to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. With Gorzelanny pitching a gem into the seventh inning, Alfonso Soriano dropped a routine chance in left field. After that, everything changed. Marshall managed to get them out of the inning tied 1-1, but Lou went to his go-to guy Grabow to clinch the loss and he comes through with a little help from Caridad.
They also had some help from the aforementioned habit of batting entirely differently when they are trying to start a rally than when they are trying to drive in runs. Today they left 13 runners. So far they look like the same old Cubs despite the much-heralded addition of a new batting coach. Old habits die hard.
Old habits also continue to reign in the management of the bullpen. Granted the Cubs have a young bullpen, but some rethinking needs to take place here. It's certainly becoming apparent that Grabow is the same pitcher he always was and maybe his performance at the end of last year was a bit of a fluke, just one of many hot streaks in a middling career. Not the guy to pitch the eighth inning in a tie game. He has average stuff and mediocre command. I'm coming round to the view that some of the stats guys were right and signing Grabow, especially with this role in mind, was a serious mistake.
Caridad has great stuff, but one pitch he can rely upon and little command right now. Pitching with the game on the line is not the way to develop this kid. After the game got away, someone must have awakened Lou in the dugout to put in Russell and end the inning.
Again, the success of the season depends on making the correct adjustment and managing the team with a little more thought and creativity.
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