Breakdown

I almost logged in yesterday to vent. I could have probably fired off a few thousand ranting words about all the reasons I was pissed off. I figured I should wait, cool off, and then put things back into perspective. Then this morning, as I went back to my Game Notes for yesterday, I became just as pissed off as I was yesterday. I might even be more pissed off. All the momentum that the second half of the season started with is gone.

It was all the usual suspects, gathered in one game: Another permutation of the lineup. Questionable bullpen management. Errors and missed plays. Baserunning mistakes. Runners left on base. Bullpen walks. Poor execution. Risky and pointless intentional walks. Backfiring double switches. An absence of drawing walks (by anyone not named Murton).

In short, yesterday the Cubs made it easier for the Reds to win, giving them advantages. The Cubs can't afford to do this. Not once. Certainly not more than once. Good teams don't make this many mistakes. Good teams don't have this many weaknesses.

Yet, does anyone doubt that we'll see these problems pop up again? Even perpetually optimistic Cubs fans -- you're starting to feel like you've seen this too many times, aren't you?

Yesterday, I fell for the seventh inning trap. After the fifth inning, I was expecting it to blow up in the seventh. In the fifth inning, Barrett and Burnitz both doubled to leadoff the inning. Yet, not only did the Cubs inconceivably fail to score a run on Burnitz' double, they failed to score a run the entire inning. That's why I was expecting the game to fall apart in the seventh, after a single, a pair of errors and a walk loaded the bases with no outs. I felt like it was just a matter of time, and in the seventh we were watching the storm clouds roll in.

There are two ways to spin how Novoa pitched in the seventh, to avoid allowing a run. You could say he got lucky that Kearns rolled over a pitch to get the groundball, or you could say he executed a good pitch. You could say that he got a generous strike 3 called looking on Dunn, or you could say he executed a good pitch. Then he got Aurilia to fly out to centerfield. I was fully expecting that inning to deteriorate, but it didn't.

Trap!

Going into the eighth inning, I thought maybe they could hang on. I trusted Novoa, a little bit, after that one inning. I should have listened to my first instinct. Novoa gave up a single and a walk to the bottom of the Reds order, then balked in the tying run before walking yet another batter. That was the sort of thing I was expecting in the seventh.

Dusty uses his bullpen like he's playing 'Press Your Luck.' No whammies... No whammies... No whammies... STOP! He tried to ride Novoa for two innings, and it backfired. No surprise there, really. Yet, he didn't really have any other options, either, because of how he had already used the bullpen the last two games.

From the time of the Nomar injury, it was clear that this team would have to find ways to win close games. Instead, they're finding ways to lose close games. They make every tight game harder than it has to be, and then try to run uphill.

I haven't read any of the beat writers yet, so I have no idea where media opinion stands, or where public opinion stands. I'm still holding out a small measure of hope, because these vulnerabilities don't show up every game. As of yesterday, though, I'm exceedingly frustrated.