Or somewhat better play, same disappointing results. Arguably, the Cubs played well enough to win both the Yankees and White Sox series. However, they lost.
The games were certainly entertaining. I'm beginning to think now that entertainment is really all we are going to get from this team from this point on. Right now they are pretty much a .500 team, which, if loyal followers can recall, is about what we expected. We thought the team could hang in to contest a very weak division. Owing to a series of injuries and just sloppy and dumb play in general, they have come to a point where they are so far out of it that their generally competent play of late makes little difference.
One thing that stood out in the Sox series was how very close these two teams are to being mirror images of one another. I actually think the Cubs have a little more upside than the Sox, but that the Sox will give their fans more of a run for their money since they either have had the good fortune to play in an even worse division that the Cubs or they have somehow been able to survive to this point a lot closer to genuine mediocrity.
Whatever it was, the two sides gritted it out. The Cubs best game was Monday, when Zambrano overcame a poor beginning to dominate for 8 innings and Fukudome, Castro, and Pena, the only Cubs hitters paying close attention to the opposing pitcher, managed to produce 6 runs between them.
On Tuesday, the Cubs were a little unlucky that the rains came just when they seemed to have Mark Buerhle on the ropes. When play resumed, they could only manage to tie the game on a sacrifice fly and they had to remove Garza and rely on their bullpen.
On Wednesday, a game they figured to lose since Doug Davis was the starting pitcher, they at least made a contest of things. Personally I chalk up this loss to two bad decisions by Mike Quade. The first was allowing Davis to come back out for the 5th inning after he had clearly lost it in the 4th. Actually maybe three bad decisions because he still might have taken Davis out when the bases had been loaded after DeWitt botched up a routine ground ball.
Quade seems determined to get a set number of innings out of his starter no matter what is going on in the game, and this has cost the team some chances as the season has progressed. Guillen had no compunctions to removing Peavy when he had clearly lost it and this decision wound up winning the game for the White Sox.
The other really bad decision was allowing Koyie Hill to bat with Tony Campana at 3rd and one out in the 8th. Guillen had already successfully used the squeeze on two occasions in the series, almost pointing the way to a successful strategy for Quade to adopt. It has always been my observation than when an opposing manager uses the squeeze play it is almost inevitable the opponent will find an excuse to do the same thing later on.
Evidently Quade is the exception who proves the rule, as he was presented with an obvious squeeze situation and chose instead to allow the completely over-matched Hill, an excellent bunter, to strike out. There is just no excuse for this lapse of attention on Quade's part at this stage of the game. Either Hill bunts or he comes out for a pinch hitter who can just touch the ball because Campana is going to score on any play unless you pop out or strike out.
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