| Triple Play: Memorial Day Memories | ||||
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On this Memorial Day, let us observe with solemn dignity in remembrance of those lost in battle. Brave men and women lost their lives defending the American flag. On this Monday, May 25, 2009, Triple Play remembers a Cubs offense that died trying to defend the “W” flag during a seven game losing streak: 1. Where Have All the Hitters Gone? It was expected that the Cubs offense would settle down and feel the effects of Aramis Ramirez’s absence from the lineup. But five runs in their last six games? In the words of Kevin, from The Office, “Are you kidding me?!!” In these past six games against St. Louis and San Diego the once scorching hot Ryan Theriot has seen his average drop from .288 to .263, giving him a .205 total for the month of May. Mike Fontenot is batting .179 in May and is now down to .208 on the season. Saturday’s game was his first multi-hit performance since May 3rd. His three combined hits over the latter two games of the series were more than he had in his previous 13 games (two hits). Alfonso Soriano is two for his last 21, with neither of those hits being for extra bases. Getting on hasn’t been the only problem; it’s been getting over as well. The Cubs left fielder hasn’t stolen a base since the calendar turned to May. The Cubs actually had seven hits in the second game of the series, but only mustered one run out of it. It looks like the players are pressing once they have a chance to score. They need to get back to relaxing and playing baseball the way they know how. You can sense it right now that once the team goes down a run, they have no faith in coming back. Speaking of coming back, the Bobby Scales love affair may soon come to an end if he doesn’t start hitting the ball again. Scales has just one hit in his last seven games, a span of 16 at-bats. The 31-year-old rookie is looking at a demotion back to Triple-A Iowa unless he starts getting on base. 2. The Inverse Effect The surprising thing about the funk the offense is currently in is the improved play of Derrek Lee. Lee is currently enjoying a seven game hit streak, with three multi-hit outings during the stretch. Hitting .333 this month, his season average is now well above the Mendoza line of .200, at a respectable .248. A .248 average is not exactly what you want out of your star first baseman and middle of the order hitter, but it at least shows progress after he was batting .198 as recently as May 16th. Unfortunately, the rest of the offense has been doing the exact opposite of Lee this season. While he was slumping, the cubs were rolling. Now that he’s rolling, the Cubs are slumping. Once the two get in sync the team should be on the fast track to success. 3. A Soft Harden It was only a matter of time before Rich Harden made his semi-annual trip to the DL. This time he is out after suffering a mid-back strain during his May 17th start against Houston. The placement on the DL has been backdated to May 18th. “I was feeling great and it was something that kind of hit me out of nowhere,” said Harden. The encouraging part of this DL stint is that this injury has nothing to do with Harden’s shoulder or elbow. Because of this, there is no worry for any kind of structural damage that could hinder his velocity and keep him out of action for a prolonged period of time. While Harden is sidelined, Randy Wells (three earned runs in 18 innings) will fill his spot in the rotation. As Harden departed, Carlos Zambrano returned. In his first start back Big Z was limited to a pitch count of 100 and fired 97 before the end of the fifth inning. His final line read 4 2/3 innings, three hits, four walks, and three earned runs. This was his grace start. From here on out he is going to have to be the ace he has been in the past, especially if two runs continues to be too much for the Cubs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Closing Quote: "Bad road trip. We have to regroup at home. That's all we can do." -Cubs skipper Lou Piniella
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