Cotts and Wuertz were really bad tonight. Johnson had the bad base running mistake trying to steal 3rd, and then the bunt to end the game sucked, has to be towards the line. Plus, he should have worked the count, he was struggling to throw strikes. Murton still looks bad, and Ronny's hot streak is over, hes bad.

Good god this was everything I was gonna type.

schmitty1121
Chris_in_joliet = MATCH!

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

The facts are these: The Cards just had Molina get hurt in a collision at home plate a couple days ago, hes out for at least another couple games, Puljols is out for a while. Now Wellemeyer is going to miss his next start and when he comes back, I expect he will no longer be the pitcher he was during the first couple months of the season. He's got elbow problems and they not likely to go away. The Cubs will be putting distance between themselves and the Redbirds soon enough.The Cubs lost 1 game here, in a game that Scott Kazmir, one of the better starters in the American League, started. They lost to the Rays, who have the third best home record in baseball. It's no big deal. If you read the first post here, you saw that I had a great deal of pessimism about this game, but they nearly pulled into a tie in the 9th. Hoffpauir failing to at least put the ball in play, to score the tying run from 3rd, was huge. But the match-ups are much more favorable in the next 2 games, so there is hope for yet another winning road series.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Murton is the first example of a player that gets worse with more experience that I've seen. Every time he comes up, he's worse than the last time.

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You can't see me because of internet.

The landowner effectively owns part shares in millions of part-time slaves called, "taxpayers." -Roy L
A Personal Relationship with Jesus?

I actually loved the bunt attempt by Reed J. Keep them on their toes, if that isn't carpet he beats it out.

Murton is terrible and has no right to be in the major leagues.

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"Stay out of courtrooms-but if you must go in be Well Armed and Don't compromise. You are innocent, remember that. They are guilty" -- Dr. Gonzo

Well, at least St. Louis lost.

Man I bet Zambrano hates these interleague games, you know the guy wants to swing the bat. I bet he tried to convince Lou to let him hit in the DH hole.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

O.K.....I know this is gonna be a little off topic, but who do you think will be the first player to hit a homerun into the "Rays tank"? How long will it take for PETA to be all over that?

My prediction: Dave Winfield comes out of retirement.

and now back to my Makers Mark and Coke.

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-"God is great. Beer is good. And People are crazy!"

Why the fuck does Lou continue to trot out Fontenot to pinch hit??!!!

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Two one run defeats and yet... we've not lost a game in the standings. Early in the season for scoreboard watching, but I'll take what solace I can in a two game losing streak.
Z's potential injury could be a potential problem.

I'm not wearing any pants... film at eleven.


The angst and hand wringing over the last two games is amusing.

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Stupidity irritates the crap outta me... and yes, I irritate myself far too often.

If he were really hurt, I don't think he would have reacted as he did when Lou came out.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

According to ESPN.com, Zambrano will have a MRI on the shoulder. Yeah, lets hope it's nothing.

Sounds precautionary.

As stated in the original post in the thread here, this is a very good team, that is nearly as good as the Cubs at home. I did not see all of the game, due to the fact that I was playing softball, and will have to watch the rest later today, of what I missed. Did not see the big inning that Zambrano struggled, but heard about him having shoulder discomfort when he was yanked. Thats the bigger issue at this point. Hopefully its nothing serious, as that could be devastating. The Cubs have not lost more than 2 games straight this season to date, I hope that they can avoid it in Tampa, so they can come home with a 3-3 road trip, which is what most of us here had said we would be happy to see. Go .500 on the road and clean up at home. Fortunately the lead remains the same, as the Cards also lost again against the Royals. Each game against the Rays has been a close one. That error on the fly ball by DeRosa in the 1st, was a tough one.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Assuming there is no damage found in the MRI, I hope they skip Z the next time through the rotation. He just hasn't been right the last 4 times out, so I figure he could use a break.

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You can't see me because of internet.

The landowner effectively owns part shares in millions of part-time slaves called, "taxpayers." -Roy L
A Personal Relationship with Jesus?

Ya don't say?

Good idea. With the off day Monday, you can sit Zambrano down until the Saturday game against the Sox at the Cell without effecting the normal rest of the other starters.

Plus, being in an AL park, he wouldn't have to hit or run the bases in that start.

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Almost want Z to bat over some of the bats on the bench.

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... In my opinion.

Yeah, great idea. It's much more important to start Zambrano against the Sox and have him miss the series at St. Louis.

Well this series sucked (I don't see the Cubs coming back), but the Cubs still lead by 3 1/2 games. The same lead as they began the road trip with.

What an unbelievable inning. walks, hit by pitches, grand slam....

Oh well.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Well this is just a total mismatch now. The Cubs aren't even in the same league with this team. Figuratively and literally; I mean, even if the Cubs somehow manage to get to the World Series this year, for the first time in over 60 years, if they have to play Tampa Bay, or Boston, or the Yankees, or Anaheim, and probably several other teams, they will be crushed. Almost undoubtedly a sweep. Oh well. Thank God the rest of the NL sucks, so at least the Cubs could conceivably still catch lightning in a bottle and get the right to have their asses kicked in the classic. Of course, if Z has any arm issues at all, that has no chance of happening either. How depressing. For a while this season I actually thought the NL was catching up to the AL. No. Hell, STL can't even win a single game against the stinking Royals, at home. The Sox are beating the Pirates way worse than the Cubs did, and now the Cubs are completely outclassed by the stinking Rays, for Gods sake? Wow. Oh well.

Can I ask a question? How is it that a team that loses 100 games (or damn close) every year, and I mean every year, puts together a team in a single off-season, that is better than any Cubs team in the last 100 years? Can I ask that question?

It is one series, give it a rest.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Since they began this stretch of 13 road games out of 16 I don't believe the Cubs have lost anything off their lead.

So now it's time to forget about this series and hopefully a new winning streak tomorrow.

But it's pretty obvious who the better team is. In what department would you say the Cubs are better than the Rays? And there are a number of AL teams that are better than the Rays. OK it's just one series, but honesty compels one to admit that it does not bode well at all.

I would say the Cubs lineup is still better than the Rays and from what I have seen the only teams in the AL better than the Rays right now are Boston and maybe the Angels.