If I didn't hate them so much, I might feel a smidgen of pity for those hapless Chicago Cubs.
After playing well enough to win with timely hitting, good defense, and clutch pitching, their efforts fell victim to the World Champion South Siders' penchant for pulling a rabbit out of their hat at the last possible moment to gain victory where defeat seemed a foregone conclusion.
Ten times this year the Chicago White Sox came back to win a game in their last at bat. Not only does this make exciting baseball, but it also necessitates my frequent use of a paper bag to purge the excess oxygen in my lungs due to hyperventilation. It worries me that at this rate, watching my beloved Pale Hose could become hazardous to my health. With 24 on hiatus and my beloved Bears not starting their Super Bowl run until September, I would be forced to do something useful with my life this summer like finding a cure for cancer or ordering up world peace.
Regardless, the most recent feat of Chisox legerdemain was accomplished yesterday at Wrigley Field. Trailing 6-5 going into the top half of the ninth inning, Cubs closer Ryan Dempster (1-5) seemed to have regained his early season form as he retired the first two Sox hitters with ease. Dempster was a terror in April and early May, going 6-for-6 in closing opportunities with a minuscule 1.38 ERA only to lose his edge during the North Sider's long losing streaks since. This is death for any closer who depends on frequent and regular work to stay sharp both physically and mentally. No opportunities to close out a victory meant a steady erosion in Dempster's confidence and skills. It showed yesterday.
With light-hitting Ross Gload at the plate, Dempster threw a pretty good slider that was hit straight back at him, right between his legs. The ball grazed off his glove as Dempster tried to field it and it caromed to shortstop Ronny Cedeno. Too late, Gload was able to beat the toss to first.
This caused Dempster to lose concentration as he walked Sox clean-up hitter Jermaine Dye on five pitches. With runners at first and second, up to the plate stepped the man Cubs fans love to hate. A.J. Piersynski, who took a punch to the face delivered by Cubs catcher Michael Barrett during round one of the season series at US Cellular Park last month, paid the Cubbies back in spades when he got a hold of a hanging slider and sent the ball into orbit. Replays showed the pitch hovering like a ripe plum right in A.J.'s comfort zone – belt high and over the middle of the plate.
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
Well, the Cubs did slightly better today, now didn't they?