Cubs Winsome, Lose Some

The Cubs split two against Arizona today, splitting the four-game set to close the season series as Cub rookies started both ends of a doubleheader for the first time since 1978.

The kids were alright, more or less. Juan Mateo won his major league debut in the nightcap. Matt Murton drove in five runs on a MLB-record-tying four doubles to raise his average to .297. Carlos Marmol struggled through the first two innings of game 1, throwing 66 pitches, but only needed 13 to get through the next two. He drops to 4-5, not bad considering the Cubs' overall record. Ryan Theriot collected three hits, including an RBI double in the first game, and Angel Pagan added some excitement by scoring on a squeeze bunt by Henry Blanco, one of three runs he scored in game 2.

There were highlights from the veterans as well, with Michael Barrett going 3-for-4 with a walk in the opener and raising his batting average to .338, still short of the at-bats needed to qualify for second place in the NL, where a strong last two months could give the Cubs back-to-back batting champs for the first time since Bill Madlock did it twice 30 years ago. Phil Nevin went 2-for-2 with a pair of walks in the nightcap and scored twice. Juan Pierre picked up four hits in 10 at-bats on the day. Scott Eyre threw a scoreless inning and a third in game 2 to drop his ERA to a sparkling 2.01.

But there are still some puzzlers in Cubbieland. For example, what better way to help Ronny Cedeno make the announced shift to second base than by starting him at shortstop in game 2, where he made an error today? Even with the team parting ways with Jerry Hairston Jr. and Tony Womack, the Cubs still have a glut of second-basemen as Theriot and Neifi Perez got the starts today.

The return of Mark Grace to Wrigley Field as a Diamondbacks broadcaster makes me hope he returns to the organization someday. Gracie sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the second game, breaking the visiting-team taboo by saying root, root, root for the Cubbies. He always has been, and always will be, one of us.

In the post-sing interview on the TV side, Grace had good things to say about Murton's approach at the plate. Makes sense, as Murton's more of a Grace-style hitter than a basher. With Gene Clines still holding the spot as hitting coach, it's time the Cubs started picking their coaches from the next generation of ex-Cubs, and Mark Grace knows a thing or two about hitting at Wrigley Field, where the Cubs have been abysmal in day games. I'd still like to see Vince Coleman coaching at first base, but my future coaching dream team includes Grace as hitting coach, Greg Maddux as pitching coach and Joe Girardi at the helm.

Meanwhile the guessing game continues. Wild Card leader Cincinnati has lost four straight to drop to three over .500, and only those D-Backs join Cincinnati on the happy side of .500 in the Wild Card race. With the split today, the Cubs climb to 10 1/2 games away from a playoff spot with only 13 games remaining against above-.500 teams in the final third of the season including six versus a Cardinals team that the Cubs have inexplicably dominated this year, versus 13 remaining against current last-place teams Pittsburgh (10) and San Fran (3). With the National League being a world of suck this year, including a Western Division that's hovering around the .500 mark like a swarm of bees, this is like putting a loved one on life-support and having them make brief rallies that you know only stave off the inevitable.

The ultimate truth, however, is that one of those mediocre-to-sucky teams is going to the playoffs, and all bets are off as to guaranteeing what happens from there. We're still not even at the point in the season when the fissure opened for the '69 Cubs, and anyone who makes, say, a 15-of-20 run against those other mediocre-to-sucky teams can make a major statement in the Wild Card race.