Come to Think of it...Ramirez Walk-off Beats Sox

Where is the sense of urgency on this club?  Lou Piniella and Co. seem to be moving away from the confident into the arrogant territory. And maybe it's a good thing.

Look, the sky isn't falling just because you lost three games in a row.  But it was the first time it happened all year, so it should have mattered.  Additionally, the way they played was awful.

Maybe the Cubs relied on their tremendous home record to bail them out.  But  they were coming home to a very good Sox team on a roll.  A team that badly wants to beat the Cubs and, dare I say, might be as good or better than the North Siders at this point?

First, even before Zambrano was injured, Lou decided he didn't want him pitching in this series. Never mind the fact that it would have been his normal turn in the rotation. While it's a moot point now, it speaks of that lack of urgency.

Then, in a game where the Cubs are once again struggling to score runs, Lou lets Ted Lilly hit for himself to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning.  At that point, he had thrown 85 pitches and had maybe one more inning left in him. It's not like he was pitching great - he had given up 3 runs in 6. While that may qualify as a "quality start" in baseball parlance, it equals a 4.50 ERA which isn't impressive to me.

Let's just say that Lou has a history of being over confident at times.

Consider his brain cramp of a move in last year's playoffs, when he pulled Zambrano after only six innings, essentially saving him for a game four which never happened. He said it never occurred to him that there would be no game four.

Consider, too, that he thought he was such a great manager that he could turn around a Tampa Bay baseball team that had never had a winning season. Well, after three years, he departed, leaving a team that had still never had a winning season.

Back to the ballgame. Lou should have pinch hit for Lilly and tried to get some offense going instead of giving away an out when you only had 12 of them left. Maybe after yesterday's meltdown, he has no faith in the bullpen.

So what happens? Lilly pitches the seventh inning, puts two guys on base and Lou ends up pulling him anyway.  His replacement, Bob Howry, got out of the jam, but how stupid was that entire scenario? Give up a critical out for 21 additional pitches from Lilly?

Well, as it turns out, Lou 1, Bob nothing.

Because just then, wonders of all wonders, the improbable happens. Lee and Ramirez hit back-to-back jacks in the bottom of the inning, making Cubs fans jubilant and someone $7,000 dollars richer courtesy of WGN.

Hey Ozzie, maybe you did the opposite of Lou and pulled your guy too early? Danks had gone only 85 pitches of one-run ball, striking out five while walking nobody. But there he went, off to the showers, leaving Octavio Dotel to come in and spoil the White Sox' party.

Now the eighth inning would normally be Marmol territory, but Lou stayed with Howry.  I don't know if Carlos was unavailable, or just licking his wounds after yesterday's dismal performance. In any case, Howry did just fine.

What, me worry? Hah!

Entering the ninth, Lou brought in his closer in a tie game, something that historically seems to be a risky proposition. But Kid K was up to the task, setting the stage for an exciting bottom of the ninth.

And just like that...ka-boom! Ramirez with the walk-off. Happy days are here again.

When it was all said and done, it added up to a Cubs win and that's what matters most. Come to think of it, it's even sweeter when it's against the Sox.