Rock Bottom

How on Earth can you lose a game when you score six runs in the first inning before you even make a single out?  I'll answer that with another question.  Why on Earth is Earnest Jackson pitching into the seventh inning when he has blown a six run lead?

I think the answer to the second question is pretty simple.  Dale Sveum allows his starters to throw at least 100 pitches if they are ahead or tied, whatever the quality of the pitches they are throwing.  Sveum never deviates from the game plan, no matter what.  It is like having an automaton in the dugout.

The answer to the first question is a little more complicated, but it has a lot to do with expectations and knowing how to win, or, in this case, not giving a damn whether you win or lose.  Surely fans have noticed that whenever the Cubs jump out to an early lead, they just seem to quit.  Short, quick at-bats, etc.  In their minds, the game is over.  The same syndrome is manifested in another observation, namely, how much better their at-bats seem to be late in the game, taking pitches, making tough outs, executing basic baseball strategies, etc.

In short, in these situations, some if not all of the players are paying attention.  Something they do not do most of the time.  So, some of this has to do with the players' ability and makeup for sure, but a lot has to do with the environment and the coaching.

I don't know the answer here, but one thing I do know is there is a big difference between being competitive and expecting to be competitive and expecting to lose all the time.  In the latter case, how you mess up doesn't much matter because no matter what you do, you will still lose.

So this so-called plan the Cubs have is theoretically fine, but in practice, without the presence of a serious manager and coaching staff and genuine expectations, the result is what you see on the field now.  The Cubs major league team is built and is being managed as a AAA affiliate.  There are a few legitimate prospects who are being "developed" and a number of placeholders who are being kept aboard to fill perceived holes in the roster.  Right now, the guys the team has invested in, Castro and Rizzo in particular, are still playing as if they were in AAA.

Going back to last night's game illustrates my point in another way.  Why was Jackson still in the game?  This is how you manage when you are in the minor leagues, when the goal is to get in your work and expose players to game situations and so on.  The big problem is what do you do when the prospects don't develop and meet expectations, major league expectations.

Here's another example of Sveum-think and Cub-think that I saw recently.  Sveum was waxing on about how great Donnie Murphy has been since they called him up from Iowa, eight home runs in seventeen games, blah, blah, blah.  Where would the team be without him?  I'll tell you where the team would be.  They are 5-12 in that stretch.  They would be 4-13.  Big deal.  It is this kind of thinking that shows you how far away the Cubs really are from being a major league team.