Record: 2-5
Final Record: 35-47
Games Behind First: 11.5 GB
Wrigley Field isn't an advantage for anything these days. The Cubs' home record fell to 20-23 after a very poor homestand. The Cubs should've won two of three against the Pirates and two of four against the Reds, but they can never beat the teams they're supposed to and also can't beat the teams better than them. The evil Pirates who probably now have destroying the Cubs as their only achievement this season, came to Wrigley Monday night. Alfonso Soriano hit a home run for the Cubs only scoring, and Jose Tabata hit a go-ahead double in the top of the 9th to win it 2-1. Soriano went deep two more times the next day but the Cubs only managed three runs. Luckily, Ted Lilly was on his game and the Cubs snuck out a 3-1 win. Wednesday was a game we would've had if it wasn't our defense failing us for the millionth time. This time it was Aramis Ramirez in the top of the 8th, after a pitching duel between Tom Gorzelanny and Brad Lincoln in a 0-0 game. An error putting on Andy LaRoche haunted the Cubs after Garrett Jones doubled to center to score him and later Sean Marshall walked in a run. 2-0.
The Cincinnati Reds came to town feeling pretty confident. Behind the young superstars Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Mike Leake and Drew Stubbs as well as the veterans Orlando Cabrera, Scott Rolen, and Bronson Arroyo, they were in first place heading into this series. Soriano said before the series, "If we lose three, it could get ugly." It's going to get ugly now, as the Cubs only put up a fight in two of the games and only won one. On Thursday Tyler Colvin hit a clutch two-run single in the 8th to tie the game at two, but Drew Stubbs knocked in the go-ahead run in the 10th and the Reds won it in extras. The Reds also won Saturday, 12-0 and for the Cubs there was literally nothing to report. Brian Schlitter gave up five. Yay. Soriano hit an RBI single and Geovany Soto hit a two-run double in a three-run sixth in a 3-1 win Saturday, with Randy Wells pitching maybe his best game of the year. It's been a struggle for the guy this season, so it was nice to see him pitch well and against a good team. There were nine homers hit on Sunday. Nine! The Cubs' two were both from impressive Tyler Colvin, but the Cubs were blown out badly 14-3 from the Reds homers by Jonny Gomes, Paul Janish, Corky Miller, Brandon Phillips, Drew Stubbs, Drew Stubbs, and Drew Stubbs. Stubbs surprisingly hit three homers although he is not necessarily known for his power.
Because of my busy week the last week, I didn't watch an out in a game of this homestand. The week long drought was the longest since I became a Cubs fan on a day-to-day basis in mid 2006. If you have something else to do with your spare time, right now I suggest you do so. Watching this stuff is depressing. Monday's game was promising in Arizona, but that doesn't mean anything anymore. The problem I have with this team is that there are no strong spots. We are bad against lefties, bad against righties. Bad at home, bad on the road. Bad in April, bad in May, bad in June, bad in July. We aren't constantly getting swept and then sweeping other teams, but rather we are consistently bad against all. We lose so many series that you wonder if there is ever a bright spot for this team. I would feel that we are much stronger if we were streaky and won five in a row to lose five in a row right after because there is a good chance that sometime they could continue the winning formula over the rest of the season. But no, this year we are just boring and losing.
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