A real dispairing series concludes in St. Louis as blunderous Cubs drop 3-of-4 games

AP Photo/Tom Gannam

  The meeting in St. Louis didn't turn out to be a big clash.  In fact the Cubs barely showed up to play in the 4-game series in which they lost 3 games.  Last night before a huge partisan crowd nothing developed again on offense and with blunders on the field (Soriano fails to snatch routine catch as seen above) the result became a disappointing 6-1 loss.   Plus only 5 total hits were tallied for the lineup with 6 LOB.  Still that's not going to cut it no matter how well the starting pitching fairs.  Scott Feldman (6-6) goes 5.1 innings to account for 5 earned runs on 6 hits and 4 walks.  A definite bad outing for him.  The previous day for Game 3 the Cubs managed just 2 hits in a 4-1 defeat. 

  To place Luis Valbuena in the lead-off spot is a mistake and proves to be useless.  The part-time third baseman is hitting a pitiful .244 through 57 games played.  The mighty struggles continue for Chicago at the plate.  With Starlin Castro's OBP down and Anthony Rizzo without a homerun in over a month a good fit has yet to be discovered for a unproductive lineup.  Due to failure to score with 2 outs where the Cubs success rate is around 13% is really hurting their chances to win.  Also, there are at least 10 games where the losses have accumulated due to 1-run differences.  Not in good faith can anybody rooting for this team get behind such crummy offensive outputs. 

  For any main positive change to occur the Cubs are in dire need to trade unworthy players, clogging up the roster and of course Alfonso Soriano who strikes out far more than he walks.  This is the only chance for a mediocre ball club to actual begin to improve and later showcase their best prospects after being called up. With DeJesus out on the DL for a expected month the lead-off spot looks to a serious problem area.  Somebody if not the middle of the order have to deliver at some point unless the Cubs want to falter far beyond their current 29-42 record.  More than a miracle is required to get this team back on his feet.         

Cubs open up road trip with a 6-3 victory over Mets, DeJesus injury a setback

 

AP Photo by Frank Franklin II

  Don't count out the Chicago Cubs just yet in the NL Central.  Despite winning only around 10 games against division teams the Cubs have notched 2 wins in a row.  After completing a victory at home against the Reds the Cubs marched into New York to win in a 6-3 final Friday night.  The unlikely hero of this game: David DeJesus who scorched a 3-run triple in the 2nd inning off the Mets' Shawn Marcum.  Unfortunate as bad luck surfaced as the Cubs' centerfielder crashed into the wall in center after attempting to make running catch and got injured.  This is another setback for the Chicago team which now has Matt Garza back though on the DL still are relievers Shawn Camp and Kyuji Fukijawa. 

  With a way to scrape for offense the Cubs' have not been potent against top winning percentage teams as manger Dale Sveum continues to swift around the outfield for results.  At a 27-38 record such daily changes with the lineup won't matter much because when the Cubs don't score 4 or more runs first through the 5th inning the result for them is typically a loss.  Not much offense can be accounted for besides Anthony Rizzo who leads the team with 39 RBIs.  Run production needs to come from somewhere else.  If Starlin Castro can start hitting again that will certainly be a positive factor.

  Chicago can work on developing late inning rallies by practicing offensive strategies instead of hoping for the long ball to tie or win a game.  The bench sometimes comes through by pinch hits from Ryan Sweeney, Dioneer Navarro, and Scott Hairston.  This club has to utilize their speed and try hit-and-runs more often to score runs.  The ball club needs to work around their weaknesses (Such as striking out with runners in scoring position).  They have a chance to reach up to 3 within .500 and go from there. 

  Good news for the bullpen is that the Cubs traded prospect pitcher Ian Dickson to the Nationals for right-handed reliever Henry Rodriguez.  Finally a decent move made by management.   Cubs' fans would rather see a few new big bats come over in a blockbuster deal.  Such a trade has yet to happen to swap out Alfonso Soriano remaining contract.  The Cubs schedule looks to be troublesome after leaving New York as they meet the Cardinals away for 4 games then see the Astros, Brewers, and Mariners to close out the month.  In the meantime a replacement will be needed in centerfield while DeJesus is out on the DL.  Any extra offense available is a plus for this wounded, struggling baseball franchise.          

Cubs secure comeback in extras over the Angels to prevail 8-6

 

AP Photo/ Reed Saxon

  After a decent short homestand where the Cubs won 3-of-5 games the club just completed a 2-game series in Anaheim.  Last night Chicago, still hampering with injuries and spotty offense managed to defeat the Angels in a 10-inning affair.  The 8-6 final was spurred by the bases being loaded and Anthony Rizzo delivering with a huge 3-run double.  Sure he's hitting only .259, but he's proved to be the best offense for the Cubs.  Kevin Greg came in late during the game to record his 2nd win in 1.1 innings on the mound.  He allowed a earned run on 2 hits and a walk.  The previous game in Anaheim showed the go-ahead 2-run blast by Albert Pujols was enough to beat the Cubs in a 4-3 outcome. 

  The overall progress is quite slow for the Cubs moving into June.  Claiming 4th place in the Central nothing has worked to much success besides the starting pitching.  Travis Wood so far is the team leader with 2.75 ERA and owns a 5-3 record.  He will square off with the Pirates' Francisco Liriano (3-2) on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field.  If a big run explosion can occur again at home (such as with Dioneer Navarro's career 3-homerun game against the Sox) in the upcoming series then the Cubs can pick up some ground in their division.  Yet without managing wins on the road nothing for the most part will change in the standings.  For coach Dale Sveum to get the most out of his flip-flop batting order he must move Starlin Castro into the lead-off spot to spring up chances for runs and getting the young shortstop out of his slump. 

  With the two series for the return homestand the Cubs have got to churn out production and not allow the bullpen to have brief laspes or too many frequent Carlos Marmol appearances.  The familiar scenery can help back at home yet the Cubs better bring the offense against the hot Pirates before seeing the Reds who are no slouches on run production either.  Ryan Sweeney looks to be a viable candidate to get good starts in the outfield and can hit for a bit of power.  Other than Schierholtz the rest of the outfield platoon sure is a total waste of energy and time.  Even calling them 'juggernauts' fails to do justice to their absence timely hitting.  Plus the next time Jeff Samardzija gets a start the lineup must manage to give good run support (at least 4 runs).  If not a long, hot crummy summer continues in Chicago.