Closer mentality

Big Cubs loss yesterday. I was on the phone with a friend discussing the game while the collapse was underway.

My comment before Ryan Dempster was removed was that you don’t bring in your closer when it’s not a save situation, and that bit of wisdom could have given the Cubs a win. Instead of bringing Scott Eyre to eat an inning with a four-run lead and then going to Dempster if he got in trouble, Unky Lou did it the other way around.

When you establish a closer mentality, you just don’t have the same fire when it’s not a tight game. You need that adrenaline rush of having the game on the line when you step on the mound, and if you don’t have it right then and there it’s hard to reacquire it mid-inning.

Oh well, it’s just one out of 162. Bring on the White Sox.

I heard on the radio that some Sox fans were outside the park with a “1908” sign. Maybe not the right thing to insult your opposition. In case they need reminding, that was the year the Cubs did two things the White Sox have never done in their history – defend their league title (for the second year in a row, mind you) and repeat as world champs.

Streaking

Just a few brief comments on Cub streaks...

The Cubs have now dropped three of four after winning seven out of eight.

Derrek Lee failed to reach by either a hit or a walk in tonight's loss at Philadelphia for the first time this season.

But while Alfonso Soriano hasn't shown much run production yet this season, tonight he extended his own hitting streak to a career-best 19 games - best in the majors this year - and hasn't gone hitless in over a month. He has at least one base hit in 26 of his 27 games as a Cub.

Pay attention: Attention doesn't always pay

Okay, one more bit on the fantasy league.

One thing I find myself paying attention to on a daily basis is my bench. I stockpiled an excess of starting pitchers so I can accumulate more stats in week-to-week competition. But yesterday I forgot to activate one of them.

...and he got racked for 11 hits and seven earned runs in five innings.

Dead ball?

Remember not too long ago when Rich Hill (1.73) was leading MLB starters in earned run average? Now he doesn't even lead the Cubs, though his numbers remain stellar.

Now at 1.70, Jason Marquis' three-hit shutout last night gives the Cubs two starting pitchers with ERAs below 1.80 (and three below 2.80 with Ted Lilly).

A gander through the bullpen stats shows some stellar numbers as well - Neal Cotts 0.77, Michael Wuertz 1.84, Angel Guzman 2.19, Ryan Dempster 2.50, Bobby Howry 2.60 - and Will Ohman (3.86) would be right there with them except for one ineffective mid-April outing. Despite a poor record in extra innings, you can't reach the 14th inning stretch on multiple occasions without several innings of superior clutch relief work when a single hanging breaking ball can give you the L.

Despite the league's second-best batting average to back it up, who would have figured the Cubs' problem would be scoring runs in tight games?

Slow start? Really?

While everyone's looking at his home run and stolen base totals, Alfonso Soriano has hit safely in 22 of his 23 games as a Cub. Today he extended his hitting streak to 15 games. And he has fewer hitless games than Derrek Lee.

Didn't knock on wood

Derrek Lee's doubles streak ended within hours of my comment about it.

Instead, he went 2-for-3 with a home run and raised his average to .422.

I'll take it...

Double your pleasure

Derrek Lee has at least one double in eight consecutive games. I haven't been able to find records on doubles-hitting streaks, but I'd be willing to wager it doesn't happen often.

Lee has only one home run, but 17 doubles in 26 games, reaching safely in all of them with a batting average of .415, is a pretty good tradeoff. He leads MLB in batting average by 30 points going into the weekend series against the hapless Washington Nationals, who hopefully won't find their hap in the next three days.