underachieving team while not making a single damn move to get help outside the organization.
Note to Hendry: STOP drafting guys from your friends (Paul Manieri). STOP trading with your friends (as they're clearly taking you on EVERY damn trade). STOP signing guys that recruit you harder than you recruit them!!!!! STOP thinking that the team is just going to turn itself around by magic...no, this team is ACTUALLY BROKEN, and you HAVE to fix it...Listen to your own damn players Hendry:
Here's an excerpt from a Tribune article-
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Before the Cubs were shut out for the eighth time on Tuesday in a 3-0 loss to Pittsburgh, Ramirez laughed at the idea and said the Cubs' hitting woes were not related to his absence.
"Nobody is hitting right now," he said. "We're pitching real well, but we're not scoring runs. I'm sure when I went down it was going to affect us a little bit, but we've still got guys capable of doing better than what we're doing right now."
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I think everyone in the world knew that losing ARAM would affect the Cubs, and yet, as in 2006 with Lee, Hendry sat on his ass, and did absolutely NOTHING to improve the team. We're still technically "in" the race, being 4 1/2 games out now, but the most laughable thing in all of this is the fact that Hendry mismanaged not only the major league team, but also the minor league system during the offseason. After clearly setting forth a goal of getting more left-handed, and acknowledging DeRosa was likely to go, and with Cedeno being out of the plans for 2009, Hendry DFA'd Casey McGehee...LOL...I even said at the time that we had no capable back-up in the event DeRosa went down, much less ARAM...a versatile guy that can play multiple positions well like McGehee was very valuable to have, and yet, we could've protected him on the 40-man, but Jim said, "no thanks...we don't need you"....What the hell was he thinking without a 3B prospect even close to the MLB level?!?
When ARAM went down, our offense was even WORSE than it is now. Lee, Bradley, Fontenot, Soto, Miles, Gathright (and later Freel), were all hovering around the Mendoza line, with just Soriano, Fukudome, and Theriot doing their job. To make matters worse, Hendry and Piniella refused to DL Bradley and Lee when they were hurt and couldn't play, so we constantly had to play a man down for about a month, and thus, had to use Zambrano a lot as a pinch hitter, which was rather embarrassing. So, even then the problem was acute, and he had to have visions of 2006 all over again, right? Wrong...no, he instead said, "we haven't even played our best baseball yet, and we're still only ____ games behind in the loss column" Well, fast-forward a few months, and he's STILL saying the same things, and STILL hasn't done anything. Why? Well, I've mentioned this before about the loyalty of Cubs fans, and how they never have incentive in these times to change anything if they're guaranteed a sell-out. Remember, this technically is still a Tribune owned team. And baseball is still a business...if the team draws, and they suck...why change anything? Why add more dollars to the payroll? Additionally, if the team is "just" 4 1/2 games back, the idiot that is Hendry still thinks everything is going to be alright, and guys will eat magic beans and start hitting again.
Hendry is living in a dream world, and has been for a long time. He took SIGNIFICANT risks with Soriano (given length and dollars, and fact he was coming off a career year), Dempster (same reason), Lilly, Marquis, Fukudome (because he only played in Japan), and Bradley (injuries, temper, dollars, length, and consistency issues). It paid off with Lilly, but it hasn't with any other big signing, outside of our own with ARAM and Z.
I cannot fathom why this guys is still in control, and I pray for my sanity's sake that Ricketts gets the deal done before the deadline so we can actually fix this thing.
I'm tired of everything related to this team, but most of all, I'm tired of Hendry. I'm tired of excuses, and him placing blame on others. We all pretty much agree that Baker wasn't the best manager in the world, but Hendry had the chance to lay down the law with the players before things got out of control (especially as it related to handling criticism from the media/press box), so when things didn't go well, and he kept signing the likes of Neifi, Burnitz, Jones, etc., giving Baker little to work with, Baker was ultimately made the scapegoat by Hendry, then, magically, Hendry starts signing some big name players, and other typical signings like DeRosa, Dempster, Lilly, etc., with them turning to gold, and all of a sudden, Hendry's a genius, and Piniella is so much better than Baker. It's true about Piniella being better than Baker (demanding excellence and a never lose attitude), but Piniella is now old and tired, and can't demand that from his players anymore, simply because he contradicts himself so many times with idle threats like, "this can't continue...changes are ahead," "I'll have more for you tomorrow, but we'll just say expect some big changes," or "we're not in the business of handing jobs to anyone...we're in the business of earning it, and it's up to the player to keep it." (actually, both Hendry and Piniella said that)
...so I have to wonder...if Cedeno, Pie, Murton, or Fox were hitting just .220 after playing full-time for the first 3 months of the season...there's not a chance in hell they'd be with the big league team, right? So why is Fontenot still with this team?!? Why is Miles still technically with this team?!? Why is Freel? Why is Blanco (especially when we need offense)? Those are low-priced talent...Now, if the same holds true for everyone, why is Soriano, Bradley, Soto, and Fukudome playing everyday then? Why didn't Piniella use Koyie Hill, Hoffpauir, and Fox early on when they were scorching hot?
There's so many contradictions with this team, and I have to say that I'm quite tired of it all. I desperately want this aging, overpaid team to be blown up, and I hope it is done soon before it's too late for even 2010.
I think one of the reasons Lou and Ozzie were rated 2 of the worst managers to play for in the league is because they contradict themselves SOOOOOOOOO much. Lou will publicly call out his players, and say someone more deserving will play in their spot, then do the complete opposite. Similarly, Ozzie does the same thing. Then, they both will give a guy a vote of confidence, then replace him in the lineup, or send him down to the minors shortly thereafter. Imagine working for a boss where you never know what type of mood he'll be in, then you'll understand how difficult it might be to play baseball for that guy, traveling with him, sharing a locker room with him, etc. for essentially 220 days out of the year (including spring training and postseason). I think Lou and Ozzie's "doghouses" have really worn thin on players. There's a difference between showing fire and passion, and demanding excellence out of your team, and an entirely different thing to contradict yourself right in front of your players.
A most recent example of this is when Lou called out Bradley (which was deserving) for his shenanigans, but never called out Z, or Dempster for similar acts, or Soriano for his lack of focus in the field and at the plate...and even on the bases. Why? Soriano, arguably has been our worst player this season. Home runs with nobody on base really don't make a difference, and yet, almost half his RBI have come that way. And he's getting how much money to hit .230 with a sub .300 OBP? Exactly. Even the much maligned David Ortiz and Magglio Ordonez have out-hit Soriano.
I'm just sick of it, and I want to vomit.
Agreed on all points. Completely, whole-heartedly, passionately agree on ALL POINTS.
I will reiterate my "request" of the Tribune management:
1) Fire JH immediately, and replace with....really, anyone at this point, because it will be interim...and
2) Fire Lou 5 minutes after JH, and replace with Brenly, assuming he'd take it.
Are you kidding me Aaron. What former Paul Manieri players were in the line-up last night that didn't hit. In fact what former players are batting at all for this Cubs team? Please, at 12:47 am you wrote this huge comment. Just go to bed and shutup.
way to stay classy...perhaps you should've STAYED in bed.
By the way Aaron. Paul Mainieri has a career record 942-537 in 26 seasons. Also a 100% graduation rate of eligible players at Notre Dame. Plus a National Championship 2009 with LSU. So just because some players are from Notre Dame and you don't like them because of Notre Dame tuff @#$%*! luck. Its just too bad you weren't good enough to go there.
Seriously? You're going to talk about this crap? Gimme a break...stick to the Cubs.
funny, d$*&e bag, considering that I had offers from 13 different schools that were BETTER than Notre Dame, including the one he's currently at...before I hurt my elbow my senior year of high school, and missed the entire season. The offers were withdrawn, and I ended up playing on scholarship in NAIA ball instead where I was scouted by the Pirates....nice try num nuts, but you probably don't have a lick of athletic ability in you, so I suggest you be the one to keep quiet
oh...also, I have all the letters framed, as I'm very proud of them. Do you have a mantle full of accomplishments? Do you have letters from scouts to your head coach asking about you? Were you ranked as a "Player to Watch" in your league?
Nah, didn't think so....stick to munching on cheetos on your lazyboy buddy
Nick, are you serious? Gimme a break. Aaron may be a Dome-basher (I really don't know if he is or not), but all of his arguments are backed up.
Sure, he can be redundant, but this entire season is like one big broken LP 33 1/3.
Wow, just showed my age there.
Always nice to wake up to an "Aaron perspective".
I still have just a gut feel that Pinella will be gone soon.
Don't forget, the worst manager in MLB is Dusty, and he's rated #1 in the category of "Manager Players like most."
That's because he didn't correct anything at all. I don't worry about Lou's low rating in that category. Vince Lombardi, how did he rate?
why do people feep saying that this team is in a batting slump? isn't it time to understand that the team has a lot of people who are simply bad hitters? while we are facing the facts it is also time to admit lou isn't as young as he use to be and he really has hurt the team batting alfonso in the lead off spot. they should send alfonso to iowa untill he learns to hit. maybe, if he thinks about the fact that he's not as young as he uase to be either, he might use a bat that lighter so he can another split second before swinging he might be able to lay off pitches six inches outside and at his ankles.
Just want to clarify, that is a new "Nick" posting, not me!