Braves 5, Cubs 2: 10,000

In honor of the Cubs' 10,000th loss, 5-2 to the Braves Sunday afternoon, please sing these lyrics to the tune of "Like The Weather" by the group 10,000 Maniacs.

The color of the Cubs uniforms today: blue alt.
Lift a bat, try to swing and then lose again.
With a shiver in my bones just thinking about the Cubs.
A quiver in my lips as if I might cry.

Well by the force of will Nate Schierholtz got an RBI hit!
But lately it seems losing games is where they never leave.
Shiver in my bones just thinking about the Cubs.
Quiver in my voice as I cry:

"What mediocre play. Where on earth are the wins hid away?"

Hear the sound of Jason Heyward's bat.
Now they're far behind.
Edwin Jackson put in 'bout half a day
Not good, not bad
With a shiver in my bones just thinking about the Cubs.
A quiver in my lip as if I might cry.

"What mediocre play. Where on earth are the wins hid away?"

We need someone here to save games
and we need someone who'll hit homers and get us
out of this baseball dull torpor pulling downward.
For it is such a long time since their better days.
I say my prayers nightly this will pass away.

Darwin Barney had two hits Sunday as I saw on TV.
Played good defense, but his BA will fall again
With a shiver in my bones just thinking about the Cubs.
A quiver in my voice as I cry...

"What mediocre play. Where on earth are the wins hid away?"

**************************

A few post-song notes.

• Darwin Barney made a slick play on a ground ball that I don't think any other second baseman in the major leagues could have made. This is where his trade value lies. Teams with better offenses surrounding him could afford an elite defensive player like that.
• Edwin Jackson pitched well enough. He's now thrown at least six innings in three of his last four starts. If he can continue doing this and keep the run count down, some team seeking an inning-eater might be willing to trade for him.
• Nate Schierholtz just barely missed hitting his first homer of the year when he hit the two-run double. Perhaps this will help him turn the corner.

And so, the Cubs post the 10,000th defeat in team history on a Sunday afternoon in front of a mostly-indifferent crowd in Atlanta, not via a national-TV audience (ESPN will carry Monday's game outside the Chicago and St. Louis areas). For that, I suppose we can be thankful. Incidentally, of course it doesn't matter to the players which channel carries the games, but I find these splits on various TV channels interesting:

WGN: 4-12
CSN: 8-10
WCIU: 0-1
ESPN: 0-1

The ESPN number above counts only ESPN exclusives, so tomorrow's game in St. Louis goes under the "CSN" category. Travis Wood will face Tyler Lyons.