After not addressing the media following Sunday’s loss in Cincinnati, a very frustrated and animated Lou Piniella spoke after Tuesday’s defeat in St. Louis. The Cubs are reeling and from Piniella’s statements he is more than tired of what he is seeing on the field. Here are the quotes….
“We’re playing like we’re waiting to get beat. You don’t have enough big of a lead in September to play ball like that. Teams that play baseball like that invariably get caught no matter how big their lead. You’ve got to stay aggressive. You’ve got to do the things that you’ve done all year.”
“We’re not executing. We’re making mistakes, and we’re getting beat. And I’m getting tired of watching it, to be quite honest with you. That’s not the way we played all year to get to where we are now. And I know we’re trying. But truthfully, trying isn’t good enough.”
“We had many chances today again. We had many chances Sunday in Cincinnati, and it’s the same result. If we had played ball like this all year, we wouldn’t be here playing for a championship. We’d be playing a spoiler role for somebody else. And I know we’re trying. I’ve got no complaints with the effort. You’ve got to get the job done.”
“We can talk about having fun. We can talk about relaxing. You’ve got to get your damn shirts rolled up and go out and kick somebody’s ass. That’s what you got to do. Period. Period. That’s all I got to say.”
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The Cubs are not the only division leader playing bad ball right now. According to Salomon Torres, the Brewers are going to catch the Cubs. And while both teams are struggling, they have allowed the Cardinals and the very dangerous Houston Astros back in the Wild Card race….and possibly the NL Central Division race. The Cubs will enter play on Wednesday 4 1/2 ahead of the Brewers with the Cardinals 8 games back and the Astros 8 1/2 behind with 18 remaining on the schedule.