Come to Think of it...Cubs Snakebitten Out West

Originally published: 7/22/08

Updated: 7/23/08

After being swept by Arizona in the 2007 division series last year, the Cubs once again find themselves returning to the scene of the crime.

This time, the Cubs find themselves a little older, a little wiser and more talented. This year's edition actually takes walks, copying a trait that Japanese newcomer Kosuke Fukudome has brought with him.

And they have added starting pitching to the equation, with Ryan Dempster moving over from the bullpen to the starting rotation. and newcomer Rich Harden moving over from Oakland.

Behind the plate, potential Rookie of the Year candidate and first-ever rookie All-Star starter Geo Soto looms. 

Of course, the D-Backs have made some moves of their own, too.  Their acquisition of Oakland righty Dan Haren has paid off thus far, combining with Brandon Webb for the best one-two punch in the NL, leading the 5th best pitching staff in the NL.

Offensively, Arizona has been lousy. Eric Byrnes has slumped horribly this season. He has gone from .286/.353/.460 in 2007 to .209/.272/.369 so far this year. They rank 11th out of 16 teams in runs scored.

Yet the Snakes, at 48-50, find themselves in first place in the weak NL West division, despite being under .500 for the season. However, they face a Cubs  team that is just 21-28 on the road. 

Oh, and one other thing.

Arizona remembers the Cubs sweep at Wrigley in their last meeting and will be out for revenge.

All of which leads us to the first game on Monday night, with the D-Backs winning 2-0. With Randy Johnson on the mound, it was probably a foregone conclusion, given his history against the Cubs. The Big Unit has never lost to the Cubs. His record against us is now 13-0 with a sub-two ERA.

Since Johnson had not faced the Cubs since 2004, I thought the past wasn't going to be a good predictor of the future.  Especially with Harden going for the Cubs. Boy, was I wrong.

Randy held us in check over seven innings, allowing only two hits.  But Rich Harden was even better, allowing only one hit and striking out 10 over his seven innings of work. Unfortunately, the lone hit off of Harden was a home run to Alex Romero. It was the first homer of his career.

Harden was allowed to throw 112 pitches in the game.  So much for the plan to baby him I guess.

The Cubs offense continues to struggle. The Cubs heart of the order combined to go 0-for-11, leaving seven men on base.

Even more worrisome is the Cubs fell to 21-29 on the road. With the Brewers beating the Cardinals in extra innings Monday, both teams are only two games behind the Cubs in the NL Central dogfight. Milwaukee has won five in a row.

Tonight, the Cubs roll out Jason Marquis to the mound to face chunky 23 year old Arizona righthander Yusmeiro Petit. Who? Petit is a swingman, with six appearances, five of which have been in relief. He was impressive in his only start, a six inning, one run effort against Milwaukee on July 2nd.

So far, this is looking like a repeat of last year's playoffs.

It will be interesting to see who Lou turns to in a closing situation, with Wood on the shelf. The popular guess is Marmol, though he's been very shaky since June started. Personally, I would go with Bob Howry.

As newly acquired D-Back Tony Clark said, "it should be a dogfight."  Come to think of it, when a snake and a cub get together, it usually is.