Yes, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing with Soto bunting, I was yelling at Lou through my TV.

Now even Marmol is blowing games. Yeah, I know it all comes down to timely hitting, but each loss is more painful than the last, and for different reasons. They are playing two hot teams right now. If they lose 4-5 out of six with the Cardinals and Astros, this team won’t even make the playoffs. The schedule is just too tough the rest of the way.

This is just not the team I’ve been watching all year.

this is the second time already this month that we have had reason to question Lou’s managerial decisions. He is having mental lapses under the pressure, just like our hitters are having lapses as well at the plate.

We will right this ship, we are too good of a team not to (despite recent play). Hopefully it will start tonight.

Lou is having a bad month, too. Maybe he should visit Eagle River for a few days to clear his head.

I keed, I keed.

You can

Hold serve and get what you earned all season
Play your way in
Back in

Just get in !!!

Thank god for not loosing major ground

Was to try the Hit and Run. It would have gotten the infield moving around and if Soto swings and misses, Pie has enough speed to swipe the bag…

While the bunt was stupid, it was even more stupid to leave the bunt call on when the count got to 2-1. It was the perfect pitch to hit and run.

They are playing scared and now Lou has cracked in the Media. The rant he went on to the Media should have been said in the clubhouse to the team and not to the general public…

…The bunt attempt by Soto was so dumbfounding that I ran inside to see the replay on TV so that I could actually try and believe that it really happened.

I mean I am still nearly speechless Lou had Soto attempt to bunt in that or ANY situation

Lou can get angry all he wants, last night he was just as culpable as the players

Never sensed he was a rocket scientist from the begining.

Prehaps he and Soriano should of drove back to the team hotel together

Lou underestimated Izturis and lost the game as a result. Lou was playing for a one road lead on the road. Bunting with the hitter of the month? Are you sure Dusty stayed with the Reds this week?

When a team is struggling, the manager’s role is more important than ever. Put the team in a posiyion to win. If they don’t, then the manager is in a position to scold them. Otherwise, zip it, Lou.

you need to change the pregame thread around a little – do something that might change the mojo. Or even change the magic number – no dont eliminate it but rather put it upside down or something.

Sorry i am superstitious.

It was funny at the time… now, not so much…

Would it have been wrong to walk Pujols before his HR? I know it loads the bases at that point but I would rather face anyone on the Cards other than Pujols.

Also, I would much rather watch the garbage now instead of in a few weeks. At least we have time to right the ship.

He stopped before or on the base.

If he held up as he rounded 3rd and Quade is good position to see left field, Soto scores easily the way that ball got by Ankiel

Little things again cost a run

What was Soriano with men on 3rd last night 0-2 or 0-3

with Lopez at the plate, while Len and Bob thought he should have, and it paid off when he drew a walk and was eventually moved over on the bunt by the next guy. Things just didnt go our way, the hit, the balk, then the walk to Lopez, the perfect bunt by that Braden guy and Izturis getting a piece on the check swing….even the play at the plate was close. Just not our night.

If we weren’t in the middle of this long losing slump I would be ok saying we just got beat.

The Brewers WILL win today with Sabathia going. Maybe the threat of seeing the lead go to 3.5 will be what this team needs. Or maybe that will make them play even worse. We’ll see.

I keep thinking that, for my own sanity, I need to take a few days and just stop watching and hope for the best. Problem is I find myself almost involuntarily flipping over to the game just to see if, finally, they might be starting to come out of it.
These last several games have been so painful and frustrating that I finally think I’m starting to understand what fans went through in 1969. They really are hard to watch right now-it’s like I sit there expecting something bad to happen and the only question is how bad it’s going to be.

I think they are playing tight. Everyone looks pensive out there. Somebody needs to loosen them up.. with Lou and Tramell… it will need to be a player… but even Dempster is looking tight

Despite a week and a half of losses we’ve kept the same lead and have shaved 6 games off the magic number to win the division. That’s why this collapse, as horrible as it is, has been tolerable. Let’s just not play like that in the postseason.

to shuffle the line up. Free Geo! No bunting; move him up in the order. Who to move down? You decide.

CC get’s rocked! I know it doesnt happen very often but he is way over due.

A lady at work asked me rather innocently how the Cubs are doing and I almost ripped her face off!!! I can’t take it anymore. I think i’m going to have to stop following the Cubs as close as I have been this year. It’s ruining my life. Somebody hold me!!

Seriously, I knew Pujols was going to hit a HR in the 6th as soon as the first 2 got on. I said to my roommate, “Watch this HR he’s about to hit” and boom, there it went. I might have jinxed Dempster.

I just want to start winning again.

FOR ALL OUR SANITY. CMON SANTOSWOODENLEGS, MAKE THIS HAPPEN

remember a time when it seems so many teams are struggling to seal the deal. Its almost like a bizzaro world where you have to lose to get in.

broke into Harry Doyle at the end of a game –
"The post-game show is brought to you by…
[searches through his papers]
Christ, I can’t find it. To hell with it. "

1. Demp pitched great but was too confident that he could Pujols out. He HAS to walk him or give him ABSOLUTELY nothing to hit.
2. Agree with Al, you HAVE to walk Izturis… I’m no baseball genious but I DO know that having force outs on ALL bases is the key to getting out jammed.

I’m so frustrated….. I was thinking at the top of the 6th about posting today that Demp is the Cubs true ACE of the staff and then he just went out there and GAVE pujols a HR.
And the offense NEEDS to produce more runs… I put the loss squarely on their shoulders!!!

Where, after basically brilliant managing the entire season, the whole thing came FLYING off the rails once we hit October. Now it’s happening in September.

I know I have been A. A broken record B. Beating a dead horse ( choose your graphic) since APRIL that Lou is a BAD manager. Everyone ( well almost everyone) made fun of me because he could not possibly be a bad manager if the team had the best record in baseball but they had the best record in baseball because they had great players especially starting pitching. When Lou has to make a serious (as in anyone but Marmol or Wood ) pitching change he usually screws it up and the same with the bench. His nearly psychotic obsession with righty/lefty match ups and his only “trusting” certain players has lead to a number of losses. Dusty’s greatest asset was making EVERY player feel like he was a great contributor to the team, Lou thinks making everyone of them terrified of being in his dog house works better. No I don’t think Lou is as bad as Dusty but he does have a MUCH better team to work with. The thing which continues to terrify me is that while I fully expect the Cubs hitting to come alive and the pitching to get back to its normal excellent standards, I don’t think Lou will change and I don’t want to see Howry coming with a 2 run lead in the NLDS or pinch hitting Ward for Lee in a tie WS game. We often worried with Dusty that the inmates were running the asylum , well with Lou the despot is crushing the life out of the team.

which is why I screamed at the TV, spilling some of my Old Style. The wife is asking why of course (the louder screaming instead of just normally loud) and my reply is, “he’s bunting with one of his best RBI guys, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!”

A bit too many bad moves coupled with a bit too many times of not making the play. That all adds up to 1-8 in their last 9.

The Cubs have precisely played .500 ball the last 20 games and the Brewers have gained one game in the “L” column. That’s the only positive spin I could put on any of this right now. I go back 20 games since it also included the 7 game winning streak right before this 9-game funk.

Perhaps I’m the only person who sees no problem with it. This team cannot score runs. It grounds into DPs almost at the opponents will in big situations. I have no problem with the manager trying to manufacture a run. I don’t care if its Soto, Soriano, Theriot or whoever. How may times have I heard Cub fans complain that the manager refused to have his big bat bunt over a hitter. It was late in the game and this team is not scoring runs.

Chalk another game up to the Cubs unable to score the runs the opponent was trying to give them. Like Sunday, the Cubs should have had 6 or 7 runs late in the game. Finally Len Kasper pointed this out during the middle of the game.

DmL

I need a BAN THE CUBS FOR ONE NIGHT POSTER QUICK

Who is in?

As a Cardinal fan, I was screaming at LaRussa to pinch hit for Izturis. As a Cub fan, I would have been screaming at Pinella to walk him. With one out, you have to set up the force and/or the double play.

All that being said, it seems like right now we are just banking on the fact that suddenly the offense will get going come October. I don’t see that happening right now.

I wish I could be more hopeful for a win today, but Looper dominated us this season, and Lilly doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Harden is the one who is going to have to step up on Thursday and prove that pitching really is king.

everybody just needs to relax. The Cubs will be fine. They really will. They have been the best team in the Majors for the better part of the season. The things that happened last night, while extremely distressing are all a part of the game. It’s why we love it. I went to the game last night, and while I will admit to being very frustrated at the outcome and the proceedings, I still had a wonderful time. Everybody needs to take a deep cleansing breath and relax. They will be OK…..they are much too good not to be. For my part, I intend to enjoy the rest of the season, fly the Cubs flag proudly and hope that we go DEEP in the playoffs. Just my humble opinion. Go Cubs!

is that the Cubs are on Comcast the next 4 nights. 50-19 is a helluva a record and the only trend that is going our way.

Having Soto bunt with a 2-1 count was a huge mistake, IMO.

In my Opinion, the biggest mistake wasnt walking the guy to get the bases loaded… I mean that is a normal baseball move late in a game to get the double play. Having Soto bunt was a bad idea, but not as bad as I feel people are making it out to be.. I mean if he put that bunt down successfully, it would have been a genious move to have a big RBI guy move the runner… but it didnt work out… therefor it is a little dumb

maybe you bring in Hank White… he has proven to be a good bunter

more Power Pitching.

I think that’s three wins for STL in their last at bat against the Cubs this season. Painful

was having Dempster swing away with bases loaded and 1 out. Why not have him bunt here, something he’s been good at? He ended up striking out, Soriano flew out, no runs, 3 LOB.

It’s been a very bad stretch of baseball. Mistakes have been made and this ballclub has suffered from an acute case of dragging.

But right now we can’t afford to worry about last night or the past 2 weeks. Right now this team MUST get focused on today’s game with St. Louis and literally live the cliche, “one game at a time.” Fortunately for us the baseball gods have been shining on the Cubs and the rest of the National League competitors are playing craptastic baseball as well. And no, I’m not going to worry about the surging Houston Astros. They are in 4th place and have very litle shot of leapfrogging several teams to get into playoff contention at this late stage of the season.

Wake up from your St. Louis hotel room, have lunch, walk over to Busch Stadium and get prepared for today’s game. That’s all you can do. That and pitch around Albert Pujols.

D LEE’s numbers this season resemble a typical Mark Grace year, Grace was/is my favorite Cub, so why is D LEE driving me completely nuts?