Two lucky wins in a row for Cubs
The Cubs just won their second game in a row that they had no right winning. After blowing a 7-0 lead and leaving 15 men on base (in 12 innings) on Monday, they left another 15 on base today in 15 more innings of play. Twenty-seven innings to beat the lowly Pirates twice. (And man, do they stink.)
I'm not going to complain, though. A win is a win and if the Cubs end up winning the division by two games, I can think back and remember these two supremely frustrating shitfests. These are the games they were losing last year, so if there's a silver lining, that's it.
Some more positives:
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Dempster was again awesome today. In two starts, he's thrown 13 innings, giving up four hits, four walks, ten Ks, and one run. Not bad at all.
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Bob Howry had two effective outings in a row, after his LVP last week. Soriano is starting to snap out of it as well.
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Felix Pie had a game-winning hit -- off a left-hander no less -- and he was fired up. Hopefully he gains some confidence from this. I like Reed Johnson, but I really want to see if Pie is legit. His ceiling is so much higher than Johnson's.
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Nice homer by Aramis in the 14th. Too bad Hart gave it right back in the bottom half and extended the game. I couldn't believe it. I was about to start writing this post after Aramis' homer but I decided to hold off. Glad I did.
Some negatives:
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Ted Lilly was crap again. Can't hold a 7-run-lead? Really?
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Pignatiello was so bad he was demoted to AAA after the game. (8 pitches, 8 balls.) Marshall's back and he got the save tonight.
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Wood blew his first save. (Game one was not a save situation.) He didn't have a hissy fit or anything (like some of the Cubs other pitchers would have) and overall he was throwing OK, so I think he'll be fine.
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Sloppy, sloppy defense all around. Three infield errors on Monday just kept the brutal fourth inning going and going.
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If you look up the phrase "Anti-Clutch" in the dictionary, you'll see the "30 LOB" in these two games.
And that's it. Another game in the Pitts tomorrow before heading to Philly on Friday. They better not play like this in Philly or their going to get their hats handed to them.