Cubs Swept by Tampa
I forgot what it feels like to watch your team get swept. After all, the Cubs hadn't lost three games in a row all year. You know, it's exactly how I remembered it. It pretty much sucks.
I don't want to read too much into it because, after all, it's just 3 games in a 162 game season and all good teams have bad stretches. That said, this series was particularly painful because of all the injuries. To witness:
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Carlos Zambrano is having a MRI on his shoulder, and he'll miss at least one start. Of course I want Carlos to remain healthy, start 35 games, and win 20. But the reality is this team is deeper than most and they can afford to miss a few starts by Carlos. Let's say, worst case scenario, he misses 12 starts. In that stretch, he'd go something like 8-4 (provided it was one of his "good" stretches). Marshall or Hill or Lieber steps in to the rotation and what do they go....4-8? Maybe even a bit better. So you're only talking 2-4 games in the standings at most -- and that's if he's out 2 months. The bigger problem would be the tax on the bullpen. A few more innings from the "good before tonight" middle relief.
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Edmonds and Johnson are both banged up. It doesn't sound like anything serious, but to lose them both at once causes havoc on the defense. They had three guys playing out of position tonight in the outfield, and it showed.
Hey, what the flying fig happened to Carlos Marmol tonight? Is he hurt? Does he have Rick Ankiel disease? Is he worn out? Was he rusty from not pitching in 5 days? Was it just a fluke bad game? All I know is the Cubs can't afford for him to be hurt, crazy, or wild. He's far too valuable.
Sox series starts today, and I'm not feeling very confident right now. Sure, this team is awesome at home and on paper you'd think they'd win at least 2 out of 3. But you can throw the paper out the window during the Crosstown Classic. How the teams are playing has precious little to do with the outcome of the series. In fact, losing this series is often the turning point for the losing team's season. Let's hope, for the sake of both teams, that this isn't the case this year.
Still, I'm going to make a pointless prediction. Why? That's what I do. Cubs win, 2-1.
Side note. ESPN has a huge feature on the Cubs this weekend on the home page, and I was fully expecting to hate this. Surprisingly, its not that bad. Check it out. And while I fundamentally agree with this, I'm having a hard time looking into October with this team. Yes, they should win the division, but getting swept out of Tampa threw all my warm fuzzies out the window. Till next time...
Go Cubs Go!