Will Venable hits first career homer, Padres top tumbling Brewe...

Well, Brew-Crew fans, I would not worry too much. Yes, a losing streak like this is irritating (as Cubs fans know too well), especially against a couple of teams that (on paper) should have provided at least a couple of victories.

However, the Brewers have to really fall apart and the Phils have to really pick it up for the Brewers to miss post-season. Sure, it happened last year, and the fact that an improbable event just happened does not mean that we've seen our quota for this decade. However, once-in-a-decade collapses/rebounds are pretty rare for a reason!

I agree...I think they will make the playoffs but it has to be frustrating for both the Cubs and Brewers fans...the most recent streaks by both clubs have shown the same problems (1) inability to hit with runners in scoring positions (2) questionable bullpens. Still believe Brewers and Cubs best two teams in division but glad there is a bit of distance between Brewers/Cubs and Houston right now....

Hey! Shawn Estes has two meaningful wins for the Cubs in his career: winning one of the Pirates DH when they clinched in '03, and beating the Alks for the Friars last night.

steve wrote:

I agree...I think they will make the playoffs but it has to be frustrating for both the Cubs and Brewers fans...the most recent streaks by both clubs have shown the same problems (1) inability to hit with runners in scoring positions (2) questionable bullpens. Still believe Brewers and Cubs best two teams in division but glad there is a bit of distance between Brewers/Cubs and Houston right now....

Actually, both teams problems have been more basic than that. When they were going well, both the Cubs and Brew Crew were flooding the basepaths with runners and/or hitting HR. They were not relying on one or two "clutch" opportunities. The difference is that when you bat 0.250 with RiSP and have 12 AB's with RiSP, then you expect 3 hits; but if you have only 4 AB with RiSP, then you expect only one.

What I saw from both teams was way too many innings in which guys did not get to second until there already were two outs. Even if you bat 0.400 with RiSP, then you still fail to score the guy most of the time then! And, of course, both teams were not getting HR.

I expect that both teams will get on track. We won't see "clutch" hits because they will score early in the inning and early in the game. Of course, those hits really are just as clutch for the players - they know that most games are won in the first few innings - but we fans see things differently!

That's a shame.

thank you cincinnati!
LET'S GO CUBBIES!!!!!!!!!