About a week ago, listening to someone go over the Cubs upcoming schedule, I heard the Cubs were heading to San Diego for a three-game series against the Padres.
Didn’t the Cubs already go to San Diego? Oh, they did. Do they always play twice on the West Coast … and why don’t I remember the first time better? Oh yeah, that’s right, because I’ve done the best I possibly can to erase those three games in San Diego from my memory.
Can you blame me? Those were three real bad games. And at the time that streak only looked worse because the Cubs were coming off a three-game sweep in St. Louis. But, at the time, I guess I just figure it was bad week. I didn’t see the oncoming truck.
These three games in San Diego made up the middle section of an eight-game losing streak. First of all, a team with the Cubs’ perceived amount of talent doesn’t just have eight-game losing streaks. Regardless of who’s hurt or who’s in the middle of a huge slump, eventually, even if it’s just an accident, someone has a decent game and they win. Not here.
This is where the metaphorical truck should of hit me. Because now, I realize this is the point of the season where I should have stopped expecting everything to just be alright. The Cubs could (can) still win the division, but maybe, it isn’t going to be so easy. I mean, sure, bad weeks happen every once in a while, especially on the road without the help of the team’s best player (Aramis Ramirez was injured prior to the losing streak). But bad weeks shouldn’t happen like this … and they shouldn’t include three games against the Padres.
And it was more than just a three-game sweep. It was a three-game sweep where the Cubs only managed to score three runs … and again, it was against the Padres.
Even when the Cubs are struggling they should be beating up on bad teams. On Thursday afternoon, the Cubs looked like the worst team ever with the nerve to call themselves World Series contender. Then, on Friday they got a dose of the Pirates and beat the living crap out of them. If you have mediocre starting pitching, the Cubs are probably going to put up 10 runs on your ass. It’s what they do. It’s what they’re supposed to do. And it’s what they’re going to do this week in San Diego.
While I insult the Padres, I don’t mean this as an exaggeration. They really are pretty bad. Quick name the starting lineup. Ok you got Adrian Gonzalez. Congratulations. A little harder now, isn’t it?
Well, even if you were only able to name the first baseman, I guess there’s no need to go much further. The way I look at the Padres, is the way I look at the Giants. The lineup in San Francisco consists of basically one guy — for the Gians it’s Pablo Sandoval — then a big pile of crap. Of course, the Padres remind me of the Giants without the pitching.
For awhile, it was Jake Peavy and a bunch of other guys. Then it was a bunch of other guys who were anxiously awaiting the return of their ace. Now they’re really just a bunch of guys. I think the best way to describe the current state of the Padres starting rotation is to say that their No. starter is Kevin Correia (go ahead, click on the link, I had to to learn about him too). Ok, thanks for coming back. The Cubs will see the Padres new “ace ” tonight, followed by more mediocre pitching.
Good thing too. If the Cubs are going to catch-up to the Cardinals in this race, it’s going to be because of mediocre pitching.
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