I think I am qualified to talk about the Cubs. Aside from being a life-long fan and the fact I have written about them here in the past, I was a paying customer at Wrigley Field for 35 games this season. I stood on the street for an additional ten. What I saw last night was a horrible display of baseball. I understand that teams have bad days, but this is the playoffs and if you expect to win a title, you cannot have these sorts of games.
Not now.
Not when the season is on the line.
Let’s go down the list of who is in a slump. Fukudome has been in a slump since June. Lead-off hitter Alfonso Soriano has looked like a minor league call up. First baseman Derrek Lee’s nickname has changed from ‘D Lee’ to ‘D P Lee’, due to him leading the league in double plays. Ryan Theriot cannot find a hole to sneak the ball through and cannot hold on to a ball in the field.
Shall I go on?
‘Rookie Sensation’ Geovany Soto TWICE through the ball halfway back to the mound. Worst of all, Lou Pinella is in a terrible managerial slump.
Heck, even those who are doing well, such as Mark DeRosa, basically cost the team the game with his botched snag of a potential double play ball. There is no way this is the same team that won 97 games, is it?
I feel that clinching the division early wound up costing the Cubs. As the end of the regular season came to a close, people saw the warning signs but looked the other way because, well, they would shake off the rust and run through the playoffs. I was convinced of this.
There is always next year. Again.
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