This recap is...
Well, it's...
Honestly, it's getting to the point where there really are no words to describe each successive Cubs defeat. No MLB team has ever gone 23-139, but right now it really doesn't seem like the Cubs can win another game the rest of this season.
Even when Mike Quade makes the right decision, it turns out wrong. Rodrigo Lopez came in to pitch the 10th inning primarily because Albert Pujols had been 0-for-12 against him lifetime.
It took four pitches to make that 1-for-13, home run, game over, a 3-2 Cardinals win over the Cubs, the Cubs' sixth straight loss. Pujols wound up with four HR and seven RBI in this series and tacked another 18 points onto his OPS (now at .826, heading for his usual 1.000+).
What more can you ask, really? The Cubs got a timely hit -- a two-run double from Aramis Ramirez in the third inning, giving them a 2-0 lead -- and some very good pitching, both starting and relief, until...
... and how much worse does this make it? Ryan Theriot, who had gone 0-for-4 on the day and had an 18-game hitting streak on the line, was down to his final strike when he ripped a Carlos Marmol slider down the left field line, scoring the tying run in the bottom of the ninth.
I mean, what's next? Lopez gets released, signed by the Brewers and throws a no-hitter against the Cubs next week in Wrigley Field? Ramirez agrees to waive his contract option so he can be traded to a contender, gets sent to the Reds tonight and hits three home runs tomorrow against the Cubs?
What could possibly be worse than this? I've seen bad Cubs teams lose more games in a row and have (probably) worse seasons than this one is likely to have, but it's the method of losing games during this six-game streak that makes your jaw drop in stunned silence.
This isn't going to be another "sign Pujols" post; we went through that yesterday. I still would like to see it, although those of you who have said that one player, even of that caliber, can't turn this team around singlehandedly are probably correct. It's not right to blame injuries, either, although the injuries have basically made the Cubs trot a Triple-A team out there for the last week or so. (Can we get Tyler Colvin back to Triple-A before his confidence is completely blown to smithereens, please?)
Tomorrow is the MLB draft, which may give some hope for the future. We'll have complete coverage here, as well as discussion of Monday's game in Cincinnati, which the Cubs have to play because it's on their schedule. This season is becoming no fun at all.