Loney’s Slam Puts Lights Out at Wrigley

C/O Vik in Chicago w/ DockSquad

This is definitely not the way that the Cubs and their fans envisioned Game 1 to go.  With the Cubs most consistent pitcher this season (especially at home) at the helm, and with the home crowd rocking, a lot of people expected the Cubs to come out of this game with a W, including myself.  Unfortunately for all of us, the Cubs took a terrible beating tonight, losing 7-2, putting them down 0-1 in a 5 game series.

Ryan Dempster, who is usually brilliant at home, really struggled today with his control.  Think about this little tidbit, Ryan Dempster had walked 7 batters in the entire month of September, but tonight he proceeded to walk 7 batters in just 4.2 innings.  From the get go you could tell something was off about Dempster in this game.  His pitches were just all over the place all game long, but he was able to get out of a couple of jams before what I call the dagger.  In my opinion, the dagger in this game came when Dempster floated a nice fastball right over the plate to James Loney.  James Loney went on to shell that ball for a grand salami, and the game was all downhill from there.  That one play took the wind out of the Cubs sails, and made the crowd lose its electricity.  Anxiety took over instead of confidence, and it went on to overpower the Cubs for the rest of the game.

The Cubs could not muster anything on offense after that slam, and the pen was just atrocious in relief.  Another bad sign from the game was that Soriano continued his playoff struggles going hitless tonight.  Today’s 0 for makes Soriano 2-19 in his last two playoff series.  We all know Soriano when hot is one of the best in the game, so let’s all pray he heats up for the rest of this post season for everyone’s sake.  The pen, which was another question mark going into the playoffs, also struggled badly tonight.  Every pitcher that came in after Dempster got shelled, and that too didn’t help our comeback hopes in this one.  I think the only bright spot tonight had to be Mark DeRosa, and his two run shot, which came in the second inning.  Other than that HR, the Cubs all played a terrible game, from top to bottom.

Being down 0-1 is huge in a 5 game series, especially vs. a very good Dodgers team that most analysts have already picked to beat the Cubs.  That in turn makes Game 2 pretty much a must win.  The season is on the line tomorrow and we need the Cubs to do what they have been doing all season long, and that is bounce back from these kinds of losses.  They have came back to win a ton of series this year down 0-1, and we need the same thing tomorrow.  Another thing we have going for us, is that we have Big Z on the mound tomorrow.  We need Z to have a great game tomorrow, and to throw the way that we know he is capable of throwing.  We also need the offense to get hot, and to put up some runs early in the game.  This will get the crowd and Big Z energized, and will propel us to a victory in Game 2.  I anxiously await Game 2, and will be back after it is done.  In the meantime, LET’S GO CUBS!!!

Vik is a huge Bears, Bulls, and Cubs fan.  A self described “homer”, who loves his
teams blindly and unconditionally, even after they break his heart year
in and year out.  Marquette Alum born and raised in Chicago’s North Side.