The jinx lives.
I have attended four Cubs' games in my life (two in ATL ('96, '05), two in AZ ('07, '08). They have now lost every single one. (No, I have never been to Wrigley, one of life's biggest disappointments to date. It will be rectified soon).
The fourth was yesterday's 2-0 demoralizing loss to the Diamondbacks. Here are my thoughts:
1) Rich Harden deserves better. In 12 1/3 innings with the Cubs, he's given up only one run, striking out 20 while walking only five and giving up less than a base-runner an inning (0.89 WHIP). Yet, he is also now 0-1. Thank you, bullpen. Thank you, offense.
2) The offense was a combination of unlucky and undisciplined yesterday. The team hit so many seeds yesterday, yet not one fell. Give credit to Arizona centerfielder Chris Young; he ran down a lot of balls. But it's fair to say the Cubs did have far more well-hit balls than the Diamondbacks did.
However, the team was undisciplined too. SPECIFICALLY, Derrek Lee's horrifying at-bat in the ninth. With the tying run on-base and nobody out, Lee had the 2-and-o green light... and grounded meekly into a 6-4-3 double play. When you're swinging 2-and-0, the pitch better be a belt-high fastball and you better belt it a mile. Inexcusable that that didn't happen.
3) Aramis Ramirez looked lost at the plate. Same way he looked during last year's NLDS in Arizona. Maybe he doesn't like the lighting at Chase Field. But it's frustrating to have your 3-4-5 hitters (specifically the No. 4 man) look so terrible at the plate.
4) I'm highly concerned about the bullpen. It's starting to have a 2003 feel to it, when Dusty only trusted three guys down there. And what's worse, I don't think Lou even feels like he can trust these three anymore:
Kerry Wood is likely headed for the DL.
Carlos Marmol has been throwing gas on a fire recently.
And Bob Howry is NOT the pitcher everyone believes him to be. His best ERA so far this year has been 4.35 (on June 3), he's allowing way more than a hit an inning (57 hits in 47 innings) and I don't feel comfortable with him out there in clutch situations.
This 'pen needs Howry and Marmol to get right, Wood and Scott Eyre to get healthy, and Neal Cotts, Michael Wuertz, Sean Marshall, Kevin Hart, etc., to start pitching meaningful innings. Otherwise, it will be an early exit from the playoffs, if the team even makes it there.
5) Even on a day when the Cubs lost, it's still great to see so many Cubs' fans in an opposing team's ballpark. Chicago fans probably outnumbered D-Backs fans two-to-one yesterday. And I loved this sign one Cub fan brought.
