Oct 3, 2008 - 6:14 AM
0 shoutsBy Ed Kacik PA SportsTicker Staff Writer
Some may point to the "Curse of the Billy Goat" as the reason for the Chicago Cubs' surprising deficit in the National League Division Series. Actually, there are plenty of goats on the field that deserve to wear the horns.
The Cubs' stumbled to an embarrassing 10-3 drubbing during Game Two against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, committing four errors while failing to score before the seventh inning. They trail 2-0 in the NLDS and face elimination on Saturday in Los Angeles.
"It wasn't good baseball," Chicago manager Lou Piniella said. "In fact, the last two days, they've probably been the two worst games we've played all year from a walking and errors standpoint.
"It wasn't fun to watch, I can tell you that."
The Dodgers struck for five runs - four unearned - in the second inning by taking advantage of several miscues by Chicago's defense.
"It's hard to imagine that happening to us," Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee said. "We've been such a good defensive team all year. But there are no excuses for it. We might as well not have had gloves on."
After Andre Ethier and James Loney led off the frame with singles, Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano struck out Matt Kemp.
Blake DeWitt followed with a groundball to second base that should have resulted in a double play. However, Mark DeRosa couldn't handle it cleanly, allowing Ethier to score from second as Loney slid in safely at second.
"He hit the ball hard but it was right at me," DeRosa said. "I don't have any excuses, I just made an error. It's a shame the way that we're playing right now."
Following another bobbled groundball, this time by Lee, which allowed Casey Blake to reach first and load the bases, Zambrano struck out Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley.
Rafael Furcal dropped down a bunt to plate the second run and Russell Martin gave the Dodgers an insurmountable advantage with a bases-clearing double to cap the inning.
Billingsley isn't sure if the Cubs are thinking about their 100-year title drought, but he said it certainly looks like it's on their minds.
"It kind of looks like they are (feeling the pressure), but I mean, we took advantage of some of their mistakes, and that's really big for us to do that," he said. "We just came out and took advantage of everything they gave us."
Aramis Ramirez's throwing error in the fourth didn't result in any runs, but Ryan Theriot's errant throw in the ninth, did.
After closer Kerry Wood got two quick outs to start the frame, Juan Pierre reached and was awarded second base when Theriot's throw eluded Lee and wound up between the tarp and brick wall down the right-field line. A single by Blake plated Pierre, pushing Los Angeles' advantage to 10-1.
Physical errors aren't the only mistakes plaguing the Cubs. Manny Ramirez, who has been on fire since joining the Dodgers from the Boston Red Sox on July 31, continued his tear in Game One with a long home run on a bad pitch.
Rather than pitch around Ramirez, Zambrano came after him leading off the fifth, much to the slugger's delight. The enigmatic Ramirez stroked his second blast of the series - a solo homer - and later added an RBI single in the eighth.
Piniella likes to attack hitters, but some discretion needs to be exercised. The same can be said of his decision to play Kosuke Fukudome in right field rather than Mike Fontenot.
Fukudome registered six hits in 27 at-bats over his final 10 games of the regular season and is 0-for-8 in two games in the playoffs. Fontenot finished 2008 with a .305 average and had eight hits in his last 13 at-bats entering the postseason.
Piniella said that the change would be made for Game Three.
"From now on I don't want to hear about Fukudome anymore as far as whether he's going to play or not," Piniella said. "I'm going to play Fontenot or Reed Johnson or somebody else and that's the end of that story. The kid is struggling, and there's no sense sending him out there anymore."
But, it might be too little, too late for the Cubs and their World Series hopes.
