Game one goes to Dodgers
This was a pretty routine-looking loss for the Cubs so there's no sense in over-analyzing it.
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Dempster had zero control. Nevertheless, he still could have gotten out of it with one good pitch. Too bad that one pitch went into the bleachers. Just one of those days.
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The offense struggled, especially with guys on base. Soriano, Lee, Ramirez - the big three didn't nothing with men on. (Bases clear and two outs, though? Money!) Fukudome's struggles continued. Look for Fontenot in the lineup Thursday with DeRosa back in right. Maybe even Reed Johnson will be in there as a change of pace.
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Lou made some bad choices with his bullpen. There was nothing wrong with the use of Sean Marshall; he threw fine and the fifth and sixth innings have to go to somebody outside of your core group. You can't blame him for the pitch that Manny golfed into the bleachers. My problem was with the next two guys. Eighth inning, three run game. Marmol should have been used in place of the shaky Samardzija. What are you saving him for? He hasn't pitched in five days and they have an off day Friday. He can go two days in a row; so can Wood. Then Marquis in the 9th - same thing. Were you trying to put this game out of reach? Pretty frustrating set of moves by Lou. (Oh, and THAT's why you don't make postseason rosters, Jason.)
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Really weird crowd tonight at the game. Aside from DeRosa's homer and a few 0-2 counts, the ballpark was clammed up. Lots of nervous murmuring throughout, even before the grand slam by Loney. I don't know. Wrigley has more active crowds on Tuesday nights in May, and the fans in attendance should be ashamed. Maybe they should all wear black tomorrow.
That's pretty much it. Gotta go get 'em tomorrow. Remember, anything less than a World Series appearance will be a massive disappointment.