Cubs Crashing

It’s conclusive the Chicago Cubs are out of control. What’s less certain is whether the team is convincingly collapsing or hitting a few hurdles. The press is passionate about pouty pitchers. Chicago pitcher, Carlos Zambrano, was suspended for six games and fined my MLB for his tirade in Wednesday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Zambrano’s latest meltdown is only added to the Cubs’ misery. The pitcher who wears his emotions on his sleeves got into a heated argument with umpire, Mark Carlson. Big Z bumped the home plate man in zebra stripes and was told to leave the game. The ejections came during the seventh inning of the game. Zambrano proceeded to fire a ball into left field, toss his glove and take a bat to the water cooler. On Monday, things were just as testy in the Windy City as a frustrated Ryan Dempster smashed the cooler in a 10-8 loss. Ted Lilly was ejected, and later fined, for arguing with Bob Davidson behind the plate in the win over the Pirates. The catastrophic crisis in Chicago is causing conflict by the day.
Lou Piniella has an unsettled and uptight posse who have been pummeled nine times in their last eleven games. It is time for him to perpetuate the plight and be held accountable for his athlete’s actions. Instead of using the defenseless dugout as a target, I think the Cubs should direct their attention to the diamond. The team is batting a MLB 24th ranked, .249 as a unit. They are 10th in the league in runs scored and 7th in runs allowed. Since beginning the year as division favorites and dominators, the crashing Cubs have dismally dropped off. Their punching bag should be in the form of bashing the baseball.
Randy Wells took a tough loss Thursday night. Wells fells to 0-2 despite allowing two runs and pitching into the eighth inning. It was Wells’ fourth career start. In 25 innings this year, he has fanned 23 batters and posted an ERA of 1.80. The Cubs lost a tight 2-1 game to Randy Wolf and the hot Los Angeles Dodgers. Reliable reliever, Ramon Troncoso, fazed Chicago and wriggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to seal the victory for Joe Torre and the Dodgers.
The Dodgers humiliated the Cubs in the first round of the 2008 playoffs and were the better team this regular season series as well. The Cubs wasted many opportunities and a solid effort from Wells. Last night, Chicago put just one runner on base in the first seven frames. Derrek Lee’s double to lead off the second inning went for naught when Reed Johnson, Geovany Soto, and Mike Fontenot failed to advance Lee from second base.
Another chance to bust out was in the eighth. Pinch hitter, Bobby Scales, hit a leadoff home run to left field on a full count. Jake Fox, who was called up to play third base but Piniella is not ready to start, clubbed a pinch hit single to center. Kosuke Fukudome, the team batting average leader with .311, walked. The Cubs leader in homeruns and RBIs, Alfonso Soriano, struck out, Ryan Theriot hit into a double play, and Chicago went down without crossing the plate.
In the bottom of the ninth, Joe Torre called Troncoso in for the save. Jonathan Broxton is the usual Dodger closer, but Torre rested him after the hurler walked three Wednesday at Colorado. Slumping slugger, Milton Bradley, fabricated a bunt single to leadoff the ninth and spark a comeback rally for the Cubs. Troncoso intentionally walked Fukudome with two outs and runners on first and second. With crowded bags, Troncoso struck out Scales and Fox. The defeated Cubs slipped back to the .500 mark as the nosedive continues. It’s hard to remember this same team won 97 games a year ago.
Last October, L.A. swept Chicago with strong outings from their starters. Starting pitcher, Randy Wolf, kept the Cubs in check with a colossal effort. The left-hander’s breaking pitches were good enough to contain the confounding Cubs and make the Dodgers a scintillating and stellar 19 games over .500. They boast baseball’s best record at 34-15. Wolf outdueled the Chicago rookie to earn third win of the year. He allowed one run on six hits and struck out seven. The determined Dodgers did their scoring in the first and third innings. Juan Pierre led off the game with a single. Pierre stole second and Rafael Furcal bunted towards Fontenot at third base. The ball was out of Fontenot’s reach and rolled into the outfield, as Pierre paced in from second base. Furcal, back in the L.A. lineup after missing four games, reached home safely on Casey Blake’s groundout in the third inning.
The Cubs are clumsy crumbling with the club and continue to show they miss the services of All-star third baseman, Aramis Ramirez. Since his absence, Chicago is only sporting a 7-11 record. Ramirez brings a dependable clutch bat and a little life to the team. Two minor leaguers factored into the scoring against Wolf on Thursday, and that was all the offensive production complicated Chicago managed. Scales, an infielder/outfielder was recalled from Triple-A Iowa. The under-the-weather Scales was unavailable Wednesday because of the flu, but replaced an injured Ryan Freel on the roster Thursday. The 31 year old’s homer was his second pinch hit of the season. Fox, a converted catcher, added a pinch hit but could be a liability defensively. If Fox has to play the field, the Dodgers will test him with their slick bunt hitters.
The Cubs are batting some injuries, most notably to starter, Rich Harden. The imposing bat of Lee is clearly missing and Soriano’s early surge has suddenly stopped. Lee did have a team high two hits in last night’s loss. Alfonso has cooled off and has not hit in the clutch. Dempster and Zambrano are hot-headed pitchers but the rotation is a talented one. A return to Wrigley after a terrible 0-6 road trip was supposed to help the Cubs. The Pirates camped out at Wrigley starting Memorial Day, and even with his outburst, Chicago won Zambrano’s game. They scored a combined five runs during the six game stretch and only one more Thursday night. They lost on Monday despite the heated bats posting eight runs. The starting pitchers could not put away the Pirates. Dempster lasted just four innings Monday and was not his usual self. His seven scattered hits gave him a no decision, while lefty Neal Cotts, got charged with the loss. The bullpen can provide length and the Cubs have enough talented depth from their bench and in their system to be division winners again. But the steadfast stars of last season are not showing their faces this Spring. Cotts and Aaron Heilman did not pitch well from the bullpen this week. When the relievers allow runs late in games, it makes it increasingly harder for the offense to come back. The offense put up seven runs in four innings, exploding on Monday. Bradley connected for a two run bomb and four RBIs. Theriot, Soto and Freel all contributed by driving in runs, but the pitching and hitting weren’t clicking on the same night.
The Cubs can still win the series with L.A. and it would help mitigate the damage done this past month. It would also place Chicago in a position to show a semblance of swagger. The broken-down Cubs left 23 runners on base Thursday and failed to score even a run with the bases loaded. That does not equate to winning baseball. If the Cubs can’t control their emotions, at least they can maintain composure on the godly grasses of Wrigley. Lilly stands lofty on the hill to face an L.A. ball club and their ace, Chad Billingsley, today. The Cubs just cannot score even though they have the wherewithal to hit. They are struggling and stranding sluggers as I scribe this. The team with the third highest payroll in baseball has to start earning their money and challenging Chad creates a clear chance at curtailing Cubs corruption.


Parting points: The Cavs staved off elimination last night but I still feel Orlando wins the series.
What happened to the Tampa Bay Rays?
Song to end the weel: “All Over You” by Live