Cubs basically off base
Cedeno's ninth-inning gaffe, continued lack of clutch hitting waste strong outing by Lilly
A fair amount of time had passed Friday before a calm Lou Piniella spoke about the Cubs' 2-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals and a bizarre ninth-inning finish when Ronny Cedeno, a runner at first, was called out at second advancing on a walk.
The umpires ''got it right,'' Piniella said, conceding Cedeno was tagged coming off second base after he ran on a 3-2 count to Jacque Jones.
The umpires ''got it right,'' Piniella said, conceding Cedeno was tagged coming off second base after he ran on a 3-2 count to Jacque Jones.
But Piniella was anything but calm immediately after the game in a spiced tirade with the umpires as players and officials crossed paths in the dugout runway.
(John J. Kim/Sun-Times)
But Piniella was anything but calm immediately after the game in a spiced tirade with the umpires as players and officials crossed paths in the dugout runway.
''We were exchanging pleasantries in the runway,'' Piniella said. ''They told me where their dinner reservations were. I told them where mine were.''
Said crew chief Larry Young: ''We've done that before. I've known Lou 25 years, so we've done it before.''
Plenty was lost in translation surrounding what happened with one out in the ninth, with Cedeno at first running for Mark DeRosa (single) and Jones batting with a full count against Jason Isringhausen, who notched his fourth save.
Cedeno ran on the pitch, drawing a throw from catcher Yadier Molina. Shortstop David Eckstein tagged Cedeno, who thought the play was dead because of the walk. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa saw things differently, and the umpires eventually agreed.
''The call there was ball four. The runner is entitled to second base, but that's it,'' said Young, who was working behind the plate. ''He over-slid the bag and was tagged out.''
Said Cedeno: ''I should have looked back at home plate.''
The play wasn't decided until the umpires conferred, prompting a futile protest from Piniella.
''You have to have some displeasure with the umpires once in a while,'' the calm Piniella said later. ''Why not? They do their job, and I try to do mine.''
It wasn't the only play requiring an umpires conference.
Another happened in the seventh with Cubs runners at first and second, no outs and Henry Blanco bunting. Blanco popped up and got tangled with Molina, who started a sequence of throws and what appeared to be an inning-killing triple play. The Cardinals left the field, only to be called back after the umps huddled and ruled Blanco out for interference and the play dead afterward.
''How about that one?'' Piniella said. ''But both plays they got right.''
What went right for the Cubs again was pitching, this time by Ted Lilly (1-2) and relievers Michael Wuertz and Bob Howry.
What went wrong again was hitting. The Cubs were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position after going 0-for-5 a night earlier in Atlanta, a game they won on the scoreless pitching of Rich Hill and Ryan Dempster. In their last four games, the Cubs are hitting .182 (6-for-33) with runners in scoring position.
''I keep waiting for this thing to break out,'' Piniella said of the hitting. ''It's been a bit of a struggle early.''
The Cubs' only run came in the first when they bunched three singles, and Lilly nursed the 1-0 lead into the seventh. But he walked Jim Edmonds -- only his second walk of the game -- and then gave up a home run to Preston Wilson for one of only four Cardinals hits against him.
''Our pitching for the most part has been pretty darn good,'' Piniella said. ''Defensively, we've actually played really good baseball. We need to start scoring some runs, and that should come.
''What's happened here in the past I don't care about,'' he added, dismissing the latest weird Cubs chapter. ''If you stay around baseball, you see a little of everything. What I care about is the present. If we continue to get this type of pitching, continue to play with the intensity we have, good things will happen to this team.
''It's not like we're getting beat up. We make a mistake here and there. That's up to me and my coaching staff to correct. But I'm actually encouraged by what I see. I don't like our record [6-10 and 2-6 at Wrigley Field], but I'm encouraged by what I see. We're getting to a point where we're going to start winning more games.''
CARDINALS 2, CUBS 1: