I’ll admit it – as a supposed rational fan, I came dangerously close to jumping off the ledge last week during the Cubs’ nightmarish series in Tampa. Honestly. The first night, I chalked it up to fatigue and mistakes – Reed Johnson’s two gaffes and Neal Cotts chucking a grounder into right field. Still, the Cubs persevered.Obviously Wednesday’s loss of the game and of Carlos was a bitte, scary pill, but I chalked the L up to freakish seeing-eye ground balls (Ronny knocks down a squib and it turns into a double??) and bad luck. Still, the Cubs came back – though I was petrified that Z would be gone for much, much longer.
After Carlos Marmol’s bewildering meltdown Thursday, I was fully frightened. In fact, Friday afternoon, I actually penned a post in the middle innings of the Cubs’ confused confrontation with John Danks, lambasting their ongoing, frustrating lack of offense, mired in agonizing, contagious slumps of Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez. The pitching – good enough to hold oppositions to 4 runs or so per game wouldn’t be good enough if the offense reverted to the 2001-3 Cubs.
Suddenly, on Sunday night, everything looked fixed. Aramis is locked in. Lee is looking to smack the ball the other way. Eric Patterson and Matt Murton combined to hit 7-for-11 from left field. Jim Edmonds attempts to shed his Cardinal persona like a scorned lover. And suddenly, Ryan Dempster looks like the guy scouts ranked ahead of Josh Beckett, Matt Clement, and A.J. Burnett on a young Marlins squad eons ago.
Included in my defunct, largely-bewildered, post was the message: “A team is never as good as it looks when things go well, and never as bad as it looks when struggling.” And I suppose that’sstill true. No way can the Cubs cut through all upper-echelon teams at home like a warm machete through butter; just as no way every soft-tossing lefty for first-division clubs will own the Cubs on the road. (Uh, right?)
But now it’s OK. Certainly I would have snapped up a 7-4 record during the recent Toronto-Tampa-Chicago interleague swing, complete sight unseen. Probably the Cubs should have lost one game to the White Sox (Friday, right, Hawk? Oh, you’re still mute.) and won one of its games vs. the Rays. (Probably Thursday.) Still, can’t complain. The home games are practically too good to be true. I also mentioned I’d take 55-25 at home even if it meant 40-40 on the road. Still would. Didn’t know that claim would look practically prescient during a necessary sweep.
The team’s mindset is to navigate game-by-game, series-by-series, and review its successes and pitfalls only as necessary. It’s Lou. He’s all business. Better than us nutjob fans, he’s respectful of a season’s grind, ups, downs, luck and effort. I shouldn’t have worried, because they didn’t. The Cubs are desperately trying to put away as many as they can; with luck, they won’t have to scramble as much in September. The importance of winning, accountability and the big picture is not lost on Piniella, and it even trickles down to each player.
And so here we are. June, perhaps the most arduous month on the Cubs’ schedule, down a left fielder, and temporarily missing a starter. So far, the Cubs are 13-7. If you’ll recall (or even if you don’t), I mentioned I’d be happy with a .500 record in a June fraught with road trips, criss-crossing coasts, series against dubious AL squads the Cubs don’t match up well with, then returns to the left coast and three intense rivalry series. I had no idea what to expect. Five-hundred seemed logically adequate. To have a chance at another successful month is simply icing on the cake.
After the ugly stadium tour wrapped up, Lou mentioned he’d learned a few things, and speculation is rampant. Well, he’s not the only one. Quickly, here’s what we know.
1. As Lee and Ramirez go, so do we.
2. Kosuke is great higher in the order.
3. Ryan Theriot, starting shortstop. Shut up, fanboys – Ronny’s batting like .100 in June.
4. DeRosa and Soto – Oof. When they slump, it’s hard.
5. Ryan Dempster. All-Star. Let that sink in.
6. The bullpen: still a strength. Either Marmol must work every day, or everyone’s blowing his temporary wildness out of proportion.
7. Versatility and platoons – a strength, not a Macias/Womack/Wilson-inspired weakness. Quick, name our outfield tonight. Murton? DeRosa? E-Pat? Whomever, they’re making it work.
8. The trade deadline matters.
9. Stay tuned… Baltimore tonight, then an aggravated ChiSox crew, then trips to San Fran and St. Louis. June isn’t over yet.
