After the Cubs had one of their best records in April in 1969, the start of May is starting to resemble the collapse towards of the season in 1969. In one their toughest weeks this season, nothing looked pretty as the Cubs just won two out six against there NL Central rivals the Brewers and the Cardinals. In a week that could have seperated them from everyone else in the divison, the Cubs are now looking up towards the Cardinals who now have a 1 1/2 lead over the Cubs. Lets quickly recap this horrible week the Cubs have endured.
In the first game of a three game series against the Brewers, the Cubs lost 10-7 where there bullpen exploded and the Cubs were not able to deliever in the clutch. The second game, which is forgotten in everybody's minds because of the other events that happened in this week, the Cubs demolished the Brewers 19-5. In this game Geovany Soto hit 2 home runs and had 6 RBI's. Things were looking up for the Cubs as they entered game 3 of the series. The Cubs had a 3-1 lead entering the ninth inning with Kerry Wood on the mound to seal the deal. Earlier, Zambrano pitched a beautiful game and was helped by perfect innings from Carlos Marmol. Soriano was also back in the line up after returning from the DL. Even though Soriano went 0-4, the day was going to have a beautiful ending. I think I spoke to soon. The beautiful ending never came as the Cubs coughed up the lead and ended up losing 4-3. It all started with Wood hitting the first batter in the ninth and then allowing the next batter get on base. It was now men on first and second as Wood delievered the next pitch to the next batter. A fly ball to left field which is playable and catchable for Soriano. Soriano misjudges it and misses the ball. A run comes across the board and pretty soon Cubs were down 4-3. Frustration mounted over to the press conference as Pinella ripped a reporter who questioned him about leaving Soriano in the game and not have a defensive replacement. It was one of the most frustrating lost the Cubs have had so far this season. I hope Lou can endear another misplay by Soriano.
Oh hey, game one against the Cardinals in beautiful St. Louis, where dare I say it, Soriano misjudges not one, but two flyballs which enabled the Cardinals to score two runs. Earlier in the game, Rich Hill only last 2/3 of an inning throwing only 27 pitches and allowing 4 walks. The bullpen saved Hills night, but the Cubs were down 3-1 going into the ninth were Soriano redemed himself with a game tying two run home run. However, it just wasn't in the cards for Cubs to win. In the bottom of the 11th, Skip Skumaker hits a game winning two run home run to cap off a night where the Cubs stranded tons of men on base and had thousands of chances to score. Game two, there was no contest as the Cubs were able to put up a six spot in the 4th innning and never looked back as they won 9-3. The Cubs had a chance to win the series and end the week on a high note after a horrible begginning. The Cubs quickly jumped to a 2-0 lead, but that was quickly erased when Marquis could not hold the lead as the Cardinals would score five times off of Marquis. The Cards would eventually go on to win 5-3. The Cubs had their chances to take the lead or even tie it in the game. The biggest inning was in the 7th where the Cubs had the bases loaded with no outs with Lee, Fukudome, and DeRosa coming up. Lee popped up, Fukudome hit a sac fly, and DeRosa flied out. A team can't win games if they just score one run with the bases loaded with one out.
Struggling entering this week will not help the Cubs even if they are facing the Reds who have lost five straight. The Reds are throwing out against the Cubs the first game their rookie phenom Jhonny Cueto. The Reds are looking for blood after also having a horrible week.
The Cubs could have broken open this division by winning back to back series against the Brewers and the Cardinals, but they were not able to. This week does not seem to get easier. They go on the road to face the Reds and then have a huge three game set against the red hot Arizona Diamondbacks. Even though it is early in the season, the Cubs can either break open the divison as they face the Pirates six times and the struggling Padres and Rockies eight tmes, or find themselves look up to the suprise contenders the St. Louis Cardinals. But hey these are the Cubs. With 100 years of agony underneath our belts, what else can't we take?
Keywords: Arizon Diamondbacks, Brewers, Cardinals, Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs, Geovany Soto, Kerry Wood, Lou Pinella, MLB, NL Central, Padres, Rockies
