A Rare Cubs Victory
Carlos Zambrano pitched eight shutout innings as the Cubs beat the Nats last night, 4-0. Unfortunately, though, everybody's talking about an incident with Jacque Jones. Seems one drunk fan has had enough and decided to whip a ball at Jacque's head in Right Field. While I share in the fan's frustration, throwing things at players will not be tolerated. To echo one of Perry's favorite phrases, "These people are savages."
As much as I've ragged on him in the past, I'm starting to feel bad for Jacque Jones. Yes, he got doubled off last night for the third time this month, taking a run off the board, and there's simply no excuse for that. Even Bob Brenly couldn't defend Jones after that "brilliant piece of base running" (as Stoney used to say). But the look of disappointment on his face after the play, combined with his dejected look for the rest of the game was hard to watch. When he smashed the ball right at the first baseman his next time up, he had this look of, "I can't win." (Of course, here's where the cynic in me says, "Well, what did you expect when you signed with the Cubs?") Base-running gaffes aside, I'm not mad at Jones. It's not his fault Hendry signed him to a three-year deal. It's not his fault Baker starts him against left-handers. Jones is doing about what I expected, and he appears to be giving maximum effort on every single play. There's no "it's just a game" in Jacque Jones.
This sucks because people really should be talking about Zambrano right now. He was awesome last night. Hitting his corners, not walking people, striking out eight...he almost made me forget about how awful they've been this month. Dempster redeemed himself tonight, as well, recording a 1-2-3 ninth. Not only did the Cubs pitch well tonight, but they also had some big hits. Pierre, Walker, Barrett, and Aramis all contributed. I liked the new lineup, by the way, with Murton hitting second, then Barrett, Ramirez, Jones and Mabry taking the four through seven slots.
Before yesterday's game, my buddy Dave gave a scary prognostication: Cubs win their next six over the Nationals and White Sox; Dusty gets an extension; Cubs lose 25 of next 30. If that's what happens, shoot me now.