A Bad Day for Maddon

I doubt the Cubs loss Saturday afternoon will have any real effect on the season's outcome.  Still, it was a tough one to stomach.  Maddon was quick to defend Wade Davis and to discourage anyone tempted to blame him for the defeat, which, incidentally, deflected any blame away from himself for shoddy bullpen management.  Actually, Davis is to blame for the defeat.  He was given the lead twice and blew it both times.  This is an objective fact.  It is also the case that Davis has been pretty much flawless in late inning relief, having converted every save opportunity this season and having lost one game when he came on with the score tied.  So, sure, cut him some slack, but don't pretend he did not give up two home runs when his team had the lead.

Actually, if anyone is at fault here, it is Maddon.  Davis has appeared in six of the last eight games the Cubs have played.  He has also not attempted a two inning save all year.  His longest previous outing, within the last week, was a four out save.  It is also the case that Davis did not have it and Maddon had alternatives.  One hopes this is not a trend for the Cubs manager, as he really did botch up bullpen and pitching management in general through the playoffs and World Series last year.

The thing I have not seen criticized about Saturday's game is the game strategy.  I mean, the ninth and tenth innings worked out in the sense that the Cubs came out of each inning with a run that put them ahead.  However, since when do the Cubs play small ball and bunt with position players at bat and nobody out and a platoon advantage.  Similarly, although it is against the book to put the winning run on base, the smart play is to walk Shaw with a runner at second and an open base, simply because Shaw is the only guy on the Brewers who can beat you.

As a final digression in this rant, shouldn't Maddon keep his mouth shut about politics and so-called respect for the White House and its current unworthy occupant?  Even NFL owners, one of the more fascist groups in modern America, have the good sense to exercise some discretion in this matter.

Looming Showdown

The Cubs meet the Brewers beginning tonight in a crucial four game series which will likely determine the winner of the division and, should the Cubs sweep or win three of four, the likely second wild card team. I like the Cubs chances despite their recent offensive woes in Tampa. 

Meanwhile Jon Lester continues to struggle.  He was 3-0 since returning from the DL, but those were not dominant starts by any means. Last night was dreadful.  He lacked command and velocity. Worst of all were the soft tossess picking off runners.  Geez, can't the guy practice throwing to the bases?  I mean he can ordinarily throw 90 mph to home plate.  45 mph straight would have nabbed any of the Rays runners.  What playoff teams are going to take away is they can basically take a thirty foot lead from any base and get away with it.

Cubs Sweep Again

The Cubs swept the Cards over the weekend.  Whether the losses to the Brewers the previous weekend were a wake up call or not, the Cubs have played very well since, drubbing the woeful Mets and pretty much dominating the Cardinals as well.  With thirteen games remaining, even though four are against the Cubs, you have to assume the Cardinals are finished.  Six games is a lot to make up with such a small number remaining.

Milwaukee is another story.  They won again on Monday night, but they still have their work cut out for them going into the weekend against the Cubs.  Not sure why the Cubs have put Montgomery back into the rotation to face Tampa on Tuesday unless they want to give Arrieta another day or two to shape up.  The only thing it does is to push Lester back a day, which means he will miss the Brewers series altogether.  I thought maybe he had better numbers against the Cardinals, but he has pitched pretty well against both opponents over the past few years, so it has to be an Arrieta thing.

Cubs Sweep Mets

So the Cubs will enter the crucial weekend series with the Cardinals three games up on them and the Brewers.  It could be worse.  I was out at the park Thursday night, probably for the last time this season unless the final weekend series with the Reds is meaningful or I score a chance to purchase playoff tickets.  There was a good atmosphere and confidence held up even though the team played sloppy baseball early in the game and the rookie pitcher Tseng never seemed comfortable.  I must say he showed some promise though he was overmatched right now.

Actually, I'm not certain why the Cubs gave him the start other than the desire to move Montgomery back to the bullpen.  Montgomery eventually entered the game in the fourth, pitched two solid innings and came away as the winning pitcher.  After Tseng exited in the fourth, the Cubs, who had stayed close through three innings, put on kind of a hitting and baserunning clinic to thoroughly outclass their opponents.

In the end, the Mets proved to be totally incompetent in almost every facet of the game.  It seemed fitting the game ended on a freakish play where the final out was made against a baserunner who attempted to score from second on a dribbler maybe ten feet up the third base line that Avila somehow thought he should field even though it was almost certainly going foul.  Avila fell down and rolled over into foul territory in the process, righted himself only to discover the Mets baserunner half way down the third base line.  He flipped the ball to Pena who applied the tag ten or fifteen feet in front of home plate to end the game.

Time to Panic?

Not yet.  But there is genuine cause for concern.  The Cubs entered the weekend series with a five game lead over the Brewers and the Cardinals and left with a two game lead over their rivals.  In the process, they played three really awful games and wasted two excellent starts by Lackey and Hendricks sandwiched around a stinker from Montgomery.

What can you say?  Earlier in the season, it was the starters who were letting them down most often.  Now it is the hitting.  In the current stretch since their six game winning streak ended, the Cubs have struck out 74 times.  One thing that strikes me is that in these streaks of lackluster performance, the team as a whole is not just pressing, but guessing as well.  This seems to have certainly been the case against Milwaukee the past weekend.  They seemed to be off balance all the time, to be expecting a fast ball and getting a breaking ball or a changeup, and vice versa.  That or the opponents have scouted them very well and the Cubs have failed to scout them.

The team can certainly bounce back.  It is also the case they have eleven games remaining against their principal rivals and the remaining eight against teams that are not very good, viz. the Mets, Rays, and Reds.  Milwaukee and St. Louis end the season facing each other, which could certainly work to the Cubs advantage should they have even a slim division lead.  They should also be cheered that Milwaukee lost to the Pirates Monday night.

Still, they missed a golden opportunity to end the Brewers season once and for all last weekend.

Another Stinker

Just when you think this club is ready to step on the gas, they let up.  After six straight wins, the Cubs have managed to lose three in a row, scoring only four runs in the process.  Tuesday was no different.  The team got rolling early, scoring three runs in the first three innings, then stalled against what amounted to a AAA relief pitcher and an assortment of bullpen arms.  The only thing they had on common was they were left-handed, as was Atlanta's starter on Sunday.  All one can say about that right-handed hitting lineup the Cubs have fielded lately is they stink.  I mean, it is one thing to rely on a heavily right-handed lineup when it includes Contreras and Russell as well as the regulars, another when it does not.

Another observation about this game - and it was a shame to waste a masterful performance by Hendricks - is that Maddon was simply out-managed.  Hurtle must have realized the Cubs had fielded a weak collection of hitters even though they were predominantly right-handed, as he stuck to lefties from his bullpen throughout.  The Cubs had no answer from their bench, as it was almost exclusively left-handed.  Maddon replaced Hendricks with Edwards in the seventh.  Edwards got the strikeout to strand the Pirates baserunner, but he was obviously wild.  In the eighth he just blew the game.  To my mind, Edwards has been very, very good and very, very awful lately by turns.  You can always tell when the latter is the case because he is wild.

The Cubs are still 3 1/2 up on the Brewers, but they still cannot afford to blow games like that without paying the price. especially as Arrieta is likely to miss at least one start and Russell is a couple of weeks away from a return.