I was at a theme park with my family on Saturday, and I didn’t make any attempt to follow the Chicago Cubs’ game against the St. Louis Cardinals. The team has shown a bit more life lately, but the season has been a lost cause since April ended, and the investment of emotional capital in this year’s team seems unwise.
And yet, they seemed to have turned a corner of late. They won a road series from the Mets heading into the All-Star game and completed a 5-1 homestand coming out of the break. They had some momentum going, which can be a helpful thing. Going on the road has been a problem for them this season, and the Cardinals, well, they’re always going to be the team you gear up for as a fan.
Apparently, from what I read on the Internet, the game was scoreless for six innings. I’m sure that it was a humid, uncomfortable evening in St. Louis. I can’t imagine any other type at this time of year. And I’m sure it was a packed house, split between Cardinals red and Cubs blue. Whichever venue these games take place in, being there is like entering a house divided. It really is something to enjoy, though.
Until the Seventh Inning Massacre took place on Saturday, that is. The Cardinals sent 17 men to the plate, and that’s one batter shy of batting around twice. Things like that never end up well. Twelve runs, 10 hits, seven doubles and a revolving door of Cardinals baserunners. Oy. Welcome to the Cubs, Justin Germano.
What was a close, hard-fought game for six innings turned into a laugher. The slaughter rule doesn’t exist in the big leagues, so the Cubs had to absorb a lesson in how far they still need to go in order to be competitive.
Just for good measure, the Cubs were shut out again on Sunday, and haven’t scored a run over their last 25 innings of play. For the entire series they scored only one run, on a sacrifice fly by Darwin Barney in the second inning of Friday night’s game. As the Beastie Boys once rapped: That’s it, that’s all, that’s all there is.
There has been some progress made on the North Side as of late, and now the Cubs need to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and get back out there against a league that isn’t going to take any pity on them. There has to be a light at the end of the tunnel, but last weekend stretched the tunnel out a bit longer than it was already.
