The Results:
8/3 W vs. Reds 4-2
8/4 W vs. Reds 6-3
8/5 L vs. Reds 0-4
8/7 L vs. Rockies 2-6
8/8 W vs. Rockies 6-5
8/9 L vs. Rockies 5-11
The Story:
The Cubs found themselves in a soft spot in their schedule this week but could not make any ground on the Cardinals as they went into play on Monday 2 games back in the Central and the Wildcard race. The Cubs began this week backed by Mike Fontenot’s three-run homer in the top of the second in Game One vs. the Reds. Randy Wells threw seven innings of shutout ball before allowing a homer. Derek Lee’s RBI double provided insurance in the win, a solid 4-2 contest.
Acquired at the non-waiver Trade Deadline, left-hander Tom Gorzelanny rewarded the Cubs’ faith with a stellar debut 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball. The left-hander helped his own cause with an RBI single, and Kosuke Fukudome and Derrek Lee homered in another solid win.
The Cubs took a couple steps back in the following two games as Rich Harden pitched well, fanning nine, but coughed up a two-run jack and allowed another run to score with a throwing error as the Cubs got shutout 0-4.
The start of an awkwardly played 4-game set (Friday-Monday) against the Rockies saw another woeful offensive performance in a game that was meant to feature Carlos Zambrano but he was scratched before game time which meant they started the game in the bullpen. The result was as expected, a 2-6 loss.
Saturday’s game saw some lineup changes buy Lou and he seemed to push the right buttons as Fukudome and Lee went yard in a 6-5 win. Randy wells began the week with a sterling effort and ended it with the exact opposite. Wells gave up 3 runs in the first two innings and the Cubs never recovered. Sweet Lou lost his temper and rightfully so, he was tossed after a classic Lou outburst. The second base umpire blew a call that cost the Cubs an early run on a double play that should have only been one out.
The bottom line is this, this team is painfully average right now finishing 3-3 against non-contenders, and they look unmotivated and have major injury problems to key personnel. I believe there really is only one question to ask: Is it football season yet?
Popularity: 1% [?]
