Middling Problems

I know others like to think that the Astros were due for a win and that last night's loss is just fate. That's wrong. The Cubs are a bad baseball team, only being kept afloat by teams that are truly putrid. If infinite monkeys would have eventually yielded a Houston win, why do the Cardinals avoid the same problem when they face Pittsburgh? The answer is: The Cardinals are a better team.

If you want to know where the game was lost last night, it was in the 6th inning when the middle of the order, Jeromy Burnitz and Aramis Ramirez, couldn't drive in Neifi Perez from third. Offense has been the biggest problem for the Cubs this year and Aramis Ramirez deserves the bulk of the blame. He's lost 92 points on his batting average and 146 points off his slugging. Perhaps the knock on him that he earned in Pittsburgh, "Gimme the money and I chill out," was correct. This may also be why Jim Hendry waited so long to resign him – fear of just this type of performance.

If Jim Hednry wants to salvage the season, he only has about a week to do so. The Cubs have 4 games against the Rockies (of which monkeys will not be blamed if the Cubs produce less than the necessary sweep) and then brutality. The Dodgers, Padres, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Marlins, and Yankees are the next 19 games.

This roster, as currently constructed, doesn't do better than 7 and 12 in that stretch. Over the same stretch, the Cardinals get Colorado, Houston, Boston, Yankees, Toronto and Tampa. Then, for good measure, Pittsburgh, Cinci and more Colorado. I put the Cards at no worse than 11-8 over the same 19 games.

If this prediction holds, on June 19th the Cubs will be 11 games out as measure by the loss column.

And that would be a season, folks.

P.S. Nice 5-pitch, 5-swing strikeout at bat by Korey