It’s easier to say it after a win (and big exhale when Pie caught the last ball, far short of the wall than it looked off the bat) but I haven’t been too worried about the Cubs the last few games then iI was earlier in the bad streak.
– It wasn’t a good play by Cedeno on Sunday, but it was a tough bounce and Cedeno ws responsible for the lead being there anyway so it’s hard to fault him much
– Tuesday’s was bad luck; it wasn’t as though the Cardinals were really great and the Cubs were really bad, St. Louis was just a little better that game. It just sticks out more when it’s preceded by a lot of losses.
Marquis’ been pitching pretty good, Dempster’s been fine, Lilly piched great last night, and hopefully Harden and Z come back right where they left off. There’s a missing likn out in the bullpen, with Gaudin being out indefinitely and Jeff Samardzija has been figured out a bit by the hitters, and I’m not sure how they’ll fix that yet, but the hitting has been good enough that I figure it’ll come back around soon or later.
Most of all, it’s hard to get really concerned when everyone else seems to playing as badly. The Cubs probably could’ve clinched by next Tuesday if they had played decent, but they’re still well ahead in the only race that matters (getting any playoff birth, 8.5 GA) All they’re losing is a few extra games of irrelevance at the end of the season, not the end of the world. You don’t have to be hot going into the playoffs, you’ve just to get in.
Hopefully this hurricane doesn’t strain things, and the Cubs get a chance to lengthen that lead over the Astros.
* – everyone saying Houston’s made the right choices to go trade for a race after all are way too quick on the trigger. They’ve been as hot as possible to get this far, but they’re still five games out. If they win the wildcard, then they’ve done something worth congrulating. If they’ve don’t, they’ve made the cardinal mistake of paying high costs to finish out of the playoffs. Your franchise goal shouldn’t be “finishing a strong third”, because then you’re missing the point.